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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Scarcity in crisis 

By Charlottesvillain at 11/27/2007 08:54:00 AM
There is an interesting link today on Survivalblog to a list of 100 items that disappear first in a crisis. I'm not sure what it is based on and assume it is speculation, but it is interesting nonetheless. I've reproduced enough of the list to get to toilet paper. If you're interested in anything beyond that, read the whole thing.

100 Items to Disappear First

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of
thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is
difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous
without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels

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7 Comments:

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 10:02:00 AM:

This looks like the same list that closet annihilatophile Glenn Reynolds posts every few months. More often if Imadinnerjacket is mouthing off more than usual.

Here's my favorite:

17. Survival Guide Book.

Since we presume the book covers the same items the list does, why do we need the list?

Just askin'!

What's particularly odd about the list is that it's not purported to be a list of "survival items", per se, but a list of the items that will be stolen first.

Someone's going to break into our house and steal my wife's feminine hygiene products?

Despite the ass-backwards name, it's obviously a 'survival list', but some of the items still strike me as odd:

7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.

Slingshots? You mean to thwart the angy mob trying to break down my door to steal my wife's feminine hygiene products?

And I love differentiating between "clubs" and "bats".

"Hi, may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to buy a club to beat people with."

"Hmm. We seem to be fresh out of clubs. How about a nice baseball bat?"

"That'll do just fine!"

And this is kind of odd:

28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)

Now why would they insist you have both metal and plastic gas containers? Metal gas cans are probably a hundred times more dangerous than plastic. They rust, split, corrode, taint the gas, and the caps usually leak if tipped over. Pretty weird, guys.

30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels

You would think, in a time of crisis so severe that a list like this would be called for, that making sure you had both TP and Kleenex is a bit excessive. I'm surprised "lipstick" and "Just For Men" hair coloring aren't on the list.

76. Reading glasses

Uh, with all due respect to the author, this item isn't on my "crisis" survival list -- it's on my DAILY survival list!

And, if we take it that this is actually a "list of survival items you shouldn't be without", don't forget:

100. Goats/chickens

Don't go to a crisis without them!  

By Blogger Mystery Meat, at Tue Nov 27, 10:06:00 AM:

A first-aid kit doesn't make the top 30?  

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 01:08:00 PM:

It is interesting that the toilet is in at No. 3 but the toilet paper doesn't make the list until number 30.
There are lots of wry comments I could make to this!  

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 06:09:00 PM:

I had thought that after the Y2K fiasco, there would be plenty of generators for sale at a cheap prices. I was wrong, people must have found them to be useful.

I considered before building my house in 2001 to have a diesel generator hard wired into my house with an automatic cut over. It would draw fuel from my 500 gallon heating fuel tank. I didn't do it, but wish I did. We don't mind the short outages out here in the sicks, but when some drunk or more likely a cell phone user takes down a pole, the outage time can be dreadful.  

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 09:05:00 PM:

It definitely looks like "most useful things" rather than "runout first things".

I mean can-openers? Frypans? These things need to be replaced once every decade or so. I imagine you could have a 15 year disaster and things would be back to normal before your frypan wore out. (You might have to live with a damaged non-stick coating for a while though.)

I've been through a few "loss of power and water supply for weeks" type crises. And I'd have gas canisters, tarpaulins, rope and over-the-counter medicines as the top items.  

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 09:15:00 PM:

Several of my buddies in tornado alley rebuilt their houses with tornado shelters and built in generators. They are really happy with them.

The slingshot is not for the mobs, it is for bunnies and such. That is if you don't mind eating the alternative chicken.  

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Tue Nov 27, 10:40:00 PM:

I submit that if you have enough of #7, you don't need to stock up on the rest.  

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