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Your Boat Is Sinking And You Have Thirty Seconds To Evacuate



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Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:08 am
Nate says...



This is an exercise in organization & prioritization that I do sometimes when I'm tutoring (you might have run across it before as it's a rather popular one).

Let's say you're sailing in the South Pacific by yourself and a storm hits your boat. After struggling for hours in blustery winds, you realize your boat is sinking and you only have thirty seconds to grab what you need. Now, that's only enough time to grab five items off your boat, and there's 15 items available for you to grab. So, which five of the fifteen below would you grab, and why?:

- Compass
- Freeze dried ice-cream
- Rope
- Scissors
- Kitchen Knife
- Pen
- Parachute
- Life raft
- Life jacket
- Navigation Chart
- Two day supply of water
- Week supply of grains
- Mirror
- Signal Flares
- One-way Radio
  





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Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:14 am
Emerson says...



Life raft, One-way radio, signal flares, two day supply of water, navigation chart.


You can go a lot longer without food. I am horrible at swimming. I get really thirsty. I can use the sun as a compass. This will help me survive and more than likely get rescued. Hopefully?

Of course, I doubt I'd be sailing by my self anyway. I'm too scared to live on my own, why would I sail on my own?
“It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
  





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Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:32 am
Leja says...



Freeze dried ice cream gets sunk at the bottom of the ocean: it's disgusting.

(1) Life raft so's ya don't freeze to death

(2) Water. Because it's not only yummy, but you kinda need it to live :wink:

[s](3) One way radio: If I suddenly hear Bengali over the radio (not that I'd really know it if I heard it) I'd know I was probably a little off course.[/s] that one was kinda silly. Besides, I don't even know which way the radio would transmit. Would I be able to talk and not hear or hear and not talk?

(3) Compass. I say pick a direction and go. It doesn't matter specifically where you're going, as long as you know which direction you're headed in.

(4) Navigation Chart: though it'd be a toss up as to whether I'd figure out how to read it.

(5) Knife: fend off pirates, catch a fish or two (hopefully not deflate the life raft) what could be more helpful, eh?


Hrm. So that's that. What'd'ya think, Nate, am I going to be able to make it back to dry land?
  





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Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:39 pm
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Ofour says...



Wimpy choices: Life raft, water, grain, signal flares, one-way radio.

Boring.


Better choices: Life raft, parachute, rope, knife, signal flares.

Attach the parachute to the raft using the rope and knife. Stick the flares to your legs and hold the knife in you mouth. Hopefully the wind will pick up and you'll go skimming along happily in the raft. When something comes near, or you're about to die, set off the flares. They'll make you go faster, alert nearby rescuers and look cool. Win, win, win. If you are about to starve or drown, stab yourself in the temple for a quick and painless death.
ln(-a)=i(pi) + lna
  





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Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:51 pm
Leja says...



That is amazingly cool [except for the dying part]!
  





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Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:38 pm
Poltergiest says...



Life raft, Navagation chart, week supply of grians, Mirior and signal flares. You can go longer without water than you can food, the mirrior you can shine all day and hope to catch another boats attention, and the flares you can launch at night. The life raft is so you don't freeze in the water and the navagation chart is so you can reach other boats quicker due to wind patters, those are the most likely other boats will take.

The Pol has spoken!!!

~Pol~
I used to rule the world, see it rise when I gave the word, now in the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to own

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Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:27 am
Shadeslayer says...



Life Raft- So i can maybe paddle for a bit or not drown
Life Jacket- incase of falling unconsious when falling of raft
Navigation chart- Help me find my way
2 day supply of water- so i can survive for 2days
Signal flares- so i can send a flare up for someone to rescue me
I Should Have Complete Faith In My Own Existence, Because In Order To Be Decieved About Anything, I Must First Exist

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Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:32 am
Sumi H. Inkblot says...



Signal flares, two day supply of water, life raft, one way radio and navigation chart.
ohmeohmy
  





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Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:13 pm
Jasmine Hart says...



Oh no. This looks like it may require logic.

1)Life jacket. Em, this seems like it may be a good idea...though I wish I'd put it on beofre my boat started sinking, as this would have saved time...
2)Life raft. Also seems like a good idea. I can just float along on the raft in case I get tired of floudering with my life jacket.
3)Pen. Yes, I know, my priorities are weird,and this is impractical but it's bad enough that my boat sank, without my boat sinking and leaving me with no pen.Also think the pen is something I'd just grab automatically without thinking if my boat was sinking...
4)Grains, so I don't die of starvation.
5)Water, so I don't have to drink seawater, which probably would not be very good for me.

Also, I don't know how to work a compass,a navigation chart, or signal flares. So they really wouldn't be much use to me...though it looks like I could be in the middle of the sea for a while as I don't seem to have a way of attracting attention to myself...this is hard.I should probably swop the pen for the flares, but hey. I could be bobbing around in the water for ages. Need to keep myself sane, right? No paper though, so it looks like I'll have to write on my arms...oh well.
"Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise."
-Maya Angelou
  





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Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:16 am
Firearris says...



Life raft, freeze dried ice creamer, rope, knife, signal flares
[Griffinkeeper] 10:45 pm: The guard appears "We have weasels now!"
[Firearris] 10:45 pm: askes the guard for the weasel!
[Griffinkeeper] 10:45 pm: The guard gives Firearris the Weasel.
[Firearris] 10:46 pm: aquires the weasel and renames it "Cat"

Take that, Lumi.
  





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Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:46 pm
Sureal says...



Poltergeist: Dude, you've got the importance of water and food the wrong way round. We can live far longer without food than we can without water.

Jasmine: You can't drink salt water, as it'd just dehydrate you even more.


Anyways, I'd take:

1) Life raft - bit of a no-brainer, really.

2) Two days supply of water - cos being alive is cool. Don’t need any sort of food, cos you’ll die of thirst long before you do of hunger.

3) One-way Radio - may help you when there’s a nearby boat, so that you can use:

4) Singal Flares - so rescuers actually know you’re there and need rescuing.

5) Parachute - You may well manage to find a number of clever uses for this. At the very least, you can use it for warmth - don’t wanna freeze to death at night, do we?
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Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:32 pm
Jasmine Hart says...



Lol. Yes, I felt it would be bad for me alright! Good to know. Thanks Surreal :)
"Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise."
-Maya Angelou
  





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Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:28 pm
Rydia says...



1. Life raft - No explanation required.

2. Two day supply of water - Again, very obvious.

3. Signal flares - Worth a try and I'm sure I'd be able to work out how to use them.

4. Compass - Head North. If you have a heading, you feel more confident and it means you can keep going as long as you can stay awake so long as there's enough moonlight by which to read the compass.

5. Parachute - Use as a sail by day and a blanket by night.
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Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:02 pm
gyrfalcon says...



- Rope : a generally useful thing that always comes in handy
- Kitchen Knife : ditto
- Life raft : I like not freezing to death [i]and[i] having the opportunity to dry off
- Two day supply of water : I also enjoy not dying of thirst
- Signal Flares : better than a mirror for getting people's attention, I think. plus, I can always shoot them off in someone's face if they attack

note: no navigation chart, because I would have 1) no idea how to use it and 2) no way to get where it indicates because of the conspicuous lack of oars
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Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:06 pm
inkdragon says...



- Kitchen Knife...will come in handy if attacked by wild animals or ninjas or something.
- Life raft...how else am I going to find land?
- Two day supply of water...because the sea water is too salty.
- Week supply of grains...because I'm eventually going to get hungry.
- One-way Radio...to call for help.
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