Below is a quick and easy video about how to make a Shepherd's Sling out of Paracord.
Showing posts with label Survivalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Survivalism. Show all posts
Paracord Survival Sling
Easy DIY Survival Bow
Want to learn how to make an easy yet powerful survival bow?
Watch the following video on how to make a DIY Penobscot style survival bow.
12 Tips for Customizing a Bug Out Bag
Not everyone needs the same things in their Bug Out Bag. Thus it is highly recommended that people customize the contents of their Bug Out Bag to suit their needs and necessities. Eg. Some people may think they can do without toilet paper, but for some people it is a necessity.Consider your specific needs and potential scenarios when customizing your bug out bag. Think about the duration of your intended use, the environment you may encounter, and the essential items required for survival, such as food, water, shelter, and first aid.
Choose a Quality Bag
Invest in a durable and reliable backpack that can withstand rugged conditions. Look for features like multiple compartments, sturdy zippers, and adjustable straps to ensure comfort and organization.
Prioritize Essential Items
Focus on including essential items that address your basic survival needs. These may include water purification tools, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, a reliable flashlight, a multi-tool, a fire starter, extra clothing, and a compact sleeping bag or emergency blanket.
Consider Seasonal Adjustments
Customize your bug out bag based on the season and climate of your region. Include appropriate clothing layers, additional insulation, or sun protection items like hats and sunscreen. Adapt your gear to handle extreme temperatures, rain, or snow.
Include a Personalized First Aid Kit
Customize your first aid kit based on your medical needs and any specific health conditions you or your group members may have. Include medications, bandages, disinfectants, pain relievers, and any other necessary items. Consider taking a first aid course to enhance your medical knowledge.
Include Tools and Navigation
Carry essential tools for survival and navigation, such as a compass, map, whistle, pocket knife, paracord, duct tape, and a signaling mirror. These items can assist with orientation, shelter building, repairs, and communication.
Pack Lightweight and Compact Items
Opt for lightweight and compact versions of essential items to save space and reduce the overall weight of your bug out bag. Look for travel-sized toiletries, compact cooking utensils, and collapsible water bottles to maximize storage efficiency.
Customize for Personal Needs
Consider individual needs, such as prescription medications, glasses, personal hygiene products, or specific dietary requirements. Add any necessary items that are unique to you or your group members.
Regularly Review and Update
Regularly review and update your bug out bag contents. Replace expired items, update seasonal items, and ensure everything is in working condition. Conduct periodic inventory checks to make sure nothing is missing or damaged.
Practice and Familiarize Yourself
Familiarize yourself with the items in your bug out bag. Practice using tools, setting up equipment, and assembling essential gear. This familiarity will help you respond effectively in a high-stress situation.
Customize for Local Conditions
Consider the specific challenges and conditions of your region. Add items like insect repellent, extra water containers, or additional protection against extreme weather events prevalent in your area.
Consider Personal Comfort
While prioritizing essential items, include a few comfort items that can boost morale during stressful situations. This may include personal hygiene products, entertainment like books or cards, or comfort items like a small pillow or favorite snacks.
...
Remember, customization is key when it comes to bug out bags. Tailor the contents to your specific needs and ensure your bag is organized, accessible, and ready to grab at a moment's notice in case of an emergency.
Purchasing Survival Gear via Amazon.ca
Having recently reviewed the contents of my Bug Out Bag, I have purchased two additional items in order to round out the contents of the bag for possible future use.
Or if nothing bad happens, they'll still be useful for camping gear.
I ordered the items via Amazon.ca, which is beneficial because it means I am not browsing through a brick and mortar store and possibly buying extra things that I don't need...
Because I know what I am like. I would totally buy extra things that I don't need.
The other benefit is that I get free shipping so it is just a matter of waiting and my items should arrive within a few days.
So what did I add to my bug out bag?
- 1 large reflective "space blanket", which is handy for building a shelter + being used as a physical blanket.
- 1 LifeStraw, which is handy for filtering water to make sure it is safe to drink.
Plus these are both things I foresee possibly using while camping anyway.
I obviously have lots of other things that are already in my Bug Out Bag, but due to the current tense political situation between the USA and Russia I feel it is prudent to at least add a few extra things in case the worst were to happen.
Not panicking.
Not being paranoid.
Just being prudent and prepared.
I am reminded of the Boy Scouts Motto: "Always be prepared."
Even if nothing happens, it never hurts to be prepared.
And having the option to easily filter drinking water just felt like something I should get, as it is certainly faster than having to boil water to make certain it is safe to drink.
Likewise, having an extra blanket that is well suited for making a shelter or doubling as a reflective blanket makes sense. Combined with everything else I already have it makes me feel more confident that if something really bad did happen, at least that would be two less things to worry about.
Bug Out Bag Essentials for the Nuclear Apocalypse
Whenever Russia and the USA look like they're on the verge of a nuclear apocalypse it is a good time to check your bug out bag for anything else you might need should the worst happen.
Assuming you survive the nuclear missiles destroying various cities, you will want to have some of the following. Note: You obviously cannot carry everything on this list, even if you had a vehicle you couldn't bring everything. You need to prioritize what things are the most important and then you may need to scavenge things or do without as you travel.
- Surviving the Fallout
- Shelter
- Food and Water
- Clothing
- Defense
- Heat/Warmth
- Lighting
- First Aid
- Navigation Tools
- Multi-purpose Tools
- Miscellaneous Essentials
Surviving the Fallout
Air Filtration Mask: Depending on the situation, air filtration may be the only way you can access safe-to-breathe oxygen. Use an air filtration mask that filters out radioactive particulates to keep you breathing well. Because these particles are so tiny a COVID mask will not suffice.
Potassium Iodide Pills: This is not a cure for radiation sickness. It merely lessens the amount of radioiodine (radioactive iodine) that your body will absorb. The iodine is absorbed and used by the thyroid gland in the neck, which will lead to cancer / radiation sickness if too much radioactive iodine is absorbed. To prevent this potassium iodide pills ensure that the body gets a supply of iodine and then hopefully doesn't use radioactive iodine from the air.
Shelter
- Tent
- Space blanket
- Sleeping bag
Food and Water
- Water bottles and/or water bladder
- A water filtration system
- Rations
- Small emergency fishing kit
Clothing
- Cold weather gloves
- Cold weather spare clothes
- Spare clothes
- Waterproof jacket with a hood / Winter jacket + Snow pants
- Warm hat
Defense
- Bow / Crossbow / Firearm - You will eventually run out of bullets, so there is a good argument for learning archery and learning how to make your own arrows.
- Ammo - Whether you opt for arrows, crossbow bolts or bullets, you will want a fair number of them. For hunting purposes you will also want broadheads for your arrows.
- Knife
- Axe
- Pepper spray / bear spray
- Bulletproof vest
Warmth
- Waterproof Matches / Lighter / Firestarter - You will eventually run out of matches and the lighter will run out of fuel, so having a good firestarter is the real necessity.
Lighting
- Flash light
- Head lamp
- Chem lights
- Torches - If you have a good firestarter and know how to make them then torches are a good option.
First Aid
- A first aid kit with all the essentials. The more the better. Everything from gauze to painkillers to first aid instructions.
Navigation
- Map of the region
- Compass
- GPS Tracking System - Assuming such systems even still work.
Multi-Purpose Tools
- Axe
- Multi-tool
- Knife
- Paracord
- Fishing line
- Duct tape
- Folding saw
- Crowbar
- Adjustable wrench
- Pliers
- Can opener
Miscellaneous Essentials
- Cellphone charger + solar panel
- Goggles
- Whistle
- Sewing kit
- Copies of important documents
- Passport
- Titles and contracts
- Addresses and phone numbers of loved ones
- Family disaster and preparedness plan
- Emergency Cash
- Prescription Drugs
- Small Mirror
- Soap
- Dental products
- Hand crank radio
- Extra batteries
- Plastic sheeting
- Moist towelettes
- Toilet paper
- Garbage bags
- Plastic ties
- Glasses and sunglasses
- Infant formula and diapers
- Pet food and extra water
- Feminine supplies / personal hygiene
- Mess kit: Forks, knives, plates, etc.
- Paper, pen, pencil
- Books and toys for small children
- Seeds for growing food
- Fishing equipment
PRINT THIS PAGE AND USE IT AS A CHECKLIST
KEEP IT INSIDE YOUR BUG OUT BAG SO YOU CAN DOUBLE CHECK YOU HAVE EVERYTHING
The Aftermath
During the first 24 hours after a nuclear attack it is recommended that you shelter in place, preferable in a deep basement. Thus even if you don't have everything ready, don't worry about it. You will have 24 hours after the attack to ready everything you need to take with you when you leave.
When it is time to leave you may need to walk on foot because other forms of transportation may be clogged with broken down cars, traffic jams, car accidents, etc. If possible, using a bicycle or similar transportation may make the most practical sense. Or a boat if you live near a waterway. If you know how to fly an airplane or helicopter then that would be ideal.
Similarly, you may want to avoid roads or places with lots of desperate people. Instead try to follow old railway tracks or trails. Cut across open fields and avoid any steep terrain (you don't want to fall and injure your ankle or leg when walking long distances).
At night try to stay in industrial places or commercial locations, not other people's homes. This reduces the risk of running into people who will not want to share their things - and people who might try to steal your things. If possible try to find or build shelters in the wilderness off the beaten track so that nobody else is around. Thieves cannot rob or attack you if they cannot find you.
Avoid people carrying firearms, even if they seem friendly.
Destination and Route
You need a route and a destination. Preferably a route that avoids anything that was or would be a nuclear target, and your destination should similarly be far away from nuclear targets. A map and a compass are arguably the most important things on the list. Almost everything else, including food and water, can be scavenged over time.
Your destination could be farmland, an isolated island, or wilderness, but they should have one thing in common: A plentiful source of food. You will need to farm, fish and/or hunt for your food until society begins to rebuild. Thus you need to pick a location where you feel confident that you will be able to survive.
Ideally you want a location that is within 3-5 days of walking distance. So if your goal is to walk 8 to 10 hours per day, your destination needs to be roughly 24 to 50 hours of walking away. You could in theory walk for longer each day but you will also need time to rest, sleep, eat, make shelters, scavenge food/water, avoid danger, etc.
If you could find a store that sells bicycles and scavenge a bicycle you could speed up your journey dramatically. A journey that takes 36 hours to walk might only take 10 hours via bicycle, or 3 hours in a car.
But again, if you "borrow" or steal a car, you may need to later abandon it anyway if you reach a road or situation that is impassable. Also, simply having a working vehicle makes you a target for thieves and ambushes.
This is why I am a firm believer in old railway tracks. I would rather walk for 4 days and arrive safely than to take unnecessary risks.
Once you know how much time may be required to walk, bicycle, etc to the destination then you need to choose a logical route. Whether you go by road or railway tracks, you need to get out a map and choose how far you want to walk each day to give yourself a goal.
If you are traveling with small children expect it to take longer as you will need to stop more frequently for rest breaks. Finding a bicycle with a trailer behind it would be great. A truck or SUV would be ideal in that situation, because the pros and cons of traveling with small children means you are better off taking a truck and being a target for thieves, but at least then you can potentially drive off road.
Route wise, in my case, I know it takes 15 hours to walk from Toronto to Orangeville via roads. So that is at least a 2 day journey on foot. 5 hours via bicycle. It would take another 3 days on foot to reach my destination.
Reality Check
Do you actually know how to hunt, fish or farm?
Honestly, a lot of people will starve because they lack the necessary survival skills. Some will freeze to death. Some will die in accidents. A great many will die from radiation sickness. But a lot more will try to survive by hunting, fishing and farming - which they possibly have zero experience in doing and lack the necessary knowledge to survive.
So if your destination is wilderness and you think you know how to hunt, good luck with that, because I expect the game to be very scarce when everyone and their dog suddenly decides they want to hunt.
A blend of all three is arguably the best, but to do that you need a location where you can:
- Fish in the summer
- Ice fish in the winter
- Farm from April to October
- Hunt all year long
And such locations come in short supply as you need to be near a lake, prime farmland, and woods with plentiful game. So it is unlikely you can do all three.
Trapping is also another option for getting food, but not everyone knows how to make snares.
So for example let's say you have a family cabin up north which has solar panels, a wind turbine, an abundance of canned food, etc. But eventually the canned food will run out and you're stuck in a place where you don't know how to hunt and fish. Who cares if you have solar panels and electricity if your food runs out?
Conclusions
Being prepared for something doesn't just mean buying everything you could possibly need, because there will always be something that you forgot to get. What is more important is your planning and problem solving skills.
"The Girl in the Red Hoodie" - A book about boxing, survivalism, foraging and hunting
"The Girl in the Red Hoodie" is an unusual book and I felt I should mention it on here because the characters in the book end up living "off grid" by the end of the book, using foraging, gardening, fishing and hunting to survive. Plus books are one of the best sources of entertainment when you are living off grid.
The book starts off in January 2020 and presents an alternative history of what happens that year. No COVID. No pandemic. None of that.
Instead the main character, who works at her father's boxing gym and practices boxing, accidentally becomes a vigilante fighting against white supremacists who want to overthrow the Canadian government.
The CN Tower gets destroyed (as evidenced by the front cover of the book).
POTENTIAL SPOILERS
Nuclear apocalypse.
Russia invades Canada and the USA.
The main character and her family have to survive in the wilderness by foraging, fishing and hunting - which means she has to learn how to do archery too.
It is like Red Dawn meets Rocky meets Rambo meets Robin Hood.
...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Moffat is a Canadian fantasy author, artist and archery instructor. He primarily writes heroic fantasy, epic fantasy, dark fantasy and sword & sorcery. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons. When he is not writing he also enjoys archery, fishing, woodworking and bow making.
Why has the Sun changed colour during the past 40 years?
Back in the 1980s and earlier, when we looked at the sun it looked distinctly yellow.
Why?
The reason the sun looks yellow to us on Earth is that our atmosphere scatters light from the sun; so the apparent color of the sun changes. This same scattering effect is why the sky looks blue in the day time instead of black, like at night.
However during the past 40 years the colour of the sun has changed, and the scattering effect isn't working any more. Our sun now appears to be white, not yellow.
Now you might wonder, wait what? What has changed???
Well a number of things have changed during the past 40 years.
#1. Our atmosphere has changed. Not a lot, but we definitely have more CO2 and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere now. The makeup of our atmosphere has thus effected the scattering of light.
#2. Our sun has changed its sunspot frequency. Our sun is continually changing and goes through an 11 year solar cycle in which sun spot frequency goes up and down, But roughly every 400 years our sun also goes through a different cycle which is longer, during which it reaches a "solar minimum" when sun spots drops to a really low number, it gives off less heat, and the sun's apparent colour also changes.
#3. The sun's electromagnetic sphere is so strong it effects the Earth's electromagnetic sphere. When the sun's electromagnetic sphere weakens it in turn effects the "solar weather" on the sun, and it effects the atmosphere, the atmospheric scattering effect, the earth's magnetic poles (you may have noticed the north pole is not in Canada any more, it is now in Russian territorial waters), and various other things. It is even theorized to effect volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes.
Altogether this spells disaster during the next 40 years as the sun continues to go through its solar minimum cycle. Go Google "Grand Solar Minimum" if you want to learn more about this topic.
So here is where it gets interesting...
The Grand Solar Minimums often coincides with climate change, social upheavals, and the collapse of empires. Basically the climate suddenly gets a lot colder during a period of roughly 44 years (or longer), and this leads to climate change, crop failures, food shortages, rebellions, governments being overthrown, empires being toppled, etc.
However at the same time we are also dealing with man-made climate change which is making it warmer.
So...
Which will win?
Is man-made climate change stronger than the Grand Solar Minimum? Is man stronger than the sun? In which case maybe it will equal out and we won't notice any big differences in climate change?
Or are we looking at a very bizarre set of circumstances during the next 40+ years and we actually end up with global cooling instead of global warming?
The problem is we don't really know which of these two factors will win. It is kind of a 50/50 situation.
Which means that survivalists / preppers (and solar physicists) are looking at the climate science and going "Hmm???"
And honestly, I am not sure what will happen either.
The science of global warming and climate change is irrefutable.
But the Grand Solar Minimum is happening at the same time...
So it isn't really a done deal for either of them. We are basically looking at a "wait and see" situation where during the next 10 years we will learn which of these two things is more powerful. The sun, or man made global warming.
Wait and see.
In the meantime however I believe we should continue as if Global Warming will win, but prepare for the possibility of Rapid Global Cooling.
Either of these things could lead to massive social unrest if the situation is managed poorly.
Coronavirus Stats and Why You Should Worry
Below are the Global Coronavirus Stats, starting on March 17th until April 1st.
Known Cases
What you will see is that globally we went from less than 190,000 known cases on March 17th up to 912,000 by April 1st (as of 5:34 PM GMT). Up 480% during that time period.
Deaths
The deaths during that same time period skyrocketed from 7,518 to 45,540. Up 605% during that time period.
Recoveries
During that time period recoveries went from 80,874 to 190,933. A moderate increase in recoveries, suggesting that the virus is either deadlier than we give it credit for, or that recoveries take longer than expected.
Unknown Cases
This is the problem. We don't know what percentage of the population has the coronavirus and is transmitting it to other people willy nilly. As such it becomes difficult to estimate just how common it is, and exactly how deadly it is.
Some Countries Getting Hit Harder
Certain countries like the USA, which has high rares of diabetes and other health problems, are more vulnerable than other countries.
Now what is important to look at is the number of people who have died or recovered, because those are "Resolved Cases". They either died or recovered. It is purely binary. All other cases unresolved and those people could either die or recover.
The Coronavirus has killed 34% of the resolved cases in the USA.
If you want it in simpler terms, the virus eventually kills 1 in 3 known cases in the USA.
The USA currently has 191,775 unresolved cases. Based upon a death rate of 34% we can expect 65,203.5 of those unresolved cases to die.
And it could ultimately become worse than that if the USA runs into a shortage of ventilators which are critical for people to beat this particular pandemic.
Other Countries Fared Better
To their credit, China locked down parts of the country quickly to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Also China has relative low numbers of diabetes and other health problems, so their death rate is much lower.
That is a huge difference in terms of how much deadlier the coronavirus is in the USA vs China.
Canada also has a similarly low death rate, partially due to having a better healthcare system, but also because Canadians get more exercise and have lower rates of diabetes and other health problems.
What is the Global Death Rate?
Of 236,473 resolved cases, 45,540 people have died thus far.
So it is currently killing, on average, 1 in 5.2 people. 19.26% of known cases.
Expectations
We can expect this to get a lot worse.
As the coronavirus spreads to poorer nations with poor health care systems we can expect the death rate to go up.
Even wealthy countries are going to run into shortages of ventilators, doctors/nurses who are healthy enough to treat the sick, and the materials those medical staff need.
Countries like China might even recover completely from this, having closed their borders and stomped down on the spread of the virus by using quarantines and martial law in effected regions. China has already lowered their number of cases to 2004. Two months from now they might have zero new infections and be able to resume normal life.
Countries like the USA, who have leaders who are unwilling or powerless to invoke quarantines and martial law, will see the coronavirus spread across their entire nation until no place is safe.
In the USA the coronavirus has already spread to every state and is multiplying within the USA at a rapid pace.
The USA currently has 205,036 known cases, but back on March 17th the USA had only 5266 known cases.
In 15 days the USA went from 5266 cases to over 205,000 known cases - and they presumably have many more cases because the USA has a shortage of tests.
So up by a factor of 40 in 15 days. A 4000% increase.
Earlier this morning the USA had only 188,000 cases, but in the last 5.5 hours the number of confirmed cases went up 17,000. So the number of confirmed cases is going up by more than 3000 per hour right now.
By April 16th the USA could be looking at 8.2 million people with the coronavirus, and most of them probably already have it right now and just don't know it yet because they haven't had any symptoms yet.
The Plateau
Eventually countries like the USA could reach a plateau, wherein the virus has spread to almost everyone, and infected almost everyone who is vulnerable to it.
In the USA, due to the older population and the number of people with diabetes/other health problems we can expect the virus to effect roughly 30 to 40% of the population.
As of TODAY, April 1st 2020, the USA's estimated population is 331,002,651.
30 to 40% of that would be 99.3 million to 132 million people.
The coronavirus/COVID19 should be expected to kill 34% of them.
Between 33,762,270 and 45,016,360 people. Roughly 10 to 15% of the American population.
Meanwhile Donald Trump, the glorious leader in the White House, has been saying that if the USA only has 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus that would be a good thing.
Yes, that would be a good thing.
100,000 is way better than 33 to 45 million.
Then on March 29th, 3 days ago, Trump said that Americans should expect 200,000 deaths.
We should expect him to reprise his estimates again and again, because he doesn't listen to mathematicians.
There is another (unreliable) source out there saying that 2.2 million Americans might die. But these are really low ball statistics that are people are putting out there because they don't want to frighten people and because they don't know how to do math properly.
Using faulty math is just going to make the problem worse. It creates a false sense of security that less people are going to die.
Faulty Math
What do I mean by faulty math?
Well, lets pretend you ignore the recoveries rate and only look at the total number of known cases and the deaths so far.
Roughly 35% of Americans are vulnerable to COVID19.
35% of 331,002,651 Americans is 115,850,928. 2% of that is 2.3 million dead Americans, assuming that the pandemic eventually spreads everywhere.
And voila, that is how faulty math predicts a much lower death rate.
This is what happens when politicians and other people who don't know how statistics work try to do math. They use *unresolved cases* as part of their metric for determining how many people will die, when they should really be using resolved cases only.
As more and more Americans die or recover from the coronavirus we will get more accurate numbers of just how deadly the virus is. Some states within the USA might have much higher or lower numbers than the national average.
Eg. I expect Mississippi / West Virginia to have really high death rates, and Colorado / Hawaii to have comparative lower death rates. (Due to lower rates of diabetes, and the fact that states like Hawaii and Colorado are more isolated.)
The Global Death Rate
223 million.
That is how many people I expect to die from coronavirus during the next 9 months, by December 31st 2020.
How did I arrive at that number?
The global population is 7.8 billion people as of April 2020.
Approx. 30% of the population is vulnerable to coronavirus.
2,340,000,000 vulnerable people.
Of those people who are vulnerable, I expect 1 in 10.5 people to die. At least.
Result: 222,857,143.
Maybe more, maybe less. Most likely more.
We should also expect people to die from food shortages, medicine shortages, lack of safe access to doctors, increased crime/murders, increased suicide rates, and a host of other problems.
So Why Should You Worry About This
And possibly 3000 deaths per day in May.
For comparison purposes the September 11th 2001 attacks only killed 2,977 people.
That is going to feel like a paltry number compared to the 33-45 million Americans I expect to die from the first wave of the coronavirus.
The Second Wave
Eventually when countries start lifting quarantines and orders to self isolate we will likely see a Second Wave of the virus.
At which point that country or countries will need to self isolate all over for months to contain the virus. The countries which lift the quarantines too early are the ones which are going to be hit the hardest by the second wave of the virus.
There is also another potential problem. If a virus spreads for a long enough time period, like influenza/the Common Cold does, it eventually mutates and evolves into different versions of the virus. If it does this then there is the potential it could evolve into a deadlier version of the virus.
So it is really important we stop the virus during the first wave and wipe it out completely, so we can prevent a second wave of the virus, and also to prevent an evolved version of the coronavirus from becoming the next big killer.
Tired of Being Indoors?
Maybe it is time to go camping.
You can finally build that off grid cabin you've been dreaming of.
You have time right now, so why not just go and do it? Isolate yourself in the woods, build a cabin to your heart's content, and keep yourself safe.
What you will see is that globally we went from less than 190,000 known cases on March 17th up to 912,000 by April 1st (as of 5:34 PM GMT). Up 480% during that time period.
Deaths
The deaths during that same time period skyrocketed from 7,518 to 45,540. Up 605% during that time period.
Recoveries
During that time period recoveries went from 80,874 to 190,933. A moderate increase in recoveries, suggesting that the virus is either deadlier than we give it credit for, or that recoveries take longer than expected.
Unknown Cases
This is the problem. We don't know what percentage of the population has the coronavirus and is transmitting it to other people willy nilly. As such it becomes difficult to estimate just how common it is, and exactly how deadly it is.
Some Countries Getting Hit Harder
Certain countries like the USA, which has high rares of diabetes and other health problems, are more vulnerable than other countries.
- USA Known Cases 205,036
- USA Deaths 4,516
- USA Recoveries 8745
- USA Unresolved Cases 191,775
Now what is important to look at is the number of people who have died or recovered, because those are "Resolved Cases". They either died or recovered. It is purely binary. All other cases unresolved and those people could either die or recover.
The Coronavirus has killed 34% of the resolved cases in the USA.
If you want it in simpler terms, the virus eventually kills 1 in 3 known cases in the USA.
The USA currently has 191,775 unresolved cases. Based upon a death rate of 34% we can expect 65,203.5 of those unresolved cases to die.
Other Countries Fared Better
To their credit, China locked down parts of the country quickly to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Also China has relative low numbers of diabetes and other health problems, so their death rate is much lower.
- China Known Cases 81,554
- China Deaths 3312
- China Recoveries 76,238
- China Unresolved Cases 2004
Canada also has a similarly low death rate, partially due to having a better healthcare system, but also because Canadians get more exercise and have lower rates of diabetes and other health problems.
- Canada Known Cases 9,489
- Canada Deaths 108
- Canada Recoveries 1,445
- Canada Unresolved Cases 7,936
What is the Global Death Rate?
So it is currently killing, on average, 1 in 5.2 people. 19.26% of known cases.
Expectations
We can expect this to get a lot worse.
As the coronavirus spreads to poorer nations with poor health care systems we can expect the death rate to go up.
Even wealthy countries are going to run into shortages of ventilators, doctors/nurses who are healthy enough to treat the sick, and the materials those medical staff need.
Countries like China might even recover completely from this, having closed their borders and stomped down on the spread of the virus by using quarantines and martial law in effected regions. China has already lowered their number of cases to 2004. Two months from now they might have zero new infections and be able to resume normal life.
Countries like the USA, who have leaders who are unwilling or powerless to invoke quarantines and martial law, will see the coronavirus spread across their entire nation until no place is safe.
In the USA the coronavirus has already spread to every state and is multiplying within the USA at a rapid pace.
The USA currently has 205,036 known cases, but back on March 17th the USA had only 5266 known cases.
In 15 days the USA went from 5266 cases to over 205,000 known cases - and they presumably have many more cases because the USA has a shortage of tests.
So up by a factor of 40 in 15 days. A 4000% increase.
Earlier this morning the USA had only 188,000 cases, but in the last 5.5 hours the number of confirmed cases went up 17,000. So the number of confirmed cases is going up by more than 3000 per hour right now.
By April 16th the USA could be looking at 8.2 million people with the coronavirus, and most of them probably already have it right now and just don't know it yet because they haven't had any symptoms yet.
The Plateau
Eventually countries like the USA could reach a plateau, wherein the virus has spread to almost everyone, and infected almost everyone who is vulnerable to it.
In the USA, due to the older population and the number of people with diabetes/other health problems we can expect the virus to effect roughly 30 to 40% of the population.
As of TODAY, April 1st 2020, the USA's estimated population is 331,002,651.
30 to 40% of that would be 99.3 million to 132 million people.
The coronavirus/COVID19 should be expected to kill 34% of them.
Between 33,762,270 and 45,016,360 people. Roughly 10 to 15% of the American population.
Meanwhile Donald Trump, the glorious leader in the White House, has been saying that if the USA only has 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus that would be a good thing.
Yes, that would be a good thing.
100,000 is way better than 33 to 45 million.
Then on March 29th, 3 days ago, Trump said that Americans should expect 200,000 deaths.
We should expect him to reprise his estimates again and again, because he doesn't listen to mathematicians.
There is another (unreliable) source out there saying that 2.2 million Americans might die. But these are really low ball statistics that are people are putting out there because they don't want to frighten people and because they don't know how to do math properly.
Using faulty math is just going to make the problem worse. It creates a false sense of security that less people are going to die.
Faulty Math
What do I mean by faulty math?
Well, lets pretend you ignore the recoveries rate and only look at the total number of known cases and the deaths so far.
- USA Known Cases 205,036
- USA Deaths 4,516
Roughly 35% of Americans are vulnerable to COVID19.
35% of 331,002,651 Americans is 115,850,928. 2% of that is 2.3 million dead Americans, assuming that the pandemic eventually spreads everywhere.
And voila, that is how faulty math predicts a much lower death rate.
This is what happens when politicians and other people who don't know how statistics work try to do math. They use *unresolved cases* as part of their metric for determining how many people will die, when they should really be using resolved cases only.
As more and more Americans die or recover from the coronavirus we will get more accurate numbers of just how deadly the virus is. Some states within the USA might have much higher or lower numbers than the national average.
Eg. I expect Mississippi / West Virginia to have really high death rates, and Colorado / Hawaii to have comparative lower death rates. (Due to lower rates of diabetes, and the fact that states like Hawaii and Colorado are more isolated.)
The Global Death Rate
223 million.
That is how many people I expect to die from coronavirus during the next 9 months, by December 31st 2020.
How did I arrive at that number?
The global population is 7.8 billion people as of April 2020.
Approx. 30% of the population is vulnerable to coronavirus.
2,340,000,000 vulnerable people.
Of those people who are vulnerable, I expect 1 in 10.5 people to die. At least.
Result: 222,857,143.
Maybe more, maybe less. Most likely more.
We should also expect people to die from food shortages, medicine shortages, lack of safe access to doctors, increased crime/murders, increased suicide rates, and a host of other problems.
So Why Should You Worry About This
- You could die.
- You have family who will die.
- You have friends who will die.
- You have neighbours who will die.
- Everyone is going to know multiple people who will die from this.
- Doctors and nurses will die. Some already have died.
- The global economy is going to go into the biggest recession since the Great Depression.
- Worst Case Scenario: Economic Chaos / Social Anarchy.
And possibly 3000 deaths per day in May.
For comparison purposes the September 11th 2001 attacks only killed 2,977 people.
That is going to feel like a paltry number compared to the 33-45 million Americans I expect to die from the first wave of the coronavirus.
The Second Wave
Eventually when countries start lifting quarantines and orders to self isolate we will likely see a Second Wave of the virus.
At which point that country or countries will need to self isolate all over for months to contain the virus. The countries which lift the quarantines too early are the ones which are going to be hit the hardest by the second wave of the virus.
There is also another potential problem. If a virus spreads for a long enough time period, like influenza/the Common Cold does, it eventually mutates and evolves into different versions of the virus. If it does this then there is the potential it could evolve into a deadlier version of the virus.
So it is really important we stop the virus during the first wave and wipe it out completely, so we can prevent a second wave of the virus, and also to prevent an evolved version of the coronavirus from becoming the next big killer.
Tired of Being Indoors?
Maybe it is time to go camping.
You can finally build that off grid cabin you've been dreaming of.
You have time right now, so why not just go and do it? Isolate yourself in the woods, build a cabin to your heart's content, and keep yourself safe.
Survival Schools in Canada, Alphabetical List
I made this list for several reasons.
Note - If anyone in Toronto wants to sign up to be guinea pigs (aka, my first students) just email me (projectgridless {atsymbol} gmail .com) and we can set up some one-on-one survival lessons. I have been teaching archery full time for 9 years so I do have lots of experience teaching, but this is really a shift of topic for me. Teaching archery lasts from March to November each year, so I have been wanting to find something I could do/teach during the winter to bring in extra income.
Lessons would be on weekends only, by appointment.
My Winter Survival Training would focus on the following survival skills:
Each of the above skills is progressive. Meaning you have to complete the first to be able to effectively and easily do the next. It is possible for the individual to skip a step, but for example it is much easier to make a fire if you have cordage. Thus it makes sense to learn how to make cordage first, that way making a fire is so much easier and time effective. Likewise building a shelter is easier if you have cordage and know how to do knots, as is building effective hunting tools. Knotmaking is essential to many survival skills.
I am not sure how much I am going to charge yet for these lessons, but I will figure out a price later.
In the meantime I also planning to make a series of survival skills videos which will be available on youtube for free. You can subscribe by scrolling up and clicking the YouTube button at the top right of this page. (You will need to be logged in to YouTube for it work.)
Anyway, here is the list of Survival Schools in Canada. I have organized the list alphabetically so that there is no favourites. I cannot vouch for the quality of any of these schools, but they are most certainly more experienced at teaching said skills than I currently am.
Survival Schools in Canada, Alphabetical List
A to H
Honourable Mention
Coalcracker Bushcraft is an American Survival School located in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. They are not Canadian, but I have decided to give them an honourable mention because they are certainly worth looking into if you are serious about learning wilderness survival skills and bushcraft, and you are willing to travel to learn such skills. So if you are willing to travel, you should at least consider this American school as an option. Plus Americans might also be reading this, so they should also have an option for where to go.
And since they didn't pay me to say them, I will make a point by not giving any link to them.(Everyone in Canada however gets free links.) I am just mentioning them because I happen to like them and I am also a subscriber to their youtube channel, which is definitely worth looking into as well.
#1. To provide an useful resource for other people who are into survival training to use.
#2. To help me research the competition, as I am starting a "Winter Survival Training" program. So this list is for my research. Essentially I wanted to find out what other survival schools are teaching, how much they are charging for their programs, what they offer during their programs, and so forth.
Note - If anyone in Toronto wants to sign up to be guinea pigs (aka, my first students) just email me (projectgridless {atsymbol} gmail .com) and we can set up some one-on-one survival lessons. I have been teaching archery full time for 9 years so I do have lots of experience teaching, but this is really a shift of topic for me. Teaching archery lasts from March to November each year, so I have been wanting to find something I could do/teach during the winter to bring in extra income.
Lessons would be on weekends only, by appointment.
My Winter Survival Training would focus on the following survival skills:
- How to make cordage and knotmaking.
- How to build a fire with no tools. (Only the tools you can make yourself.)
- How to build a shelter with no tools.
- How to find/make clean water during the winter.
- How to forage for food in the winter / build hunting tools (survival bowmaking and arrow-making).
I am not sure how much I am going to charge yet for these lessons, but I will figure out a price later.
In the meantime I also planning to make a series of survival skills videos which will be available on youtube for free. You can subscribe by scrolling up and clicking the YouTube button at the top right of this page. (You will need to be logged in to YouTube for it work.)
Anyway, here is the list of Survival Schools in Canada. I have organized the list alphabetically so that there is no favourites. I cannot vouch for the quality of any of these schools, but they are most certainly more experienced at teaching said skills than I currently am.
Survival Schools in Canada, Alphabetical List
A to H
- Arctic Response [Whitehorse, Yukon & Yellowknife, Northwest Territories]
- Barefoot Bushcraft [Saint Anns, Ontario]
- Beyond the Fire School of Survival [Pembroke, Ontario]
- Boreal Wilderness Institute [Edmonton, Alberta]
- Bushcraft Yukon [Whitehorse, Yukon]
- BWI's Custom Northern Survival Training
- Canadian Bushcraft [Keene, Ontario]
- Canadian West Mountain School [North Vancouver, British Columbia]
- Canadian Wilderness School & Expeditions [Lac Des Arcs, Alberta]
- Earth Tracks [Durham (Grey County), Ontario]
I to R
- International Canadian School of Survival [Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba]
- Karamat Wilderness Ways [Wildwood, Alberta]
- LRM Enterprises [Dawson Creek, British Columbia]
- Mammut Bushcraft & Wilderness Living [Lacombe, Alberta]
- Maple Leaf Survival [Winnipeg, Manitoba]
- Nature Alive [Barrhead, Alberta]
- Near North Wilderness Survival School [Barrie, Ontario]
- Northstar Bushcraft [Golden British, Columbia]
- Nunavik Arctic Survival Training Center [Puvirnituq, Nunavik]
- Redbeard Survival [Trois-Rivières, Quebec]
- RedHawk Survival Training Institute [Gander, Newfoundland & Labrador]
- Remote Areas Emergency Medicine & Survival [Calgary, Alberta]
S to Z
- School in the Woods [Missisauga, Ontario]
- SOS Wilderness Survival [Bruno, Saskatchewan]
- Sticks & Stones Wilderness School [Muskoka, Ontario]
Note - I have met several of the guys who work at Sticks and Stones Wilderness School, as they usually have a booth at the Toronto Sportsmen Show each year. Good place to learn flintknapping and traditional bowmaking if you are into learning those specific skills.
- Survival in Canada [Vancouver, British Columbia]
- Survival in the Bush [Wiarton, Ontario]
- Survival School Canada [Baddeck, Nova Scotia]
- Three Ravens Bushcraft [Gibbons, Alberta]
- UNIK Skills Training & Consulting [Halifax, Nova Scotia]
- University of Calgary Outdoor Center [Calgary, Alberta]
- WildEdge Wilderness Education [Powell River, British Columbia]
- WSC Survival School [Cloyne, Ontario]
Honourable Mention
Coalcracker Bushcraft is an American Survival School located in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. They are not Canadian, but I have decided to give them an honourable mention because they are certainly worth looking into if you are serious about learning wilderness survival skills and bushcraft, and you are willing to travel to learn such skills. So if you are willing to travel, you should at least consider this American school as an option. Plus Americans might also be reading this, so they should also have an option for where to go.
coalcrackerbushcraft.com
And since they didn't pay me to say them, I will make a point by not giving any link to them.(Everyone in Canada however gets free links.) I am just mentioning them because I happen to like them and I am also a subscriber to their youtube channel, which is definitely worth looking into as well.
Sixty-Two uses for a Bandana
There are many ways to use the average bandana.
#1. Better than an Archery Wrist Sling
Back in April I used a bandana to teach a teenager with no fingers how to shoot a bow.
We tried using a normal wrist sling attached to the bow, but determined that the wrist sling was not enough to hold the bow in place. The wrist sling worked fine to prevent him from dropping the bow, but he needed more than that as the bow still had too much range of motion and was not steady enough to be shot.
Instead we looped a bandana around the bow (where one's fingers would normally go) and then tied the bandana to his wrist. He was then able to brace the bow on his palm with no worry of dropping it and was able to hold it steady because the bandana prevented it from moving from his palm.
For his drawing hand he was able to pull the bowstring underneath the arrow (like someone doing 3 fingers under would) and release the bowstring after aiming.
A friend / fellow archer afterwards texted me to tell me they were really impressed I had dared to even teach him, as many other archery instructors would have simply refused to even try. He also complimented the teenager's courage, for he was one very brave young man to be learning in front of an audience of other archers despite his hindrance.
#2. Baby Diaper
Hopefully you never have to do this, but it is possible to fold a bandana and use it as a diaper for a baby.
I haven't had to do this yet, and hopefully never will, but it is a possible usage.
60 More Uses for a Bandana
How to start a fire with a flint and steel kit
Trivia Question:
Watch the following video from Townends to get the answer.
You can buy flint and steel kits on Amazon, or if you are smart you can collect your own materials for considerably less cost.
Wilderness Solutions Flint and Steel Kit - $28.95 (includes shipping)
https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Solutions-Flint-Steel-Kit/dp/B0042324M8
Primitive Fire Deluxe Flint and Steel Kit - $32
https://www.amazon.com/Primitive-Fire-Deluxe-Flint-Steel/dp/B00CWQ3IFO
Myself, I already have everything I need.
Years ago I bought flint arrowheads. So I have those handy if I need them. That plus a steel knife and some suitable tinder, and I am good to go. eg. Pine sap makes very good tinder for starting a fire.
eg. Watch the following video from Coalcracker Bushcraft on how to use pine sap as tinder. Plus, pine sap is suitable tinder when everything else is wet because it is so oily it repels water.
Which is harder, flint or steel?
Watch the following video from Townends to get the answer.
You can buy flint and steel kits on Amazon, or if you are smart you can collect your own materials for considerably less cost.
Wilderness Solutions Flint and Steel Kit - $28.95 (includes shipping)
https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Solutions-Flint-Steel-Kit/dp/B0042324M8
Primitive Fire Deluxe Flint and Steel Kit - $32
https://www.amazon.com/Primitive-Fire-Deluxe-Flint-Steel/dp/B00CWQ3IFO
Myself, I already have everything I need.
Years ago I bought flint arrowheads. So I have those handy if I need them. That plus a steel knife and some suitable tinder, and I am good to go. eg. Pine sap makes very good tinder for starting a fire.
eg. Watch the following video from Coalcracker Bushcraft on how to use pine sap as tinder. Plus, pine sap is suitable tinder when everything else is wet because it is so oily it repels water.
Multiple Ways to use a Blanket for Survival
Whether you are being rained on or making camp, a thick blanket can be a valuable survival tool.
In the video below from Townsends you learn various methods a blanket can improve your survival chances. The video also talks about how to use dead leaves to create a comfortable layer between you and the cold ground when nothing else is available.
In the video below from Townsends you learn various methods a blanket can improve your survival chances. The video also talks about how to use dead leaves to create a comfortable layer between you and the cold ground when nothing else is available.
How to Smoke and Preserve Meat Off the Grid
One of the things I love about frontier / settler knowledge is that the knowledge and skills can still be used today for a variety of useful things.
One such example, is how to smoke and preserve meat using only sticks, firewood, and a blanket. The video below, courtesy of the James Townsend & Son YouTube channel (aka Townsends) shows a very easy to master system for smoking and preserving meat.
Afterwards the dried/smoked meat can be stored in a dry place for weeks or even a month and still be good to eat. It can also be added to soup, stews, and other foods.
This also ends up being an excellent survival method of preserving food when living in the wilderness for months at a time.
One such example, is how to smoke and preserve meat using only sticks, firewood, and a blanket. The video below, courtesy of the James Townsend & Son YouTube channel (aka Townsends) shows a very easy to master system for smoking and preserving meat.
Afterwards the dried/smoked meat can be stored in a dry place for weeks or even a month and still be good to eat. It can also be added to soup, stews, and other foods.
This also ends up being an excellent survival method of preserving food when living in the wilderness for months at a time.
Two Ways you can Start a Fire using a Rasp
One of the most basic and important survival skills is how to start a fire.
One of the methods I especially like is using a rasp, which, I admit requires you to actually have a rasp handy... but has the added advantage that you can make a fire even in the rain and using wood that is partially wet (although not waterlogged wood, that would be well nigh impossible).
Note - See the second video below for the method that allows you to start a fire using damp wood. The first video does not show that.
Plus rasps are an useful tool for bowmaking, so another bonus.
Method #1 to Start a Fire
The video below demonstrates one way to use a rasp to start a fire - with help from a rock. And despite a bit of clumsiness on his part, he does manage to start a fire. Proof that anyone can do it.
Method #2 to Start a Fire
The second video below demonstrates how to turn an old rasp into an useful knife, which likewise can be used as both a knife and as a rasp - and for making fire, using a slightly different method of producing a spark. So triple the usage. The video below is from "Outdoor Boys".
One of the methods I especially like is using a rasp, which, I admit requires you to actually have a rasp handy... but has the added advantage that you can make a fire even in the rain and using wood that is partially wet (although not waterlogged wood, that would be well nigh impossible).
Note - See the second video below for the method that allows you to start a fire using damp wood. The first video does not show that.
Plus rasps are an useful tool for bowmaking, so another bonus.
Method #1 to Start a Fire
The video below demonstrates one way to use a rasp to start a fire - with help from a rock. And despite a bit of clumsiness on his part, he does manage to start a fire. Proof that anyone can do it.
Method #2 to Start a Fire
The second video below demonstrates how to turn an old rasp into an useful knife, which likewise can be used as both a knife and as a rasp - and for making fire, using a slightly different method of producing a spark. So triple the usage. The video below is from "Outdoor Boys".
Useful and Cool Knots for Survivalists and DIYers
I learned knot-making back in Cub Scouts when I was a kid. Roughly 30 years ago.
Since then I have never really had a problem with making my own knots, untying knots, and have frequently taught other people how to do two of my favourite knots:
* Which if you know anything about knots, the Surgeon's Knot is basically just a modified version of the Reef Knot - although it should be noted that there are different variations of the Surgeon's Knot. The version which was taught to me was one used by two surgeons who were archery students of mine, so I trust that their version is an "Authentic Surgeon's Knot" even though I have seen other variations of how to do a Surgeon's Knot. All this really shows is how much I like the Reef Knot.
Still, I do enjoy learning new types of knots... especially those knots which are especially useful and easy to remember. And they are handy for a variety of purposes, whether it be DIY projects, survivalism, and as an educational tool for both adults and children. You can be certain I will be teaching my son knot-making as he gets older.
Fortunately I am not alone in this belief. Luke from Outdoor Boys (the YouTube channel) also shares my interest in knot-making and in passing on his knowledge. So here are two of his videos on the topic:
Since then I have never really had a problem with making my own knots, untying knots, and have frequently taught other people how to do two of my favourite knots:
- The Reef Knot
- The Surgeon's Knot*
* Which if you know anything about knots, the Surgeon's Knot is basically just a modified version of the Reef Knot - although it should be noted that there are different variations of the Surgeon's Knot. The version which was taught to me was one used by two surgeons who were archery students of mine, so I trust that their version is an "Authentic Surgeon's Knot" even though I have seen other variations of how to do a Surgeon's Knot. All this really shows is how much I like the Reef Knot.
Still, I do enjoy learning new types of knots... especially those knots which are especially useful and easy to remember. And they are handy for a variety of purposes, whether it be DIY projects, survivalism, and as an educational tool for both adults and children. You can be certain I will be teaching my son knot-making as he gets older.
Fortunately I am not alone in this belief. Luke from Outdoor Boys (the YouTube channel) also shares my interest in knot-making and in passing on his knowledge. So here are two of his videos on the topic:
How to make Cordage out of Tree Bark
In the video below Townsends demonstrates how to make cordage (twine) out of tree bark. A variety of other plant fibres can also be used to make cordage (or even bowstrings).
One of my personal favourites is to use the heartstrings of various types of tall weeds, as the heart strings have a silk-like strength and consistency. The heartstrings can then be twisted together and make a very strong bowstring.
One of my personal favourites is to use the heartstrings of various types of tall weeds, as the heart strings have a silk-like strength and consistency. The heartstrings can then be twisted together and make a very strong bowstring.
The All Weather Backpack
You are probably familiar with the concept of a Bug Out Bag, which is filled with things you will need for survival if you need to leave in a hurry. Some Bug Out Bags are more specialized for specific scenarios. eg. A nuclear fallout bug out bag would have iodine tablets in it to reduce and hopefully protect from the effects of radiation sickness.
A cold weather comfort backpack is rather more mundane.
So I was outside recently and as is typical in Canada during March, we often get bouts of warm weather and then sudden bouts of cold weather - and I had forgotten to bring gloves or a neck warmer with me. Many people have a tendency to forget to bring gloves and other important things to help them keep warm, especially when the temperature outside looks warmer or later turns colder unexpectedly.
And it occurred to me "Hey, I should just have a small backpack with all those things in it that I can just grab whenever I might need those items."
Items like:
Some people might even go a bit further with their All Weather Backpack and add other survival items like:
Benefits of having Both a Bug Out Bag and an All Weather Backpack
If you only need the backpack for suspicious weather, it will get the job done.
But in a more dire situation you could simply grab both the bag and the backpack, and you are ready for both survival situations and for bad weather.
Imagine for a moment surviving a nuclear fallout, but dying days later by freezing to death? Clearly you need to be planning for what the weather might be doing.
Hot Tip - If being "rained on" by radioactive ash it would be handy to have that umbrella to keep the ash away from your skin, face, etc. Not an ideal solution. Clearly a hazmat suit would be better, but sometimes you use what you have handy.
A cold weather comfort backpack is rather more mundane.
So I was outside recently and as is typical in Canada during March, we often get bouts of warm weather and then sudden bouts of cold weather - and I had forgotten to bring gloves or a neck warmer with me. Many people have a tendency to forget to bring gloves and other important things to help them keep warm, especially when the temperature outside looks warmer or later turns colder unexpectedly.
And it occurred to me "Hey, I should just have a small backpack with all those things in it that I can just grab whenever I might need those items."
Items like:
- Gloves
- Hat
- Scarf or Neck Warmer
- Thermal Blanket
- Thermos or a water bottle
- Snacks, eg. granola
- Umbrella in case there is rain or freezing rain - I have a small umbrella I received for xmas that would be perfect for this.
- Hand Warmers (one use items that use a chemical reaction to produce heat)
Some people might even go a bit further with their All Weather Backpack and add other survival items like:
- A pocket knife
- A multi-tool
- A lighter or something else for creating a fire
Benefits of having Both a Bug Out Bag and an All Weather Backpack
If you only need the backpack for suspicious weather, it will get the job done.
But in a more dire situation you could simply grab both the bag and the backpack, and you are ready for both survival situations and for bad weather.
Imagine for a moment surviving a nuclear fallout, but dying days later by freezing to death? Clearly you need to be planning for what the weather might be doing.
Hot Tip - If being "rained on" by radioactive ash it would be handy to have that umbrella to keep the ash away from your skin, face, etc. Not an ideal solution. Clearly a hazmat suit would be better, but sometimes you use what you have handy.
Dentistry in the Post Apocalypse
Everything else, x-rays, surgery, dentures, braces, etc would still have to be covered by patients.
However lets pretend for a moment that the apocalypse were to happen. Zombie apocalypse, nuclear apocalypse, economic collapse and chaos, climate change and rising sea levels, etc. It doesn't really matter which version of the apocalypse we are talking about.
The problem that then exists in this new post apocalyptic world is how do people take care of themselves in terms of healthcare?
And in the case of this post, specifically dental care which effects us constantly as we really should be cleaning our teeth daily.
Four years ago in October I wrote a post titled: "DIY Dental Care??? Crazy or Feasible???"
In the post I mentioned a number of things.
- I really like my dentist. Archer Dental offers the best dental services that money can buy in Toronto. It cannot be beat.
- DIY Dentistry is basically crazy and involves putting fibreglass and epoxy in your mouth like some deranged lunatic.
- If you have the option to pay the best dentist in Toronto to work on your teeth as opposed to sticking fibreglass and epoxy in your mouth, you should definitely choose the dentist.
- Good luck wearing the wooden dentures because that might be your best option if you start experimenting on your teeth.
What if there is no dentist?
During the Post Apocalypse you probably won't have a dentist available unless you manage to find a large community of survivors who are lucky enough to have a dentist (and hopefully a doctor too).
So in our What If Scenario we face the real problem of what to do in the event that there is no dentist available.
Well, here is what you need to do:
#1. Stockpile Dental and Medical Supplies
You should be stockpiling the following items:
- Toothbrushes
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Mouthwash
- Dental Equipment (in hope that you eventually find a dentist)
- First Aid Kits
- Bandages
- Painkillers / anti-inflammatories
- Antibiotics
- Insulin
- Needles
- Everything you could possibly hope to find in an old fashioned medical doctor's bag
- Anything else you can think of. eg. epipens, allergy pills, etc.
#2. Preventative Dental Care
You know how your dentist is always telling you to brush your teeth, floss and use mouthwash every day?
You need to actually be doing those things. Every day. Today. Right now if you haven't done so already.
And you should start today, because if you are lazy and don't do it then 2 years from now you could literally be on your way to the dentist when the nukes start flying, and you've got dental problems ALREADY because you were not prepared.
#3. Take the best possible care of your teeth now, BEFORE the apocalypse happens
One more reason why I go to Archer Dental. In the past 4 years I have gone from being very unhappy about my teeth to extremely happy about them.
- If you are not currently happy with the state of your teeth, you are not prepared for the apocalypse.
- If you currently have major problems with your teeth, then you are not prepared for the apocalypse.
- If you are not in the habit of taking care of your teeth daily, then you are not prepared for the apocalypse.
Are you going to be one of those people chowing down on Twinkies (one of the things that endure for decades) during the post apocalypse? Maybe. If so, you really need to be taking better care of your teeth now.
"A true prepper is prepared for every possibility, including a lack of available dentists."
Family and friends are best, but the loner approach to the Post Apocalypse is not good for your survival chances.
You fall and break your leg, it might not kill you but your chances of starving to death just skyrocketed if you don't have any allies.
Get a tooth that becomes infected and needs to pulled properly? Think you can do it by yourself? Your chances of survival double or triple if you have allies to help you.
Think an infected tooth cannot kill you? Think again. A man in California in January 2017 died from an infected tooth because the infection spread to his blood and his lungs. He thought it was just a toothache, but the autopsy revealed otherwise.
An infected tooth can also cause swelling, which makes it impossible to eat food. The victim literally starves to death.
Bacterial infections of abscess teeth can lead to serious heart, lung, and brain infections if left untreated, all causing death.
And even if you do manage to pull the tooth, who is to say the infection goes away? You really need antibiotics to get rid of the bacteria that is thriving in your empty tooth socket. Simply pulling the tooth isn't necessarily going to solve the problem if you don't also kill the bacteria. You need the extra people around because the more people you have as allies, the more chances there are someone has antibiotics which can help you.
#5. Lone Wolf DIY Dentisty = Good Luck
Seriously, if you end up alone with zero allies, you didn't stockpile any dental supplies, you didn't take preventative measures like brushing your teeth daily, and you didn't take care of your teeth prior to the apocalypse...
Well, then you really and truly are screwed, aren't you?
Hence why I am saying good luck, because you are going to need it.
In case of an infected tooth your best possible solution is to pull the tooth (the whole thing, don't leave any broken pieces of infected tooth behind) and to treat yourself with antibiotics. Oh, but you don't have any allies to make sure you got the whole tooth, and you forgot to stockpile the antibiotics. Whoops! Sucks to be you.
What if you need surgery on your teeth? Are you going to do it yourself with no proper tools? You cannot even see inside your own mouth properly to be doing that. A mirror won't help because your hands will be in the way, preventing you from seeing properly. So your plan then is to perform surgery on yourself, by feel, with zero experience of doing such?
Good luck sewing yourself up after the surgery!
It is one thing to sew stitches on your own leg, but another thing to sew up bloody gum tissue inside your mouth when you cannot even see what you are doing.
In that dire scenario your best bet is to try and find a community of survivors who are friendly to you and will welcome another survivor into the midst. With luck they might have a dentist, a dental hygienist who understands the principles of what needs to be done, or a doctor - or someone with steady hands who is at least willing to try. They might even have painkillers and all the needed medical supplies.
"In the winter the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."
What you need in a Nuclear Fallout Bug Out Bag
Lets imagine the nuclear apocalypse has happened. You are close to home when you see the mushroom clouds in the distance. You rush home and grab your Nuclear Fallout Bug Out Bag...
What should be in it?
Food and Water
Preferably 30 days worth, but that is tricky to carry that much so you might need ways to find/hunt for food, and ways to purify your water to make it safer to drink. You can survive 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food.
Thus in theory 10 litres, drinking only 1 litre every 3 days, could last you 30 days.
Likewise with the food, 10 meal replacement bars, eating 1 bar every 3 days would also give you ample food to survive for 30 days. It doesn't need to be the "Macho Survivalist" bars, regular diet bars like SlimFast found in your local grocery store will suffice for your needs.
You can also scavenge additional food and water from other sources, but take care anything you consume has not been exposed to radiation or radioactive ash.
Heat Source
This is a necessity if you live in a colder climate. You need something portable that can also be used to cook food if need be, or to boil water.
First Aid Kit
Pretty much a necessity. Extra bandages also handy as many First Aid Kits don't contain a lot of bandages.
Extra Clothes
Partially for keeping warm, partially to provide an extra layer between you and radioactive ash, but also so you can shed clothes that has become contaminated with ash and you still have something to wear.
You may need to scavenge additional clothing as you travel.
Light Source
Flashlight, oil lantern, or something to provide ample light when traveling at night, which you may need to do.
Tools
A multi-tool would be nice, but some people might just buy a small tool set. You never know when you might need the right tool for the job and your multi-tool just is not enough to get it done.
Hazmat Suit and Mask
For $36 you can get a hazmat suit and a mask on Amazon.ca. This way you don't have to suffer the embarrassment of trying to buy this in person. Will you need it? Hopefully not. If you don't need it, oh well, at least you were prepared for that possibility. And considering the price, not that big of an expense.
Radiation Detector
Ideally you want the radiation to be below 20rem. You don't really want to be exposed to larger amounts for any long period of time. Staying in a secure shelter would be better until the radiation levels go down. A cheap radiation detector goes for $37 on Amazon.ca, but you can also get fancier ones that cost $135 or more.
Even medium amounts of radiation could kill you weeks after being exposed to it, so you ideally want to keep your exposure to as small an amount as possible. Large amounts of radiation can kill you within mere hours.
A Weapon to Defend Yourself
There are going to be people who are less prepared and might try to take the things you were wise enough to prepare.
A firearm with lots of ammo is good, but if you are skilled with archery or a crossbow enthusiast that would also be handy because it means you can reuse ammunition and it is stealthier.
If the country is also at war (and has not surrendered yet, or even if it has) you will probably also want to have a weapon to protect yourself from enemy soldiers invading your country.
The weapon could also be used for hunting, to gain food, and for protection against wild animals which may become violent due to radiation sickness. Injured animals are typically dangerous animals.
Note - Do NOT get one of those crappy survival bows that are horribly inaccurate and make a better club than a bow!
Can you add other things to your Nuclear Fallout Bug Out Bag?
Absolutely. Whatever you think is necessary for survival. Some people even add a book or recreational items because if they take shelter and there is too much radiation outside they need something to amuse themselves with. Boredom can drive a person crazy and to do stupid things like going out in the radiation in some vain effort to escape the boredom...
eg. War and Peace is huge. You can read parts of it and then use the pages you already read as kindling for your fire. However since you might need to read it twice out of boredom, maybe only burn the boring bits.
Remember...
What should be in it?
Food and Water
Preferably 30 days worth, but that is tricky to carry that much so you might need ways to find/hunt for food, and ways to purify your water to make it safer to drink. You can survive 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food.
Thus in theory 10 litres, drinking only 1 litre every 3 days, could last you 30 days.
Likewise with the food, 10 meal replacement bars, eating 1 bar every 3 days would also give you ample food to survive for 30 days. It doesn't need to be the "Macho Survivalist" bars, regular diet bars like SlimFast found in your local grocery store will suffice for your needs.
You can also scavenge additional food and water from other sources, but take care anything you consume has not been exposed to radiation or radioactive ash.
Heat Source
This is a necessity if you live in a colder climate. You need something portable that can also be used to cook food if need be, or to boil water.
First Aid Kit
Pretty much a necessity. Extra bandages also handy as many First Aid Kits don't contain a lot of bandages.
Extra Clothes
Partially for keeping warm, partially to provide an extra layer between you and radioactive ash, but also so you can shed clothes that has become contaminated with ash and you still have something to wear.
You may need to scavenge additional clothing as you travel.
Light Source
Flashlight, oil lantern, or something to provide ample light when traveling at night, which you may need to do.
Tools
A multi-tool would be nice, but some people might just buy a small tool set. You never know when you might need the right tool for the job and your multi-tool just is not enough to get it done.
Hazmat Suit and Mask
For $36 you can get a hazmat suit and a mask on Amazon.ca. This way you don't have to suffer the embarrassment of trying to buy this in person. Will you need it? Hopefully not. If you don't need it, oh well, at least you were prepared for that possibility. And considering the price, not that big of an expense.
Ideally you want the radiation to be below 20rem. You don't really want to be exposed to larger amounts for any long period of time. Staying in a secure shelter would be better until the radiation levels go down. A cheap radiation detector goes for $37 on Amazon.ca, but you can also get fancier ones that cost $135 or more.
Even medium amounts of radiation could kill you weeks after being exposed to it, so you ideally want to keep your exposure to as small an amount as possible. Large amounts of radiation can kill you within mere hours.
A Weapon to Defend Yourself
There are going to be people who are less prepared and might try to take the things you were wise enough to prepare.
A firearm with lots of ammo is good, but if you are skilled with archery or a crossbow enthusiast that would also be handy because it means you can reuse ammunition and it is stealthier.
If the country is also at war (and has not surrendered yet, or even if it has) you will probably also want to have a weapon to protect yourself from enemy soldiers invading your country.
The weapon could also be used for hunting, to gain food, and for protection against wild animals which may become violent due to radiation sickness. Injured animals are typically dangerous animals.
Note - Do NOT get one of those crappy survival bows that are horribly inaccurate and make a better club than a bow!
Can you add other things to your Nuclear Fallout Bug Out Bag?
Absolutely. Whatever you think is necessary for survival. Some people even add a book or recreational items because if they take shelter and there is too much radiation outside they need something to amuse themselves with. Boredom can drive a person crazy and to do stupid things like going out in the radiation in some vain effort to escape the boredom...
"I am bored. I am going out there to look for food." - Fool who dies of radiation sickness days later.So if you are going to pack something entertaining, make it a classic like Moby Dick, Neuromancer, War and Peace, or The Lord of the Rings. One of those books you should definitely read before you die... So pick something definitely worth reading.
eg. War and Peace is huge. You can read parts of it and then use the pages you already read as kindling for your fire. However since you might need to read it twice out of boredom, maybe only burn the boring bits.
Remember...
A wise person prepares. The fool does not.
How to Make Plastic Cordage
To make Plastic Cordage you will need:
Cut off the bottom end of the bottle, and then make a small cut into the plastic at a 90 degree angle. Then cut from that point onwards creating a spiral strip of plastic until most of the bottle has been used, including using the funnel section of the bottle near the bottle cap. Cut the bottle cap section off when you have successfully turned most of the bottle into cordage.
If you need the cordage to be stronger, just make it a bit thicker.
If you need the cordage to be more flexible and are not worried so much about strength, cut it to be thinner.
DIY Plastic Cordage Cutting Tool
The video below shows how to make a cutting tool for making plastic cordage faster, although you really can accomplish the same thing with just a regular knife. Having such a tool is handy and faster, but unnecessary.
- A knife or similar cutting tool. eg. A razor would be sufficient.
- A plastic soda bottle.
Cut off the bottom end of the bottle, and then make a small cut into the plastic at a 90 degree angle. Then cut from that point onwards creating a spiral strip of plastic until most of the bottle has been used, including using the funnel section of the bottle near the bottle cap. Cut the bottle cap section off when you have successfully turned most of the bottle into cordage.
If you need the cordage to be stronger, just make it a bit thicker.
If you need the cordage to be more flexible and are not worried so much about strength, cut it to be thinner.
DIY Plastic Cordage Cutting Tool
The video below shows how to make a cutting tool for making plastic cordage faster, although you really can accomplish the same thing with just a regular knife. Having such a tool is handy and faster, but unnecessary.
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