As modern human beings, we take so many things
for granted. Good food, clean water, shopping, healthcare,
time in front of the TV, trips to the movies, sporting events, a good night's sleep…the
list goes on. But what if you woke up tomorrow and all this
was gone? No more convenience, no more fun, and having
to fend for yourself when life gets tough. Well that’s exactly what we’re going to
be exploring today. We’ll be seeking advice from military experts,
survivalists, and researching stories in the media. Welcome to this episode of the Infographics
show: How Could You Survive If You Were Stranded On An Island? If you found yourself stranded on an island,
you’d quickly need to forget about life’s luxuries and instead knuckle down and focus
on the essentials for staying a live. So let’s start by looking at what those
essentials are. Ross Boyer was the survival consultant on
the 2014 Bear Grills show, The Island, where women and men were stripped of their luxuries
of 21st century living and left for up to 6 weeks, as part of an experiment to see if
they would recapture their primeval instincts. What are some of the key survival tips they
were told to adopt? Three is the magic number - Three seconds
before taking any action. Three hours is longest time you should take
to establish your base. And don’t forget that you can last up to
three days without water and three weeks without food. 2. Beware of the beach - The sand will be scorching,
and will be the driest part of the island, so you will dehydrate very quickly. There are also Sand flies, which have ferocious
bites that can get infected. And watch out for dangerous and unpredictable
tides and wave patterns. 3. What about food? – Well nearly all islands will have jungle
areas, and if you know what you are looking for, the jungle can offer enough food to survive. However, there are also things to be wary
of. Avoid plants with white or yellow berries. Don't eat mushrooms, as many are highly toxic,
so it's not worth the risk. If it tastes bitter or soapy, then spit it
out. Shiny leaves mean danger. Stay away from plants with leaves in groups
of three. And avoid beans or plants with seeds inside
a pod. 4. Fire, fire fire - Fire is your friend and
essential for warmth, cooking, boiling and sterilizing water, and signaling for help
with smoke. So how do you light one with no matches? Focusing sunlight through a lens is ideal,
but if you don’t have a lens, you will need to place some dry leaves on a piece of bark
and role a stick between your hands, so there is a enough heat friction between the stick,
bark and leaves, to spark a flame. 5. Stay calm - Being stranded on a deserted island
can leave even the most experienced campers feeling confused, scared and panicked. But panicking causes us to lose control and
stop thinking rationally. Once the realization of being lost has set
in, take a deep breath and reassure yourself that help will come. Then get back to focusing on other areas of
your survival. 6. Find a friend - In the popular 2000 film,
Cast Away, Tom Hank’s character befriended a volleyball. Using blood from an injured hand, he drew
a face on the ball, which he named Wilson, for obvious reasons. It was his only companion during the four
years alone on the island. And then there’s Robinson Crusoe…. Crusoe had a parrot called Poll that he befriended
and taught how to speak. So find or invent a friend to keep you from
going insane. 7. Have a positive attitude - Most modern castaways
are rescued within 12 hours, and most of us can last for a night. But if that does not happen, then keeping
a positive attitude is essential for survival. Tell yourself everyday that you can make it
through. Keep pushing on. So, these are the essentials, but what about
putting it all into practice. Next we decided to look at a couple of real
examples and see how our castaways fair. Former British Army captain Ed Stafford spent
60 days naked and marooned on a deserted island in the South Pacific with only his video camera. No food, no water, no tools, no knife, and
not even any clothes. We mentioned how important fire is, well it
took poor old Stafford two weeks to start one, after he located the right wood. For food, he did manage to find and kill a
feral goat, which he skinned, cut up, and cured. This provided him food for an entire week. Stafford got very sick at one point, but as
this was for TV, his support crew flew some medicine in. Lucky for Stafford, but if it had been for
real, it could have been his end. He said the biggest challenge he encountered
was coping with isolation. At times, Stafford felt he was going to lose
his sanity, but he survived to tell the tale. Next we came across the story of Lucy Irvine,
a British adventurer and author, who spent a year on the uninhabited island with one
other person, to write her book, Castaway. Tuin Island is a mile long, uninhabited strip
of sand and palms in the Torres strait, 70 miles from Papua New Guinea. Lucy shared her time with turtles and giant
goannas. She says that food was the main focus of the
day. They would hunt in the morning for sharks,
presumably small ones as she says they were easy to catch. She had a few coins and banknotes when she
arrived, but money is no use on a deserted island. They tied the coins to little flags and used
them as weights to get the fishing lines out. The notes became kindling for the fire. Lucy said that returning to civilization after
her survival-experience was a shock, and when they published her book Castaway, she became
something of a celebrity and went from naked woman grubbing about in the sand for bait,
to a creature groomed for television chat-shows. We found one other interesting story about
an Australian, David Glasheen, who went from high-flying businessman to being alone on
a deserted island where he has been for more than 20 years. Now 74 years old, Glasheen moved to the idyllic
Restoration Island, off the North East of Australia, in May 1997 after losing his fortune
in a stock exchange crash. But originally, he didn’t go alone. A woman from Zimbabwe went with him. Their plan was to build a 60-room luxury resort. According to Glasheen, she couldn't handle
it. It was all too tough for her, and she left
shortly after arriving. So Glasheen grew a beard and stopped wearing
shirts, and though his plans for the resort did not work out, he decided to stay alone
at the tropical castaway. Over the 20 years he's been on the island,
Glasheen has survived by growing his own vegetables, as well as catching fresh crabs and fish. He’s renovated a World War II outpost into
a livable home, complete with solar power. But as time passed, and the outside world
evolved, technology has reached Glasheen, who now has Internet access. So we’re not sure Glasheen is technically
stranded, but certainly an interesting story. So much so, that he's even had a visit from
Russell Crowe, who once moored his yacht and stayed for dinner. So now you know how to survive if you are
stranded on an island. If it does happen, you may well be picked
up within 12 hours, or perhaps you will want to stay for years, like our nomadic Australian
castaway, David Glasheen. Whatever happens, remember to stay calm, find
food, water, shelter, and learn how to stoke a fire. So, do you think you could survive? What would you do that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other video
called Where Can You Still Live For $10 Dollars A Day? Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
