How Long Would You Survive on a Deserted Island?

By: Elisabeth Henderson

6 Min Quiz

Image: Thomas Barwick / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Let’s admit it: our ancestors had a lot more know-how than we do. Most Americans rely entirely on the grocery store and restaurants for their food supply and hire a handyman when something breaks in the house or car. A few generations ago, most Americans would have known how to milk a cow, but these days a stunning 7% of Americans—16.4 million people—believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, according to the Washington Post. Needless to say, we’re a bit disconnected from our food sources.

How does our disconnection from where our food comes from and how our homes work translate into our potential to survive? If your only experience with finding food is choosing between brands, then it may be quite a challenge to forage for edible plants or trap animals in the wild. Likewise, if your home maintenance know-how consists of finding the handyman’s number, you may have trouble constructing a lean-to.

Maybe you’re not disconnected from the elements of survival, though. Maybe you’re the person who everyone wants close by when disaster strikes. If that’s you, then you know that surviving in the wild doesn’t happen by accident. Survival depends on cultivating the skills to find food and drinking water, construct shelter, and keep sane while nature unloads the unexpected on your vulnerable body.

Take this quiz to find out what you’re made of!

If you find yourself lost in the woods, what do you do?

Study the topography in relation to the sun and navigate my way out

Sit down and calm down, to try to orient myself
Run in the direction I guess I need to go

I’ve never been in the woods.

How would you construct a shelter if stranded on an island?

Harvest two saplings, lash branches together between the saplings and connect them to two trees to make a lean-to

Lean a bunch of branches against a trunk in a makeshift teepee
Find an area that is already covered and claim it

Put my hands over the top of my head

When the toilet breaks in your house, what do you do?

Draw on my knowledge of how toilets work to troubleshoot the problem

Watch videos online to try to learn how to fix the problem
Call a plumber and watch him fix it

Call a plumber and never think about it again

How familiar are you with what edible plants grow in your area?

I have experience harvesting and preparing most of them.

I had a grandmother who used to tell me about the uses of local plants, but I’ve forgotten most of them.
I’ve watched shows about people who use native plants to survive, but I’m not sure about the plants in my area.

I don’t think any of the local plants are edible. I certainly would not eat them.

If you do not have matches, how will you light a fire?

I use the bow drill method.

Rub some sticks together
I have a magnesium fire starter.

Keep looking for the matches

Why would you want to build a fire?

Fire is necessary for cooking, for warmth and to ward off animals.

To cook over and to stay warm
That’s what they always do on the survival shows.

Only if I’m cold

How do you feel about sleeping outside?

I love listening to the sounds of the nocturnal wild animals.

I would do it if I had to, but I would never choose to.
It looks kind of exciting when they do it on TV.

I would not sleep.

How long can a human survive without water?

It depends on the weather, their health and their activity level.

Two or three days
A week

One day?

How would you go about finding water on a deserted island?

Follow animal tracks

Look for damp spots on the ground and either follow them downhill or dig
Dig a hole until water fills it in

Just keep saying, “I’m so thirsty”

How would you find food on the deserted island?

Devise a hook and line and go fishing

Whittle down a spear and try to spear fish
Go foraging for berries

Look in my bag to see if I brought a granola bar or something

How comfortable are you with sleeping on the ground?

A bit of moss underneath and I feel like I’m at a five-star hotel.

I would get used to it after a few days.
I don’t think I would sleep well.

Sleep on the ground?

What does the prospect of being far from civilization bring to mind?

The world as it should be

Being stripped of all my security
Sounds like a movie

Being eaten by wild animals

How would you purify the water you find on the island?

Strain it through soil

Boil it
Drop in an iodine purifying tablet

If it looks clean, I’ll just drink it.

What is the most natural way you get your food?

I shoot it.

I have a vegetable garden.
I shop at natural food stores.

The fast food I eat is made from real chicken.

If you need bookshelves for your home, what do you do?

Gather supplies and build them myself

Buy a used set of bookshelves and refurbish them
Buy some and install them myself

Order some online along with someone to install them

How would you protect yourself against the sun on a deserted island?

Fashion a wide-brimmed hat out of palm branches

Stay in the shade
Sit in the water

I could use a tan.

What is a likely source of protein you could gather if stranded on an island?

Eggs in birds' nests

Bugs on trees
Small animals

See if anyone wants to share

If you were unable to find fresh water and you were getting dehydrated, what would you try?

Peeing into a cup and drinking it

Boiling ocean water to see if that helps
Drinking ocean water—it has to be better than nothing.

Drinking my tears

If it got cold at night and you were stranded without any provisions, how might you try to stay warm?

Pile leaves and debris on top of my body

Eat whatever rich food I can find before I go to sleep
Make a mat with branches and leaves to lay on top of

Curl up in a ball

What would you do to keep your mind occupied if you were stranded alone?

I have a library of memorized poems to go through.

I’d probably think back on my life and savor the memories.
I’d try to remember all of the survival shows I’ve ever seen.

I would likely just think about all the ways I could die.

If you fell into a narrow canyon and had your hand irretrievably stuck between a boulder and the wall, what would you do?

Cut my hand off, if I had a knife

Keep trying to move the boulder
Try to wiggle my hand out

Lay my face on my arm and hope that the tears lubricate the hand until it slides out

What kind of exercise do you do that may come in handy on an island?

Rock climbing

Swimming
Walking

Waiting

If you spot a ship in the distance, how might you get its attention?

Using a found metal object, send the SOS signal

Build a large fire
Call for help

Put a message in a bottle

What is the most extreme situation you have survived?

Being out in the wilderness for a week with no supplies but a knife

Car camping in a state park
A fishing trip with my father-in-law

A wedding with no drinks

Would it be better to be alone or with others if you were stranded?

Alone, because I would only have to care for myself

With others, because we could work together for food and shelter
With others, because we could commiserate about our plight

Alone, because it would be horrific enough without having to hear someone else complain about it

Which type of reality TV would you be most likely to watch?

I don’t watch TV; I just spend time outside.

DIY home improvement shows
Survival shows

Fashion shows

What is the most crucial ingredient to gather for building a fire?

Tinder

Kindling
Dry sticks

Matches

How might you use clothing to gather water?

Lay out a shirt to collect dew

Wring my sweat into my mouth
Dip my hat in the water to cool down

Use my hat like a cup

What would you do if a wild animal approached your shelter at night?

Try to spear it

Bang something together loudly or otherwise make loud noise
Stay very still and hope it won’t notice me

Scream

What should you be careful of when eating a lizard?

Cook it all the way so you don’t get salmonella.

Don’t get scratched by its claws.
Be careful not to choke on the tiny bones.

Be careful not to eat a lizard.

5 Minute Quiz 5 Min

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