25 "Survival" Myths Likely To Get You Killed

PocketEpiphany Published 01/11/2022 in facepalm

Everyone is fascinated by survival situations. Even the most comfortable suburbanite likes to fantasize about how they would handle being lost, stranded, or worse.

Because of this, we try to prepare for these situations, but some of the info out there is dangerously wrong. Here are the survival myths likely to get you killed!

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1. Rationing water is generally a terrible choice - drink what you have until it’s gone. Use that time with good hydration levels to take stock of your situation and make good choices.

Decision-making and physical ability drop off very quickly when you are dehydrated. The first decisions you make after realizing you are in a survival situation are critical and pay long dividends.

Most survival situations are resolved within 72 hours and many hikers are found dead in the desert with full water bottles.

- u/RangerActual
2. Perhaps not really a myth, but something people may think is true after watching people get rescued from the water on TV. "Get them breathing and send them on their merry way"

If you rescue someone from a near-drowning, they still need to go to the hospital, even though they are safely on land now.

The lungs are coated with a slippery mucous-like substance called a surfactant. It's kind of a lubricant and it keeps them from collapsing and sticking to themselves. If they ingested a lot of water into the lungs, chances are they have washed away the surfactant. Their lungs could collapse at any moment and their ability to uptake oxygen is reduced. Get the survivor on oxygen.

source: rescue trained scuba diver here.

- u/EatDiveFly
3. Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention.

What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!

- u/goddavid22
4. That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you, too. - u/bongripsNkickflips
5. If you go into a lake when in a car don’t wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds.

- u/discostud1515
6. Wait until you hear the freight train sound to go to the tornado shelter.

I was always told as a kid if you can't hear it you're alright. At 20 years old I was caught out in the woods with a few friends thinking we had 10-15 minutes to get back to the truck after the tornado warning went out. 3 minutes after the warning we heard what sounded like a freight train and this loud hissing sound. Like a thousand rattlesnakes. Within 30 seconds we were watching trees get plucked up into the air.

We all made it out alright. Luckily there was a large ravine that was dry that time of year and we scrambled into it and flattened out gripping to each other and rocks for dear life.

It took 30 seconds from the time we realized it was in front of us till it was ontop of us.

Later in life, I watched an F3 touchdown. Because of how tornados spin and the earth spins, and I was traveling at 75mph down a highway. I thought I was running alongside it. About 1 mile from it. I couldn't hear it, I could see trees and barns going up into the air with it. I never realized it was coming towards me at about 30mph. By the time I heard it and felt a pressure change inside the cab of my truck I had no choice but to bail out and run into a culvert alongside the interstate. This all happened within 60 seconds. If you've already heard the tornado, you need to be in your shelter. Not heading towards it.

A tornado watch is an advisory to be watching for tornados. It means it is highly plausible for a tornado to form and touch down. A warning means a radar indicated tornado has touched down and possibly even been spotted by the human eye. If you cannot get indoors, get as low as you can.

I have made a habit, as soon as a tornado watch is released in my county, my go bag, the diaper bag, the kids’ stuff they WILL need all goes in a large duffel in the storm room. I'll watch velocity radar like a hawk until the watch is cleared. If it is elevated to a warning we all pile in. Tornados can drop out of the sky right on top of you in under a minute, leaving you with little to no reaction time.

- u/WhiteGravy747
7. Zigzag to escape an alligator.

Alligators can turn, but can/will only run in short bursts. Just run as fast as you can.

- u/SolitaireyEgg
8. That you can easily disarm someone holding you at gunpoint - u/Danghor
9. Do not wander off to look for help. STAY PUT! Stay by your car, or wherever you realize that you are lost. The more you move, the harder it gets for rescue to find you. Make yourself visible, but do not try to find the way back yourself. You already don't know where you are, you don't know where you're going! - u/GreenAppleLady
10. If you’re driving during a tornado warning, don’t get out of your car and climb up the side of an overpass to hide under a bridge. This myth became famous after an amateur video of a man and his daughter hiding under an overpass, but the one they chose had some unusual construction that offered them protection in a way most don’t.

Wind speed increases the higher you get from the ground, and the narrow passages can create a wind tunnel effect, taking the flying debris picked up by the tornado and sending it straight through you at 200 mph or more.

-, u/SanibelMan
11. Do not try to leave a deserted island if you are stuck, you will almost certainly die before someone spots you.

- u/Slavic_bumpkin
12. More just a "hey don't do that"

Leave large animals alone.

Even if you find say a large track or droppings that make you think "hey that's probably a big enough animal to kill me!?" Leave the area.

Herbivores like moose or elk or Bison can kill you just as easily as a bear. Often far more likely because they see you as the predator.

Don't close the distance if you find a large critter. I don't care if the photo is sh*tty from that distance. Better to have a crappy photo of a Bison than get crushed and stomped in the middle of nowhere to bleed out alone.

- u/Ihavebadreddit
13. I don't know if this is considered a survival myth but engaging in street fights is never a good option. If there is an altercation that may lead to a street fight, just stay calm and run away from the situation. No one wins a real street fight; someone will either end up in a hospital or in a funeral, that's just the truth.

- u/SnooMuffins4495
14. If you’re unfortunate enough to be in a bank whilst an armed robbery is underway. DON’T be a hero. The banks are insured and the money can be replaced. Your life can’t be replaced.

Just because the robber/s didn’t go into the bank with the intention of killing anyone doesn’t mean they still won’t if spooked/challenged.

A living witness is better than a dead hero.

-, u/Krakshotz
15. Punching the biggest guy in prison on your first day. Don't do it.

-, u/clovepalmer
16. Landing in water from high up is going to kill you. 10 meters, 15, maaaaaybe 20, you might be fine if you land properly. Getting much higher than that is getting into broken bones and death territory.

- u/imaloony8
17. Don’t drink water from cactus, it’s not potable and likely to trigger vomiting/diarrhea and you will get more dehydrated.

- u/Ehzabeth
18. “Follow flying birds to find water.” They could be flying anywhere.

-, u/C_IsForCookie
19. Opening windows during a Tornado.

Even as a child growing up in the Midwest I never understood this, I always thought doesn’t it let the high winds in?

I remember in first grade we had a tornado warning and some of the teachers were wasting time by opening windows

- u/Banjoplayingbison
20. If you get stabbed by something, DO NOT try to remove the object. You will make it worse and potentially bleed to death, depending on where you were stabbed, if you try and pull it out. Leave it be and get help.

u/fall_and_green
21. Punching a shark in the nose.

Have you seen a shark nose? It's slippery and angles down into three rows of teeth!

Go for the eyes if you need to but mostly avoid acting like a wounded seal! If you flail around like

”ahh f*ck its gonna eat me”

The shark will feel obliged to do so

”ahh f*ck I guess I’ll eat you”

- u/KrazieKanuck
22. Most people probably are aware of this, but if you're legit suffering from diarrhea, you need to be doing more than just drinking water because you're also losing a lot of salts/electrolytes, and not replenishing those can really f**k you up.

You can make a pretty basic Pedialyte/Gatorade at home by adding 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of salt per liter of water. It won't taste super great, but you can throw in other flavorings to mask it like lemon juice or similar.

I did Peace Corps in a tropical region and most of the volunteers came to dread the inevitable parasite/gi infection episodes not just because of being incredibly sick but also because of having to drink liters and liters of ORS, which is the Peace Corps' preferred Pedialyte knock off.

- u/cardamom_poppies
23. Everyone focuses on food and water but completely underestimates how quickly exposure will kill you dead. In some cases, you won’t last 24 hours.

Bonus addition to this: every guide I have ever read says to make fire first. Making fire is f*cking hard sometimes. There are many environments where you flat cannot guarantee a good fire (deserts, because of lack of fuel and anything especially wet).

If you get halfway through the night and realize you can’t make fire, you are going to have problems.

So make a shelter. You can ALWAYS guarantee a shelter and insulated sleeping spot. Make sure your bedding is at least 4 inches thick when you lay on it. I guarantee you’ll underestimate just how bad the ground sucks the heat out of you.

Make your shelter as small, thick, and weatherproof as possible.

, u/Tru3insanity
24. Don't tie a rope around your waist and expect it to save you from a fall. Sure, it might prevent you from hitting the ground, but you can still damage your internal organs and break your back doing this. Safety harnesses go around your hips and legs, not your waist.

F**king Dark Knight Rises

- u/nowhereman136
25. Alcohol does not warm you up. You feel warm since it's dilating your blood vessels in your face and extremities but that causes you to lose more heat to the environment and therefore will make you die of hypothermia quicker if anything.

- u/bobbi21

1. Rationing water is generally a terrible choice - drink what you have until it’s gone. Use that time with good hydration levels to take stock of your situation and make good choices.

Decision-making and physical ability drop off very quickly when you are dehydrated. The first decisions you make after realizing you are in a survival situation are critical and pay long dividends.

Most survival situations are resolved within 72 hours and many hikers are found dead in the desert with full water bottles.

- u/RangerActual
2. Perhaps not really a myth, but something people may think is true after watching people get rescued from the water on TV. "Get them breathing and send them on their merry way"

If you rescue someone from a near-drowning, they still need to go to the hospital, even though they are safely on land now.

The lungs are coated with a slippery mucous-like substance called a surfactant. It's kind of a lubricant and it keeps them from collapsing and sticking to themselves. If they ingested a lot of water into the lungs, chances are they have washed away the surfactant. Their lungs could collapse at any moment and their ability to uptake oxygen is reduced. Get the survivor on oxygen.

source: rescue trained scuba diver here.

- u/EatDiveFly
3. Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention.

What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!

- u/goddavid22
4. That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you, too. - u/bongripsNkickflips
5. If you go into a lake when in a car don’t wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds.

- u/discostud1515
6. Wait until you hear the freight train sound to go to the tornado shelter.

I was always told as a kid if you can't hear it you're alright. At 20 years old I was caught out in the woods with a few friends thinking we had 10-15 minutes to get back to the truck after the tornado warning went out. 3 minutes after the warning we heard what sounded like a freight train and this loud hissing sound. Like a thousand rattlesnakes. Within 30 seconds we were watching trees get plucked up into the air.

We all made it out alright. Luckily there was a large ravine that was dry that time of year and we scrambled into it and flattened out gripping to each other and rocks for dear life.

It took 30 seconds from the time we realized it was in front of us till it was ontop of us.

Later in life, I watched an F3 touchdown. Because of how tornados spin and the earth spins, and I was traveling at 75mph down a highway. I thought I was running alongside it. About 1 mile from it. I couldn't hear it, I could see trees and barns going up into the air with it. I never realized it was coming towards me at about 30mph. By the time I heard it and felt a pressure change inside the cab of my truck I had no choice but to bail out and run into a culvert alongside the interstate. This all happened within 60 seconds. If you've already heard the tornado, you need to be in your shelter. Not heading towards it.

A tornado watch is an advisory to be watching for tornados. It means it is highly plausible for a tornado to form and touch down. A warning means a radar indicated tornado has touched down and possibly even been spotted by the human eye. If you cannot get indoors, get as low as you can.

I have made a habit, as soon as a tornado watch is released in my county, my go bag, the diaper bag, the kids’ stuff they WILL need all goes in a large duffel in the storm room. I'll watch velocity radar like a hawk until the watch is cleared. If it is elevated to a warning we all pile in. Tornados can drop out of the sky right on top of you in under a minute, leaving you with little to no reaction time.

- u/WhiteGravy747
7. Zigzag to escape an alligator.

Alligators can turn, but can/will only run in short bursts. Just run as fast as you can.

- u/SolitaireyEgg
8. That you can easily disarm someone holding you at gunpoint - u/Danghor
9. Do not wander off to look for help. STAY PUT! Stay by your car, or wherever you realize that you are lost. The more you move, the harder it gets for rescue to find you. Make yourself visible, but do not try to find the way back yourself. You already don't know where you are, you don't know where you're going! - u/GreenAppleLady
10. If you’re driving during a tornado warning, don’t get out of your car and climb up the side of an overpass to hide under a bridge. This myth became famous after an amateur video of a man and his daughter hiding under an overpass, but the one they chose had some unusual construction that offered them protection in a way most don’t.

Wind speed increases the higher you get from the ground, and the narrow passages can create a wind tunnel effect, taking the flying debris picked up by the tornado and sending it straight through you at 200 mph or more.

-, u/SanibelMan
11. Do not try to leave a deserted island if you are stuck, you will almost certainly die before someone spots you.

- u/Slavic_bumpkin
12. More just a "hey don't do that"

Leave large animals alone.

Even if you find say a large track or droppings that make you think "hey that's probably a big enough animal to kill me!?" Leave the area.

Herbivores like moose or elk or Bison can kill you just as easily as a bear. Often far more likely because they see you as the predator.

Don't close the distance if you find a large critter. I don't care if the photo is sh*tty from that distance. Better to have a crappy photo of a Bison than get crushed and stomped in the middle of nowhere to bleed out alone.

- u/Ihavebadreddit
13. I don't know if this is considered a survival myth but engaging in street fights is never a good option. If there is an altercation that may lead to a street fight, just stay calm and run away from the situation. No one wins a real street fight; someone will either end up in a hospital or in a funeral, that's just the truth.

- u/SnooMuffins4495
14. If you’re unfortunate enough to be in a bank whilst an armed robbery is underway. DON’T be a hero. The banks are insured and the money can be replaced. Your life can’t be replaced.

Just because the robber/s didn’t go into the bank with the intention of killing anyone doesn’t mean they still won’t if spooked/challenged.

A living witness is better than a dead hero.

-, u/Krakshotz
15. Punching the biggest guy in prison on your first day. Don't do it.

-, u/clovepalmer
16. Landing in water from high up is going to kill you. 10 meters, 15, maaaaaybe 20, you might be fine if you land properly. Getting much higher than that is getting into broken bones and death territory.

- u/imaloony8
17. Don’t drink water from cactus, it’s not potable and likely to trigger vomiting/diarrhea and you will get more dehydrated.

- u/Ehzabeth
18. “Follow flying birds to find water.” They could be flying anywhere.

-, u/C_IsForCookie
19. Opening windows during a Tornado.

Even as a child growing up in the Midwest I never understood this, I always thought doesn’t it let the high winds in?

I remember in first grade we had a tornado warning and some of the teachers were wasting time by opening windows

- u/Banjoplayingbison
20. If you get stabbed by something, DO NOT try to remove the object. You will make it worse and potentially bleed to death, depending on where you were stabbed, if you try and pull it out. Leave it be and get help.

u/fall_and_green
21. Punching a shark in the nose.

Have you seen a shark nose? It's slippery and angles down into three rows of teeth!

Go for the eyes if you need to but mostly avoid acting like a wounded seal! If you flail around like

”ahh f*ck its gonna eat me”

The shark will feel obliged to do so

”ahh f*ck I guess I’ll eat you”

- u/KrazieKanuck
22. Most people probably are aware of this, but if you're legit suffering from diarrhea, you need to be doing more than just drinking water because you're also losing a lot of salts/electrolytes, and not replenishing those can really f**k you up.

You can make a pretty basic Pedialyte/Gatorade at home by adding 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of salt per liter of water. It won't taste super great, but you can throw in other flavorings to mask it like lemon juice or similar.

I did Peace Corps in a tropical region and most of the volunteers came to dread the inevitable parasite/gi infection episodes not just because of being incredibly sick but also because of having to drink liters and liters of ORS, which is the Peace Corps' preferred Pedialyte knock off.

- u/cardamom_poppies
23. Everyone focuses on food and water but completely underestimates how quickly exposure will kill you dead. In some cases, you won’t last 24 hours.

Bonus addition to this: every guide I have ever read says to make fire first. Making fire is f*cking hard sometimes. There are many environments where you flat cannot guarantee a good fire (deserts, because of lack of fuel and anything especially wet).

If you get halfway through the night and realize you can’t make fire, you are going to have problems.

So make a shelter. You can ALWAYS guarantee a shelter and insulated sleeping spot. Make sure your bedding is at least 4 inches thick when you lay on it. I guarantee you’ll underestimate just how bad the ground sucks the heat out of you.

Make your shelter as small, thick, and weatherproof as possible.

, u/Tru3insanity
24. Don't tie a rope around your waist and expect it to save you from a fall. Sure, it might prevent you from hitting the ground, but you can still damage your internal organs and break your back doing this. Safety harnesses go around your hips and legs, not your waist.

F**king Dark Knight Rises

- u/nowhereman136
25. Alcohol does not warm you up. You feel warm since it's dilating your blood vessels in your face and extremities but that causes you to lose more heat to the environment and therefore will make you die of hypothermia quicker if anything.

- u/bobbi21

dangerous survival myths -- Rationing water is generally a terrible choice

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Rationing water is generally a terrible choice - drink what you have until it’s gone. Use that time with good hydration levels to take stock of your situation and make good choices.

Decision-making and physical ability drop off very quickly when you are dehydrated. The first decisions you make after realizing you are in a survival situation are critical and pay long dividends.

Most survival situations are resolved within 72 hours and many hikers are found dead in the desert with full water bottles.

- u/RangerActual

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Tags: tornado island water running from alligator large animals street fighting bank robbery

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25 "Survival" Myths Likely To Get You Killed

3. Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention.

What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!

- u/goddavid22

4. That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you, too. - u/bongripsNkickflips

5. If you go into a lake when in a car don’t wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds.

- u/discostud1515

7. Zigzag to escape an alligator.

Alligators can turn, but can/will only run in short bursts. Just run as fast as you can.

- u/SolitaireyEgg

8. That you can easily disarm someone holding you at gunpoint - u/Danghor

11. Do not try to leave a deserted island if you are stuck, you will almost certainly die before someone spots you.

- u/Slavic_bumpkin

15. Punching the biggest guy in prison on your first day. Don't do it.

-, u/clovepalmer

16. Landing in water from high up is going to kill you. 10 meters, 15, maaaaaybe 20, you might be fine if you land properly. Getting much higher than that is getting into broken bones and death territory.

- u/imaloony8

17. Don’t drink water from cactus, it’s not potable and likely to trigger vomiting/diarrhea and you will get more dehydrated.

- u/Ehzabeth

18. “Follow flying birds to find water.” They could be flying anywhere.

-, u/C_IsForCookie

19. Opening windows during a Tornado.

Even as a child growing up in the Midwest I never understood this, I always thought doesn’t it let the high winds in?

I remember in first grade we had a tornado warning and some of the teachers were wasting time by opening windows

- u/Banjoplayingbison

20. If you get stabbed by something, DO NOT try to remove the object. You will make it worse and potentially bleed to death, depending on where you were stabbed, if you try and pull it out. Leave it be and get help.

u/fall_and_green

25. Alcohol does not warm you up. You feel warm since it's dilating your blood vessels in your face and extremities but that causes you to lose more heat to the environment and therefore will make you die of hypothermia quicker if anything.

- u/bobbi21

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3. Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention. What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help! - u/goddavid22

4. That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you, too. - u/bongripsNkickflips

5. If you go into a lake when in a car don’t wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds. - u/discostud1515

7. Zigzag to escape an alligator. Alligators can turn, but can/will only run in short bursts. Just run as fast as you can. - u/SolitaireyEgg

8. That you can easily disarm someone holding you at gunpoint - u/Danghor

11. Do not try to leave a deserted island if you are stuck, you will almost certainly die before someone spots you. - u/Slavic_bumpkin

15. Punching the biggest guy in prison on your first day. Don't do it. -, u/clovepalmer

16. Landing in water from high up is going to kill you. 10 meters, 15, maaaaaybe 20, you might be fine if you land properly. Getting much higher than that is getting into broken bones and death territory. - u/imaloony8

17. Don’t drink water from cactus, it’s not potable and likely to trigger vomiting/diarrhea and you will get more dehydrated. - u/Ehzabeth

18. “Follow flying birds to find water.” They could be flying anywhere. -, u/C_IsForCookie

19. Opening windows during a Tornado. Even as a child growing up in the Midwest I never understood this, I always thought doesn’t it let the high winds in? I remember in first grade we had a tornado warning and some of the teachers were wasting time by opening windows - u/Banjoplayingbison

20. If you get stabbed by something, DO NOT try to remove the object. You will make it worse and potentially bleed to death, depending on where you were stabbed, if you try and pull it out. Leave it be and get help. u/fall_and_green

25. Alcohol does not warm you up. You feel warm since it's dilating your blood vessels in your face and extremities but that causes you to lose more heat to the environment and therefore will make you die of hypothermia quicker if anything. - u/bobbi21

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3. Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention.

What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!

- u/goddavid22

5. If you go into a lake when in a car don’t wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds.

- u/discostud1515

7. Zigzag to escape an alligator.

Alligators can turn, but can/will only run in short bursts. Just run as fast as you can.

- u/SolitaireyEgg

11. Do not try to leave a deserted island if you are stuck, you will almost certainly die before someone spots you.

- u/Slavic_bumpkin

15. Punching the biggest guy in prison on your first day. Don't do it.

-, u/clovepalmer

16. Landing in water from high up is going to kill you. 10 meters, 15, maaaaaybe 20, you might be fine if you land properly. Getting much higher than that is getting into broken bones and death territory.

- u/imaloony8

17. Don’t drink water from cactus, it’s not potable and likely to trigger vomiting/diarrhea and you will get more dehydrated.

- u/Ehzabeth

18. “Follow flying birds to find water.” They could be flying anywhere.

-, u/C_IsForCookie

19. Opening windows during a Tornado.

Even as a child growing up in the Midwest I never understood this, I always thought doesn’t it let the high winds in?

I remember in first grade we had a tornado warning and some of the teachers were wasting time by opening windows

- u/Banjoplayingbison

20. If you get stabbed by something, DO NOT try to remove the object. You will make it worse and potentially bleed to death, depending on where you were stabbed, if you try and pull it out. Leave it be and get help.

u/fall_and_green

25. Alcohol does not warm you up. You feel warm since it's dilating your blood vessels in your face and extremities but that causes you to lose more heat to the environment and therefore will make you die of hypothermia quicker if anything.

- u/bobbi21