Have you ever thought about what you would do if you got lost in the woods? Or if you ever got stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere? The average American has thought about this, as they usually believe they would survive 16 days alone in the wilderness. When it comes to emergencies like blackouts or natural disasters, only 54% of Americans say they have made emergency preparations at home.
If you’re a fan of shows like Survivor or films like Twisters, you probably think you’ve got some knowledge. But folks online would like to break it to you: some Hollywood films get stuff about survival very wrong sometimes. One netizen even asked others to share the most common survival myths that people believe because of movies. It turns out, instead of saving our lives, some of them can be outright dangerous!
#1
Walking anywhere if you’re lost in the wilderness. As long as someone knows where you should be and when you should have been back, stay put so rescuers can find you.
© Photo: Inspiringhope11
#2
Getting shipwrecked on an island then building a ‘boat’ and leaving the island to find civilization. There are way too many things that ca hurt you in the water and you are so much harder for rescue personnel to see. Always stay on the island.
© Photo: Key_Software_4147
#3
Pulling out the bullet. They do it in all the movies. It’s a stupid intervention that has no indication and can just do more harm.
Source : ER doctor.
© Photo: sadcheeseballs
#4
You do not need to wait 24hrs to report a missing person. If you think someone is missing report it as such. The faster a missing person report is filed the greater the chance the person will be found.
© Photo: Accurate-Bus-4149
#5
Drinking alcohol warms you. In reality it cause a rush of warm blood to the surface making you feel warm but lowering your core temperature.
© Photo: tomahawkfury13
#6
If an animal eats it, you can eat it. Terrible advice.
© Photo: Ty34er
#7
Drinking your own urine will not help you. In fact, it will make you more dehydrated as urine contains salts and minerals your body purges.
© Photo: wheresmychin
#8
Jumping into water will save you from a fall.
If you’re falling from huge heights with speed into flat water it’s like falling on concrete.
© Photo: LostAndNo
#9
If you ever find yourself in snake country, make as much noise as possible. Most people want to avoid snakes so stay quiet, but they are more scared of you than you are of them. Talk loudly, stomp, but obviously keep an eye and ear out for any fellas who don’t want you to be there.
© Photo: New-Fuel-2398
#10
Suck Venom from Snakebites: Venom enters the bloodstream too fast, and sucking it introduces bacteria, worsening the wound.
Eat Snow for Hydration: Eating snow lowers core body temperature, risking hypothermia; melt it first.
Rub Frostbite: Rubbing causes ice crystals to break tissues, leading to more damage.
Follow Moss for Direction: Moss grows where it’s damp, not just north, leading you astray.
Narrow River Crossings: Narrower spots often have faster, deeper water; wider, shallower areas are safer.
Drowning Victims Flail & Yell: Real drowning victims often go silent as their bodies prioritize breathing over speech.
Warm Animal Carcass: In a blizzard, a carcass quickly gets wet and cold, and cleaning it is difficult and time-consuming. .
© Photo: freakingstine
#11
This may be a myth in of itself but never wear black when trying to hide at night. It’s something I learned in the military but it was recommended to use a darker Grey or Brown. Since black is the absence of light it would silhouette you in low light conditions like full moons.
© Photo: Elegant_Skin3536
#12
Hiding under a bridge during a tornado. Reality is the underpass will act as a funnel, increasing the wind speed. Better to find a low spot or drainage ditch and lie down on the ground, protecting your head from flying debris.
© Photo: atomicsnarl
#13
Running away from an alligator in a zigzag. You’ll just give it a better chance to catch you. Run straight; they’re fast over short distances, but not for long.
© Photo: twobirds1984
#14
It’s not a pack of wolves that’ll get ya…..a moose on the other hand…
© Photo: Chumlee1917
#15
Hmm, a lot of movies and tv shows I see feature characters successfully challenging or fighting off a mugger. Just give them the wallet. General self-defense in order to build confidence and get some key moves under your belt in a dire situation is a good idea, but it doesn’t matter if you’re Tyson is his prime, street violence is very different from structured self-defense classes.
© Photo: MaryDoogan91
#16
Most cars will not stop bullets unless you are behind the engine block or maybe a tire and even that is hit or miss.
© Photo: Primary_Sandwich
#17
If you get hit on the head and knocked unconscious, you don’t just wake up a couple of minutes later and everything’s fine.
© Photo: PixieBaronicsi
#18
Unless you are very lost very far from civilization…eating dubious food. This is popularized by *Man Vs. Wild* and similar.
Over the course of a few days, which you should have some packed food for anyway, you don’t *need* to eat. You won’t be happy but as long as you can get water, you’re okay. It’s not worth eating anything that might make you sick. .
© Photo: NotAnotherEmpire
#19
That you can just go out to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the woods and actually survive more than a few days without Getting dehydrated, starving, freezing, getting eaten, etc and ETC by yourself. You gotta plan, pack and actually KNOW how to survive out there if you’re gonna be alone or even with someone. Being that deep in the woods by yourself, is not like camping.. I mean yes you can get a tent and all that, but again you still gotta know what to do if you don’t have any of that stuff on you or you didn’t even bring anything or if anything gets wet or something.
© Photo: gomickyourself222
#20
Running down hill while a bear is chasing you will not make the bear stumble and fall. Most likely you will fall and become easier prey.
© Photo: MizTheWitWiz
#21
Here’s one: I’m an ex military sailor. We were instructed unequivocally *Do not put on a lifejacket while within a vessel that is travelling over or within water.* Vessel sinks, you’re inside with lifejacket on, water inside activates self inflation and you’re pushed against the deck head/ceiling because of pressure. You can’t deflate it, and you can’t take it off because of air and water pressure.
So every time I see a movie with sailors wearing life jackets below decks, I cringe. I also cringe when I see in flight attendants instruct every passenger to put on their life vest over their neck before exiting a sinking aircraft, if they have to ditch over water. Seawater in a plane and you have that thing on? You better hope the aircraft’s flotation is in working order or you’ll drown with your face pressed against the ceiling. Jump in the water with your life vest inflated? You will break your neck.
None of these things are explained and should be.
© Photo: DwarneOfDragonhold
#22
Food.
In general people misunderstand how little food there is around them. I once heard the statistic that every city in America has about 4 days worth of food in all of the grocery stores, home kitchens, restaurants, etc. I’ve worked in two grocery stores and have seen how fast shelves get emptied and how many semi-trucks arrive daily to restock. Some of the supplies on semi-trucks for basic food items come from 5,000 miles away.
People also misunderstand how much food they need to eat in a year to survive. It’s about two thousand pounds for a 200lb human. Just one.
Ultimately in survival situations, starvation and violence to avoid starvation are big concerns.
© Photo: Artificial-Human
#23
Trying to defend yourself against an armed assailant.
Running away is your best option by far.
© Photo: dntdrmit
#24
Former SAR guy here. If you’re lost stay put. We always said “hug a tree”. It’s much easier to locate a stationary target. Carry a charge pack for your phone. People always wait until the last minute to call for help then when it gets dark they use their phone flashlight and use up their battery. We need your phone to be working so we can get feedback on the search or coach you to get your gps coordinates.
© Photo: Reasonable_Ear3773
#25
Not necessarily from the movies, but a popular survival myth that is perpetuated by anti-seatbelt activists is that if you don’t wear a seatbelt you have a better chance of survival being thrown clear of the wreckage rather than being trapped in it, apparently it’s how their third cousin or friend-of-a-friend survived a crash they were in 🥴.
© Photo: Professional-Kiwi176
#26
If your house gets broken into and you have a gun or weapon. you are not brave heart. Call the cops and hide or get somewhere with cover. Keep the advantages you have which are knowing the layout and more than likely higher ground. Be on the defense not offense.
#27
Not a pure survival myth but something like it, but stepping on mines and not lifting your foot most of the time they will instantly detonate or will have a slight delay before exploding .
© Photo: Original-Pound-2804
#28
Closest I can think of is brace yourself if you are about to get in a accident. Try to go limp, you’re more likely to walk away with minor injuries if you go limp. That’s how drunk drivers survive crashes.
© Photo: Ok-Brick-5206
#29
Sleeping in trees guarantees safety…
No, big cats climb trees, snakes live in trees, and even monkeys are carnivores…
What you need is solid shelter, whether on the ground or in the trees; simply being in the trees doesn’t guarantee anything, even a mosquito can k**l you in a forest.
© Photo: SalazarElite
#30
Have taught self defense for years. Most of the c**p they sell is worthless is a real attack situation. Your best bet is prevention, not reaction. Paying attention and being able to say “no.”.
#31
Any time you see a character say “haven’t we crossed this stream before?” they are being supremely stupid. (I’m looking at you, Blair Witch Project). You do not *cross* streams. You *follow* streams. (Downstream)
Practically all human habitation is build in proximity to water. Streams lead to rivers. Rivers lead to lakes and oceans. Follow a waterway downstream, you are *guaranteed* to find civilization. This is true on every continent that has unfrozen water.
#32
This is the truth. If you have to forage for food, avoid mushrooms entirely. Odds are so slim you will find an edible kind that you’re much better off looking for things like nuts, seeds, and berries.
© Photo: Dull_Try_5245
#33
If you’re cold do not take your clothes off and huddle together “for warmth”. Huddle together sure, but taking your clothes releases your body heat.
© Photo: CaptainFartHole
#34
That you can put a tourniquet on a bad wound and then carry on almost normal.
In reality the pain will be excruciating and you are pretty likely to pass out or be incapacitated for a bit. If the wound wasn’t that bad, you wouldn’t need a tourniquet.
It’s supposed to hurt, that’s a good sign you did it correctly. But it ain’t gonna be a “oh! Ow, okay I’m good” kinda pain.
If it was like your leg or thigh, you ain’t walking outta the jungle chief. If it was your arm, you ain’t using that arm no more till you get proper medical attention.
If it was an area you can’t put a tourniquet on, you’re probably gonna die unless you know what to do and have supplies to do it and a hospital in a reasonable distance. If you CAN apply a tourniquet and don’t get help within 2 hours you’re seriously risking permanent nerve damage as well as upping your chances of death. You’re *suppose* to get medical attention within 2 hours. Longer than that you’re playing it risky. Longer than 6 hours and whatever limb has the tourniquet is likely getting amputated.
#35
A lot of movies get this wrong: wolves are massive. They are not dog sized. They can fit your whole head in their mouth. You are not winning a 1v1 with a lion sized hangry dog, much less versus a pack of them.
#36
“There’s water stored in cacti”.
Well, kinda but in all but maybe 2 or 3 species it’s toxic.
#37
Burning wounds to seal them.
Now, you have a burn AND a wound to care for, and will be lucky af if you don’t get several infections. If you’ve lost a part, chances are you’ll pass out from shock, and then have that to deal with as well. Pressure and bandages first.
#38
Climbing trees to get away from bears. Bears absolutely can and will climb trees.
#39
Making someone vomit if they swallowed poison.
If it’s caustic, it will just burn their esophagus a second time on the way out. They should be given something to neutralize the toxin first, such as dilution with oral fluids and depending on the swallowed toxin sometimes activated charcoal to soak up the poison so it can be excreted safely.
#40
Going as deep as you can into a dark, never before discovered cave and crawl as far through every tight crevice you can to get away and hide. Caves are safe, nothing will collapse on you nor will you get potentially stuck forever. You will find a perfect roomy hiding spot.
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