Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Civilization is about 72 hrs...

Getting back to the original post... Does anyone else remember the guy on TV news during the early hours of the Katrina debacle, who had written a well-circulated paper or book on the concept that we are only 7 meals from anarchy.

Breakfast-lunch-dinner-breakfast-lunch-dinner-breakfast-riots.

It played out exactly as timetabled in NO. Less than 72 hours, as it happens. An army marches on its stomach, and so apparently does a mob.

If "bugger-outers" would just read "The Road", they might understand there won't be a happy ending.

Most of the "stay-putters" won't have a happy ending either.

There would be a lot of hungry, desperate people running loose for a while.

Hope we never see it.

Sycamore

Cash will replace some of these items like T-Paper folks will be wipeing there b hind with twenties cattail fluff and rags will replace alot of the other stuff. enough EMP will stoip computers and everything dependant on computers. going back to the 1400's is not so bad but how many people now can smelt copper or forge Iron or steel? a lot of refined metal will be around to salvage but figuring out how to rifle a barrel with out the Machine tools we use and depend on will be a problem, people with the knowledge to refine chemicals to make Medicines and even propellant powder will be scarce at best, Yes I know black powder is easy who know how to refine saltpeter? or sulfer? lets see a hundred pounds of Black Powder would require seventy or so pounds of saltpeter and twenty pounds of sulfer. Plus locateing the flints makeing springs ect. It took many generations of handed down knowledge before the first gun lock was made. The western discovery of Gun Powder was an accident, made by a German Monk trying to find an antidote for deamonic possesion. Then it took another century to make a matchlock hand gonne. Research Bertholm Black, ( The monk who discovered black powder) that was in around 1150, the oldest known firearms (Hand Gonnes ) have been carbon dated to 1250. They were just a closed ended pipe with a small touch hole in the closed end you dumped in powder and then stuffed a dart or rock in on top. then a burning twig in the touch hole after pointing the open end towards the Target

people don't have to actually get hungry to lose the veneer of civilization, they just have to get really really scared

and for those with criminal inclinations, all it takes is the absence of visible authority to trigger a return to their worst animal instincts

for the others, it takes a little longer, but not much

Doc,

interesting idea, quick search showed a couple of references, 4 meals and 9 meals from anarchy.

can't find a real article, but a lot of people are talking about it.

Makes you think about the Mormons and their 1-2 year supply of food.

They will be well positioned, if push came to shove. They also have a social system and hierarchy outside the civil system. This helps them work co-operatively.

Sycamore

these fine citizens, looting the Walgreens on St.Charles avenue about 24 hours after the wind quit blowing, are not hungry, they are not in a flooded area, and they are not stealing food.....whiskey, beer, cigarettes and electronics seemed to be the most popular items.

They had a grand old time at Office Depot next door getting their emergency big screens, video monitors, and computers, too.



some folks need po-leeses around all the time

true that!

Co-operation will be necessary. In "One Second After", skills such as electrical, phone service, steam engineering, food preservation in the absences of refrigeration, homopathic training, making of clothes and such and most importantly leadership skills and ability to make good decisions quickly with critical thinking skills. Military training and an understanding of human nature and willingness to accept what ones sees rather than rationalizing the obvious......Key.

I encourage all to read this book...you will not be disappointed.

I've already seen it in a movie

Which one is Screech?

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle is still the most fasinating look at a world-wide catastropic event and the survival of the aftermath.

Pretty much every scenerio is played out and it does have a positive conclusion.

The first 100+ pages revolve around setting up the huge cast of characters but it is definatley worth the read. Very thought provoking.

Screech has the year supply of food. Nice to have Mormons, at least she is for neighbors. Scruffy would die within a week without his cigs..Problem with their year supply of food is that the 50 cats pizzed all over it.