Even if it’s a reality TV show about “survival challenges,” the skills you learn can also be the very things that put you in danger if you find yourself in a similar situation!
Starting a Fire in a Cave is Totally Harmless
Building a fire for warmth while taking shelter in caves or small rock crevices is a common trope in adventure movies. However, it would be a “fatal mistake” to believe and mimic this action in a similar situation!
Specifically, when we start a fire, the heat released can cause the damp, cold rocks in the cave ceiling to expand rapidly. In the worst-case scenario, a stone might crack and fall, posing a serious danger to you.
We Can Easily Survive in the Wild with Knowledge from Reality Shows
Even reality TV shows formatted as “survival challenges” have many staged elements. More importantly, the main characters are not alone; they have a support team ready to assist in dire situations. Therefore, even if you master all the survival knowledge taught in such programs, you should not think that you can live comfortably for a long time in the wild!
All Water Sources Are Safe When Boiled
In adventure movies, we often see that all water found is completely safe if boiled!
In reality, high temperatures can only kill microorganisms. However, many harmful chemicals or toxic elements (e.g., heavy metals) remain unaffected regardless of how long you boil the water.
Therefore, in such situations, it’s best to filter the water you find through a clean cloth, boil it, and then wait for the sediment to settle at the bottom before drinking.
If You Get Lost, Follow the Downstream of the River to Eventually Reach a Settlement
“Eventually” is the key point in this situation. The logic in these films is not wrong, as settlements are often located near rivers for easy access to water. The problem is how long you need to walk to get there, as it could take weeks if you’re unlucky.
Thus, the first rule when lost is to stay put; try to find ways to keep warm, ensure your safety, and wait for rescuers to arrive!
The First Thing to Do When Lost in the Desert is to Find Water
It cannot be denied that water is the most precious resource for us in the desert. However, this doesn’t mean it’s the first thing you should seek when lost in the sandy desert, as depicted in movies.
In this situation, the first thing we should do is to avoid the searing heat of the desert by sheltering under rocks or trees and only seek water or settlements after nightfall!
When Injured, Apply a Tight Bandage to Stop Bleeding
This scene is all too familiar, isn’t it? The main character gets shot in the arm, and their teammate tears cloth to bandage tightly, saving their life.
But the reality is not so rosy. If you bandage tightly enough to stop blood flow, you may also cut off circulation to that area. This could lead to the risk of necrosis and eventual amputation. In some cases, individuals have fainted due to excessive pressure buildup in other areas.
The method of tight bandaging should only be used in cases of very rapid bleeding. Additionally, after a while, it’s essential to loosen the bandage to allow blood circulation to nourish the injured part.
In the Desert, You Must Conserve Water Strenuously
This is true, but if you feel thirsty, you should also seek shade to replenish your fluids. If you stubbornly expose yourself to the sun and push your limits of thirst, you could suffer from heat shock, sunstroke, or even lose consciousness.
You Can Eat Raw Fish to Survive
Some movies mention the necessity of eating raw fish when stranded on a deserted island. This is not entirely incorrect, but only in cases where you have no other option, as the risks involved are significant.
Indeed, people do eat fresh seafood (like sushi in Japan), but the seafood consumed has been carefully inspected. In the wild, it’s entirely different. You cannot know whether the fish you caught contains harmful bacteria or parasites, and whether it could cause food poisoning.
Moreover, in survival situations, remember that you have no medicine and cannot go to a hospital. Allowing yourself to become ill is therefore a significant taboo.
To minimize risks, everything should be cooked over fire, except for fruits.
Removing Clothes and Cuddling for Warmth
Movies continue to provide viewers with unrealistic or incomplete knowledge. We often see when the female lead is cold, the male lead voluntarily removes their clothes to share body heat, and after a passionate night, the female lead miraculously recovers. While this theory is fundamentally correct, it lacks some crucial accompanying factors.
First, both individuals must use multiple layers to cover themselves, and most importantly, one of them must not be suffering from hypothermia or frostbite. If hypothermia has already set in, the best action is to get close to a fire and drink warm liquids rather than cuddle up, which could lead both to lose heat.
This misconception occurs so frequently that scientists have a term for it: “paradoxical undressing.” The term gained notoriety after scientists examined 33 cases of death from hypothermia between November and January 1979 in Sweden. The commonality among the victims was that they decided to undress at the last minute, which did not help but rather hastened their demise.
Drinking Water from Cactus Helps Reduce Dehydration
In Some Cases, Liquid from Cacti Can Even Cause Temporary Paralysis.
When watching survival movies set in the desert, we often encounter scenes where the main character drinks water from surrounding plants, primarily cacti. From this, we conclude that when dehydrated, it’s best to seek out a cactus. However, scientists warn that due to the high content of acids and alkaloids that the human digestive system struggles to process, the liquid from cacti can cause immediate nausea and diarrhea.
Both conditions lead to rapid dehydration, threatening your life. In some cases, the liquid from cacti can even cause temporary paralysis. If you find yourself stranded in the desert, be cautious with all water sources from plants!
Removing a Weapon from a Wound
Hollywood directors often depict the main character pulling a knife or sword out of their body right after being stabbed. While this action heightens the drama in the film, it misleads the audience about such situations.
Medical experts advise that if you are stabbed, keep the object in place and move to a hospital for timely medical intervention. If you remove it yourself, you may face excessive bleeding from the wound, as the sharp object acts as a valve preventing blood from flowing out.
Air Ducts Are One of the Easiest Ways to Break into Buildings
Surely, each of us has at least once seen “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” featuring our hero, the Mall Cop, played by Kevin James (in both films released in 2009 and 2015). However, there are scenes showing that despite his somewhat overweight physique, he can squeeze through the mall’s ventilation ducts.
In reality, the ventilation systems do not resemble what we commonly see in movies. In large buildings, the air conditioning and ventilation systems can be as expansive as in films, but they are filled with many obstacles like fans. Furthermore, their structure is not strong enough to allow adult men to move freely within them, meaning that if you were to navigate through them, you could fall at any moment.
Moreover, there is a lot of dust and debris inside the ducts, which can severely affect your respiratory system; therefore, you might not have the chance to come out if you were to curiously crawl in to see what it’s like.
You Can’t Run Faster Than a Massive Explosion
The scene of “running away from an explosion” is always one of the most striking highlights in any action movie. Heroes like James Bond and Jason Bourne are often portrayed as easily escaping deadly blasts.
In real life, explosions often involve explosives like TNT or C-4. Such materials cause an explosion when they combine with oxygen. Take C-4 as an example. When ignited by a detonator, it burns and releases a large volume of gas with tremendous force.
These gas waves engulf the surrounding space in an instant and explode; in a sufficiently powerful explosion, it can blow away people, trees, cars, and everything else in its path.
So, can you run faster than an explosion in real life? The answer is no! However, it may also depend on your distance from the explosion and your running speed. In the case of a C-4 explosion, gases are released at an astonishing speed of 26,400 feet per second (about 8 km/s), engulfing everything in their path. Therefore, if you are at a distance from explosions like the protagonists in action films, you certainly won’t be able to escape.
It Takes Just a Few Seconds to Take Someone Down with a Chloroform-soaked Rag
A chloroform-soaked rag is a common weapon used in Hollywood films, and its function is to render the target unconscious or incapacitate someone in a non-lethal manner.
A piece of cloth soaked in chloroform is placed over someone’s mouth, and they lose consciousness within seconds. In reality, however, the process works quite differently. Scientists estimate that it is nearly impossible to incapacitate someone this way.
In fact, chloroform can be used to knock someone out, but it would take at least five minutes of inhaling the substance directly from the cloth.
