which apocalyptic senario do you fear the worst?

[Zephyrs]

A pandemic that results in the undead rising.
By far the worst as the undead attack and spread the virus.

Luckily I am already prepared

[Moristans]

Piss will keep you alive a bit longer.

Yeah, but dehydration accelerates water reabsorbtion from your urine. You'd have to start drinking your piss as soon as you run out of water or you'll be drinking concentrated urea. Not sure how much time that buys you.

[Grunldesnapp]

Im with Zeph, have the books. Zombies are the one thing that freaks me out. With a super bug or collapse of civilization ill just fade into the woods back home.

[Jakensama]

Pandemics, we've been there done that many times in human history.

I'd have to check, but other than HIV/AIDS, I'm not sure if there has been a true pandemic that has ripped through a population of 6 billion people. I'm not sure that there has ever been a highly contagious pandemic that's ripped through a population of 6 billion people

Black death killed over half of Europe, but at the time there were only about 400 million people on Earth.

[Moristans]

True dat, and it started in Asia, taking like 20 years to get to Europe by caravan.

Imagine something like that today?

/shiver

[Slamz]

I think plague pandemics are a lot less likely today. Human hygiene has come a long way, as has our ability to deal with pests that would carry it plus our ability to analyze the disease and come up with a cure or treatment for it.

Some new untreatable disease is still possible (e.g., an AIDS virus that can live for 7 days while flying through the air) but I see it as a lot less likely than it used to be.

[Hoofhurr]

Piss will keep you alive a bit longer.

Yeah, but dehydration accelerates water reabsorbtion from your urine. You'd have to start drinking your piss as soon as you run out of water or you'll be drinking concentrated urea. Not sure how much time that buys you.

Agreed. I watch a lot of survival shows and have read a few RL accounts of ship wrecks etc. If you can drink your piss it'll save you for a little while longer in the absence of any alternative. I'm thinking maybe one bladder full before the concentration of urea in your piss does more harm than good.

[Hoofhurr]

I think plague pandemics are a lot less likely today. Human hygiene has come a long way, as has our ability to deal with pests that would carry it plus our ability to analyze the disease and come up with a cure or treatment for it.

Some new untreatable disease is still possible (e.g., an AIDS virus that can live for 7 days while flying through the air) but I see it as a lot less likely than it used to be.

True but we are trapping ourselves in the mindset that this end time event would take the form of a singular event and most likely it will be a series of events. Hygiene is a lot harder to maintain in the absence of potable and running water and a collapsed civilization. Viral/bacterial pandemics would be a lethal follow up catastrophe.

[Jakensama]

Which is awesome, that way you can prolong your agonizing demise AND have urine breath.

[Hoofhurr]

Hey chances are any hotchicks that you are stranded with will also have urine breath so it shouldn't hamstring your "A" game any bro; don't sweat it (drink it). Oh I'm clever.

[Moristans]

I think plague pandemics are a lot less likely today. Human hygiene has come a long way, as has our ability to deal with pests that would carry it plus our ability to analyze the disease and come up with a cure or treatment for it.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...203204.htm

Hospitalizations related to a potentially deadly, antibiotic-resistant “superbug” more than doubled between 1999 and 2005, soaring from 127,000 to nearly 280,000, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Florida researcher.

Ironically, Human hygiene might ultimately be the cause of the next pandemic. Eventually, we are going to run out of ways or resources to keep re-making Penicillin so that bacterial strains aren't resistant to anti-biotics.

Or, alternatively, viruses mutate. That's the nature of viruses. Eventually one will mutate into something that will be a pandemic.

[Diggles]

Piss will keep you alive a bit longer.

Yeah, but dehydration accelerates water reabsorbtion from your urine. You'd have to start drinking your piss as soon as you run out of water or you'll be drinking concentrated urea. Not sure how much time that buys you.

Agreed. I watch a lot of survival shows and have read a few RL accounts of ship wrecks etc. If you can drink your piss it'll save you for a little while longer in the absence of any alternative. I'm thinking maybe one bladder full before the concentration of urea in your piss does more harm than good.

I'd rather fashion rain catchers and solar stills than drink my own piss. You should have at least 3 gallons of water onhand in the case of an emergency, those should hopefully keep you going long enough til it rains once that you can refill them.

[Moristans]

Agreed. I watch a lot of survival shows and have read a few RL accounts of ship wrecks etc. If you can drink your piss it'll save you for a little while longer in the absence of any alternative. I'm thinking maybe one bladder full before the concentration of urea in your piss does more harm than good.

Hey, maybe you could drink your piss before you run out of water? You could make sort of a piss/pure water cocktail. You'd just be cycling your fluid from water into piss, and back again, keeping you alive long eough to find a new water source.

Hmmm.

[Moristans]

I'd rather fashion rain catchers and solar stills than drink my own piss.

I'd rather eat filet mignon than roasted cockroaches. Sometimes, in an apocalypse, you just don't have a choice. :cry:

[Thudz]

I'd rather fashion rain catchers and solar stills than drink my own piss.

I'd rather eat filet mignon than roasted cockroaches. Sometimes, in an apocalypse, you just don't have a choice. :cry:

I'll eat a person before I eat a cockroach.

[Moristans]

/scoots away from Thudz

[Hoofhurr]

LOL. I feel really really bad for the closest stranger to Thudz when the world ends.

"Oh god I'm so glad I found someone else alive."

"Yes, yes, so am I. Won't you come in? Dinner just arrived and I'm sure you're as edible, I mean, starving as we are."

[Zouji]

LOL. I feel really really bad for the closest stranger to Thudz when the world ends.

"Oh god I'm so glad I found someone else alive."

"Yes, yes, so am I. Won't you come in? Dinner just arrived and I'm sure you're as edible, I mean, starving as we are."

Well as long as you don't eat their brain then you shouldn't contract any horrible diseases so long as they are properly prepared and cooked thoroughly. So don't eat brains, bone marrow, spinal fluid, or any small intestines and hopefully you won't catch a horrible brain disease.
http://scienceline.org/2008/01/21/ask-stern-cannibal/



My biggest fear would be a sudden drastic shift in the tectonic plates. Possible brought about by the reduction in overall mass of the polar ice caps. That would completely change most of the land all over the world. As far as I have learned the earth crust floats on a layer of magma so a reduction in weight drastically in one or two areas might cause drastic changes in the position of tectonic plates.

I'm not a geologist though so I have no clue if this could happen. I know that some have said that they can shift fairly rapidly and have done so in the past. How long said shift took is a matter of some debate. Even if it took 1000-10,000 years for a rapid plate shift there might be a lot of spurts of sudden movement which would cause massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. But again no one really knows since Geology and plate movements are not fully understood. Here is a nice article though on plate tectonics.
http://eands.caltech.edu/articles/LXVI/tectonics.html

Another big disaster could occur if the polarity of the earth changes. Meaning on a compass north would point to the South Pole. On a compass south would point to the North Pole. This is supposedly supposed to happen in 2012. I have been doing some reading and the North Pole position has been wandering around.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/..._pole.html

This does not mean that the poles will reverse. Scientists have no clue as to when that will happen next.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ea...40407.html
No one knows how electronics, satellites, telecommunication, and even bird migration might be affected if that happens. But, scientists say that if it does reverse it will probably take 5000-10,000 years for the poles to completely flip polarities depending on if you are measuring polarity at the equator or at one of the poles.

Another big disaster that could happen soon has already been mentioned and that is the super volcano at yellow stone park. When it erupts it could cover all of North America with up to 3 feet of ash.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/0...lcano.html


But in any disaster listed even if it is a Zombie uprising, I believe humanity will survive. Hell as far as I know zombies can't tunnel underground. All you need would be to have a geothermal, nuclear, (fusion or fission), or other form of making energy and then you would be fine. You could make green house lights for growing plants. Or you could even cultivate various forms of fungi to live on since most of them need no light to grow.

[Diggles]

LOL. I feel really really bad for the closest stranger to Thudz when the world ends.

"Oh god I'm so glad I found someone else alive."

"Yes, yes, so am I. Won't you come in? Dinner just arrived and I'm sure you're as edible, I mean, starving as we are."

Well as long as you don't eat their brain then you shouldn't contract any horrible diseases so long as they are properly prepared and cooked thoroughly. So don't eat brains, bone marrow, spinal fluid, or any small intestines and hopefully you won't catch a horrible brain disease.
http://scienceline.org/2008/01/21/ask-stern-cannibal/



My biggest fear would be a sudden drastic shift in the tectonic plates. Possible brought about by the reduction in overall mass of the polar ice caps. That would completely change most of the land all over the world. As far as I have learned the earth crust floats on a layer of magma so a reduction in weight drastically in one or two areas might cause drastic changes in the position of tectonic plates.

I'm not a geologist though so I have no clue if this could happen. I know that some have said that they can shift fairly rapidly and have done so in the past. How long said shift took is a matter of some debate. Even if it took 1000-10,000 years for a rapid plate shift there might be a lot of spurts of sudden movement which would cause massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. But again no one really knows since Geology and plate movements are not fully understood. Here is a nice article though on plate tectonics.
http://eands.caltech.edu/articles/LXVI/tectonics.html

Another big disaster could occur if the polarity of the earth changes. Meaning on a compass north would point to the South Pole. On a compass south would point to the North Pole. This is supposedly supposed to happen in 2012. I have been doing some reading and the North Pole position has been wandering around.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/..._pole.html

This does not mean that the poles will reverse. Scientists have no clue as to when that will happen next.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ea...40407.html
No one knows how electronics, satellites, telecommunication, and even bird migration might be affected if that happens. But, scientists say that if it does reverse it will probably take 5000-10,000 years for the poles to completely flip polarities depending on if you are measuring polarity at the equator or at one of the poles.

Another big disaster that could happen soon has already been mentioned and that is the super volcano at yellow stone park. When it erupts it could cover all of North America with up to 3 feet of ash.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/0...lcano.html


But in any disaster listed even if it is a Zombie uprising, I believe humanity will survive. Hell as far as I know zombies can't tunnel underground. All you need would be to have a geothermal, nuclear, (fusion or fission), or other form of making energy and then you would be fine. You could make green house lights for growing plants. Or you could even cultivate various forms of fungi to live on since most of them need no light to grow.

I've seen the special on poles shifting, which we're overdue for..and would completely fuck us....its probably already happening. The earths magnetic field will basically collapse during a shift, leaving us vunerable to cosmic & solar radiation, render most electronics useless.

A sudden change in plate techtonics is an oxymoron, as they're slow as hell.

[Kakarat]

Piss will keep you alive a bit longer.

Yeah, but dehydration accelerates water reabsorbtion from your urine. You'd have to start drinking your piss as soon as you run out of water or you'll be drinking concentrated urea. Not sure how much time that buys you.

Agreed. I watch a lot of survival shows and have read a few RL accounts of ship wrecks etc. If you can drink your piss it'll save you for a little while longer in the absence of any alternative. I'm thinking maybe one bladder full before the concentration of urea in your piss does more harm than good.

I'd rather fashion rain catchers and solar stills than drink my own piss. You should have at least 3 gallons of water onhand in the case of an emergency, those should hopefully keep you going long enough til it rains once that you can refill them.

Every home has a 'hot water' tank. If the power goes out, and there is no pressure for your taps, there is always a valve to empty the 'hot water' tank, which of course is clean, drinkable water. The water in the toilet tank is also drinkable, I personally wouldn't touch the water in the bowl unless absolutely necessary. As far as relief, I would dig a hole in the back yard and to my business there.

As far as Trotts idea with the BBQ. Last summer I cooked my meals twice a day for a good month and half on a 20lbs bottle of propane.

I try not to think about the most possible worst thing that could happen in this world. I try to think about the positive things. I'm going to try to flip this thread to ask, What is your best idea that could happen to this world?

I am going to go with one of the Slider's scenarios. There is an epidemic to man not women and wipes out everyone but 'the purge'(immunity) men are wiped out. So there is about 60 men to make mankind survive.
In that one particular episode, there was one man who had 60 partners in a day. He had the record

[Diggles]

Constitutional amendment for balanced federal budget, dissolution of personal income tax and lowering of business taxes

Phase out plan for medicare, personal op out options for social security

Term limits on US representatives, barring any kind of professional politicians.

Dissolution of Department of Education, dissolution of all de-segregation programs, end of 'self-esteem' teaching, mandatory flunking of under achievers in elementary school, 2 strikes your in labor/prison camp for juveniles in high school, mandatory peer review for teachers, immediate end of bonus pay for education past bachelors degree for teachers - investigate merit based pay.

dissolution of war on drugs, Legalization/regulation/taxation of Marijuana and hemp industries, immediate research grants on medical marijuana, drinking age lowered to 19

1 strike you're out for DUI drivers (mandatory jail time and loss of license for up to 5 years)

10 year limit on appeals for 'life sentences'...they all become capital punishment

mandatory death sentence for theft/fraud over 10million dollars, increase punishment on white collar crimes 5 fold

Mandatory physical punishment for any/all theft crimes (ie..public flogging)

Lemme know if I left anything out!

[Hoofhurr]

Pole shifts still take thousands of years.

[Ulfen]

Mine shifts much more often.

[Zouji]

Hmmm best possible scenario would be an end to war on Earth by uniting into one global government and expanding into space for colonization of the solar system and then the rest of the galaxy.

Good Global health care, an end to world hunger, and the eradication of most major viruses and bacterial infections.

With all of these you would also have to have a cap on the amount of children each family can have. I say people must pass a test to prove they are good parents, have a solid income, and will actually raise the kids themselves (not let T.V. do it for them) in order to have children. Parents must also have a solid genetic background to eliminate genetic predispositions to diseases or else have in vitro fertilization of another genetic donor to rule out these bad genes. They may also be allowed to have a surrogate mother/father to birth the child and then the licensed parents may raise it from there. People with good genes will be allowed to have a high paying state job as professional breeders to birth kids to the licensed parents.

Medical research will be payed for by the global government for the benefit of treating and eliminating diseases, injuries, and/or defects for the betterment of all mankind.

Various groups of people will be relocated to other regions if they live in or around a highly inhospitable area or a vital natural area. Such as the deserts, rain forests, swamps etc. This will allow for these people to live better and easier lives elsewhere and it will preserve these ecosystems for further scientific study to determine if any useful knowledge may be learned from said ecosystem.

With an end to war across the world, the various arms industries can turn to air/space aviation technology and research to help with the colonization of our solar system and galaxy.

Fusion technology will be perfected for use on earth and anti-matter reactors will be perfected for space travel. Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal etc technologies will also be perfected.

With all of these things the standard of living across the world will increase. With the reduction in population and movement of people from inhospitable areas, jobs will be available for everyone in the planet. Those that choose not to work may stay at small government apartments designed to house these people and they would be given the basic necessities to live. They will not be allowed any luxuries (T.V., books, etc) unless it is material designed for them to attain a job in the workplace.

Everyone will be given free school teaching focusing on all the basics (reading, writing, math) and then job specialization training for the areas they are best suited for or that they want to work in. Anyone with any handicap or disability will be given personal one to one training to help them learn and find a specialized job in the workforce that they can perform.

All violent crimes will be punished by mental rehabilitation where the subject is broken and then forced to have a different non-violent personality. If this does not work then the subject will be executed immediately.

Non-violent crimes will be punished by reduction of wages until all damages to all parties have been repaid by the offender. Repeat offenses will be dealt with as if they were a violent criminal.

Public matchmaking services will be available along with psychological and sexual preferences screening in order to provide a list of possible mates that might be best suited to one another.

Sexual transmitted diseases will be fully eliminated so people will be able to have recreational sex without fear of catching an std. Drugs will be legalized, monitored, made to be of good quality, and sold by the global government. Addicts will be forcefully placed in rehabilitation programs. Repeat addicts will be treated as violent criminals.

All regions will be able to have there own laws and regulations. They will also be able to elect all of there own officials without any interference from the global government. Anyone that has problems with a regions laws will be able to relocate to a region best suited for them for free and given housing and a job there. If a person has problems with their region and refuses to move to a new region then that person will still be subjected to that regions laws and punishments. Virtually any law may be passed in a region, so long as people may move from that region at anytime before or after that law goes in effect. Slavery either in the ancient form or in the sex slave market will be prohibited. Anyone who is involved in the sex slave market (except the slaves) will be publicly raped until death. Anyone who is involved in the regular slave market (except the slaves) will be publicly flogged until death.



That's all I can think of for now.

[Jakensama]

Public matchmaking services will be available.

They already are available, its called 'a bar'.