You get an unlimited supply of a single item to survive post-apocalypse. What are you choosing, and why?
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I mean, they are chock full of all sorts of preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they also have things like toilet paper and wipes, spoons and forks, heating pads, and various other things, and they can be eaten cold if there's some reason not to start a fire.
That being said, you can live a very long life eating only MREs. It's not like if you only ate them for three weeks you would die. You might have some malnourishment, and you might desperately long for something else, but it wouldn't be the nutrition issue that would kill you. They are designed to keep people alive in situations where bullets are an occupational hazard.
But if I have an infinite supply of them and they are fresh, then when I encounter people that are starving I can trade it to them for bullets or knives or I can just give them away. Could probably save a lot of lives by being a food producer capable of keeping people alive.
The largest risk I would face would be growing tired of the assortment.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Yeah, not sure what OP's talking about. Any diet involving a reasonably fresh, large assortment of ingredients will keep you going until you die of old people stuff (maybe early, if it's really that bad).
If you eat only hardtack or only rice, that's when deficiencies become a concern. We're really quite hearty animals.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Potable water is good, perhaps wheat berries or ibuprofen would be good too.
As for an unorthodox answer, I'm going to say survival guides. Most people have some idea of how they might survive, but it couldn't hurt to have a resource to fill any knowledge gaps.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Genies in a lamp
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Beans. Not only about the most important food source, legumes are also natural nitrogen fixers for soil health.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Ok so some people are asking what type of apocalypse but I feel that's mostly irrelevant because you said it's a post apocalypse scenario. The apocalypse has already passed.
So there's kind of two options. One is where I would be the sole survivor on the planet, and the other is where there's still pockets of survivors out there.
Most post apocalypse situations involve other people surviving, so I'll start there.
You didn't put a limiter on what the item could be, whether it had to be realistic or not, and how this supply would come to be. So I'll give three answers, each with different degrees of what I'm assuming your intention behind the question is.
The first would be an infinite supply of non tricky, non malevolent genie lamps. Infinite wishes baybee, this trumps pretty much everything.
Something more fantastic but more reasonably grounded would be computers, with a complete set of data on human history, art, music, science and schematics, with instructions on how to rebuild society in a more equitable way, translated into all languages possible, with a pictogram of how to charge it up etched on the outside. Pass those suckers around, rebuild society, got infinite of them, everyone gets one and it has the windows space pinball from the 90s on it just for fun.
But since you said lighters, to play with the idea of things that exist, I'm gonna go with tents. Probably those onion shaped ones that are designed to be permanent housing, or yurts. Sure water and food are important but without shelter you're fucked, and I could house everyone.
Now if it were an apocalypse where I'm the only survivor, I would want an infinite supply of one thing.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
A) Something to trade (rely on others)
B) Something for ME to survive on (rely on nobody)
C) Something to rebuild (everyone relies on me)
I generally lean towards rebuilding, but it really depends on what apocalypse we're talking about here. Zombie? Nuclear war? Asteroid? Nazis? Waterworld?
So, assuming I can survive enough, I'd pick rebuild critical tech like rubber or a way to forge steel or a critical chemical. Think, "Doctor Stone".
But if I need to survive like a water world or a desert world or a zombie outbreak, what I pick is going to be pretty fucking different. Cigarettes don't mean shit if there's no water. Water don't mean shit if that's all you have. And none of that matters if you're stuck in a world with aerosolized zombie infection that results in smart running zombies that fast heal.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Mainly maps, but also other informative reading materials such as natural medicine, almanacs and other foraging guides.
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Toilet paper. During apocalyptic scenarios, it's worth is apparently uncountable, so I will be able to trade it and live a life of opulence.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to finally see the first item to disappear in every real apocalypse I've been through. Plus it's man's greatest invention. Just ahead of the Hubble space telescope.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Not a single mention of bullets? Seriously?
In an apocalypse, ammunition will be worth more than gold.
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Mainly maps, but also other informative reading materials such as natural medicine, almanacs and other foraging guides.
Condition is infinite supply of one item.
You have to choose printed Wikipedia book for it to be one item. -
I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
wrote last edited by [email protected]Will "fully equipped cruize ship" count as one item?
Then I can scavenge them for all parts required to build new civilization.And if it is not, then question to OP, what is the limit for the composite items to stop being counted as one item?
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Waterproof matches.
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Not a single mention of bullets? Seriously?
In an apocalypse, ammunition will be worth more than gold.
Metro 2033 ing intensifies
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Gout sufferer checking in, Prednisone
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
drinkable water
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We can clean up the entire Capital Wasteland!
I was thinking Fallout 4 when I said it. The cans of pure water.
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drinkable water
wrote last edited by [email protected]Sorry to be pedantic, but potable water, but yes, that is the correct choice.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
AAA batteries
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Not a single mention of bullets? Seriously?
In an apocalypse, ammunition will be worth more than gold.
Maybe in a zombie apocalypse, but what are you gonna do with bullets in a regular apocalypse?
You may be the only person you'll ever see for years at a time. You can't drink them, you can't plant them, you can't build with them.
You could probably use them on yourself if you've got a gun that they work in, though, especially if that's the only one item you decided to choose for long-term survival.
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I’m thinking either Bic lighters or cigarettes, just to trade
Depends on the apocalypse.
