Surprisingly unknown survival fact that everyone should know

1-Fritos (but really most potato chips) work well as fire starter in a pinch. So not only do you have a tasty snack, if it's raining, you can make fire pretty easy without have to try and find dry wood.

2-If you have a watch. (with hands and dial, not digital display) you can use it as a compass. Hold the watch flat, and point the hour hand at the sun. Half way between the hour hand and 12 o'clock points south. You use the shorter gap to 12. So if the hour hand is a 4, 2 would be south. If the hour hand is at 8, 10 would be south. There's a few problems such as night time, and when the sun is directly over head... 



3-If someone is pulling you, it is much more effective to push back against them than it is to pull in the opposite direction. Use their flow of force against them to try and make them stumble or fall. If they tug, maybe pretend to tug back, and wait for them to pull harder. Then force yourself forward in their direction as hard as possible-- they don't expect the weight to shift like that without a fight, and by overcompensating their force, they may fall backward.

4-If you hear of a mass shooting currently taking place in a location where a loved one is (like their workplace/school/church/the mall they said they were visiting/etc.), you may feel very, very tempted to call them. DON’T. If they’re alive, they’re hiding and trying to stay invisible. If their phone rings or even vibrates, it will draw attention to them, quite possibly that of the shooter(s), and give away their hiding space. Don’t try to contact them at all until you are certain that the perpetrator(s) have been stopped.

5- The safest floors in a hotel were 4 thru 7. Above the 4th floor is the safest zone from any kind of bomb or explosive that might be driven or tossed into a building and below the 7th floor gives you the best chance of survival from a fire. 

6-Always be wary of children that have “lost their parents” as it’s a common ruse for abduction, especially if the child tries to lead you somewhere. what you should do in those situations is keep the child with you and contact emergency services. It may be in your instincts to follow a lost child to where they claim they last saw their parents but it isn’t worth the risk. Let the authorities take care of it, if the child is lost, you’ll have helped them, if they aren’t, you’ve dodged a bullet. Always play it safe in situations like that.

7-If you are disorientated under water hold your hand over your mouth and exhale lightly, bubbles go up.

If you are disorientated on land you can let some spit dribble out, spit goes down.

8-The proper way to use a mirror to signal for help is to hold up one hand with a peace sign and position it so that whatever you are trying to signal can be seen between your fingers. Then shine the light from the mirror on your fingers. This guarantees that whatever you are signaling can see the light

9-If you are drinking plenty of water but still showing signs of dehydration (headache, fatigue, muscle aches, blurred vision, stumbling around), you may be low on electrolytes. Salty foods can really help with this, but oral rehydration salts such as Pedialyte work even better and should probably be in more people's backpacks.

10-Pack a whistle. There’s no chance your voice will hold out yelling at the top of your lungs, and whistles carry long distances. Especially handy if you’ve injured yourself, and need to rely on others finding you.

SOS in Morse code is ... - - - ...

So three short blasts, three longer ones, three short, pause....and repeat.

This is an especially handy and harmless device to give kids that are along for a hike (along with, “if you get separated, stop walking and blow the whistle lots, and we’ll come to you”).

11-If you are stuck with canned food but no can opener flip the can upside down and rub it back and forth on asphalt or concrete. While a can opener cuts through the lid, the retaining ring holding the lid on is actually quite thin and can be abraded in 30 seconds or less

12-If you’re walking and suspect someone is following you, pretend like you’re calling someone on the phone asking them their whereabouts, then face a direction your follower can’t see (Like the corner of a building ) and raise your hand and start waving it saying “Yes I see you, I’m over here”.

Your follower will think you’re meeting someone who’s around the corner and will go the other way.

13-If you’re about to pass out from being exposed to heat, pour cold water on your forearms. Ice works even better.

This is an old farmer trick. You will feel the effects immediately. You will stop being dizzy and feel better almost immediately.

These are pretty good. I hope you never have to use any of them but if you do you might remember the one you need.