This really is it. Sure, a high water ratio soup would provide both nourishment and fluids for living, but basic clean water allows for cleaning and the ability to grow food or trade for other stuff.
Plus truly unlimited means you can start your own river to help society recover!
3 minutes without oxygen. 3 days without water. 3 weeks without food (I think it is also "3 hours without shelter" but that is a much more environmental factor and feels shoehorned in). And, depending on the apocalypse, clean air can be hard to come by.
Yeah, obviously need the first that that will kill you. We take breathable air for granted. But if you need an infinite supply of clean air, you are probably dead anyway.
An infinite supply of water has many uses beyond drinking and hygine -- irrigation, power, and cooling come to mind as very useful post-apocalypse.
What flavor of apocalypse matters a lot. If it's zombies, ammo becomes critical. If it's nuclear, ammo is less important and water filtration probably becomes critical. If it's a gigantic asteroid that blots out the sun, water is easy to find but food is critical.
For an unknown apocalypse, I think I'll go with gasoline. Not critical in and of itself, but helps a lot more generally with a lot of stuff, being able to power a generator and move camp more easily.
Enough gasoline could blow the asteroid up, preventing the whole thing. Forever blocked sun means no food but with gasoline you can power lamps for the plants. Burn gasoline to keep warm against the winter and burn vampires using gasoline. It is a christian invention after all /s
Gasoline doesn't seem like a bad choice tbh. Also good for trading if, for example, water is scarce.
Ah, but the question is "post-apocalypse" so avoiding it isn't really an option. If it were just "slightly pre-apocalypse" you might have a chance to avoid it.
Milk, given an unlimited supply i won't have to worry about it spoiling. Gives a decent amount of nutrients and water and can use it to make cheese or butter eventually, And is a life without cheese and butter really worth living?
"I've seen drier days on Ferenginar. And we have a hundred seventy-eight different words for rain. Right now it's glebbening out there. And that's bad."
thank you for being on this platform and being so positive. I enjoy seeing your posts and they somehow give me motivation to keep my chin up and be more outgoing with someone I recently met at the dog park who's acting curiously shy and different from most people.
I second the sentiment. You and other frequent posters of delightful posts help this place to feel more like a community. It's also nice because you make me reflect on my own online presence in a manner that provides a positive pressure to be the kind of person I value in my community; I see usernames like yours crop up again and again, and when I find myself noticing that organically, it makes me wonder what kinds of patterns people notice across my own comments — it's introspective, but in a good way
Not fresh at the time of the apocalypse. Fresh at the time I seek it.
Of course that would mean I would also get a steady supply of clean water and of all the ingredients required to make the pizza. But that is simply a secondary side effect of having made my choice for the one, single thing.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to finally see the first item to disappear in every real apocalypse I've been through. Plus it's man's greatest invention. Just ahead of the Hubble space telescope.
Got that covered .... I'm still going through my excess toilet paper supply I bought during the start of the 2020 pandemic. When people started clearing the shelves of toilet paper, we panicked and bought several whole cases of the stuff. It was completely insane.
And a bad problem. If you are panic buying anything for the apocalypse, you're not prepared for the apocalypse. I have a "minimum" amount of TP I'll let the house get down to before buying more. My partner is a teacher and so during the winter months when we're both not home we go through it at a glacial pace. We had plenty to last even when we were wfh. Never worried.
I recommend you consider baby wipes and invest in an apocalyptic marketing campaign that praises the variety of usages in face, neck, armpit, crotch and butt wiping.
My first thought was soybeans, since they're so versatile. Or corn for the same reason. Granted, I don't have any way to process them so I didn't think it through.
But a food source that also provides water would be a good idea. Watermelon is too sweet to be your primary food though.
Iodized salt. I live in iowa, we have planty of water (i can figure out how to filter it), and a great climate for growing food. However our soilis naturaly low iodine and there is no salt around so those are critical nutriants I don't think I could get here.
second would be iron - we don't have any and It is usefur for a lot.
Assuming I'm not teleported elsewhere, the place I live has plenty of drinkable fresh water and other supplies, so the only real concern is having consistent high-quality food available, and MREs are engineered to support people in the wild for several months, if not years. In case of a major war breaking out, so it would contain everything I would need to stay alive, or to trade to other people.
I mean, they are chock full of all sorts of preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they also have things like toilet paper and wipes, spoons and forks, heating pads, and various other things, and they can be eaten cold if there's some reason not to start a fire.
That being said, you can live a very long life eating only MREs. It's not like if you only ate them for three weeks you would die. You might have some malnourishment, and you might desperately long for something else, but it wouldn't be the nutrition issue that would kill you. They are designed to keep people alive in situations where bullets are an occupational hazard.
But if I have an infinite supply of them and they are fresh, then when I encounter people that are starving I can trade it to them for bullets or knives or I can just give them away. Could probably save a lot of lives by being a food producer capable of keeping people alive.
The largest risk I would face would be growing tired of the assortment.
Yeah, not sure what OP's talking about. Any diet involving a reasonably fresh, large assortment of ingredients will keep you going until you die of old people stuff (maybe early, if it's really that bad).
If you eat only hardtack or only rice, that's when deficiencies become a concern. We're really quite hearty animals.
Electricity would be tempting. If you have access to water, you can boil it to make it safe. Run a refrigerator to store food. A convenient source of heat for cooking. Stay warm in the winter, stay cool in the summer. Lights for when it's dark. Use power tools to build things. Listen to music, watch movies, play those old Nintendo games.
Even after some time when your electronics break down and scavenging working ones gets tough, it's not difficult to build things like simple resistive heaters. Making crude incandescent light bulbs wouldn't be impossible either.
Maybe in a zombie apocalypse, but what are you gonna do with bullets in a regular apocalypse?
You may be the only person you'll ever see for years at a time. You can't drink them, you can't plant them, you can't build with them.
You could probably use them on yourself if you've got a gun that they work in, though, especially if that's the only one item you decided to choose for long-term survival. 😮
They wouldn't be much of an issue after a year anyway, but ammo will still be extremely valuable, especially if you're trying to rebuild society. Gonna need something to defend yourself with against invasions from rival gangs.
A machine that allows me to travel across space-time so I can just nope-out of the universe amd find a new one in a timelime where the apocalypse didn't happen.
B) Something for ME to survive on (rely on nobody)
C) Something to rebuild (everyone relies on me)
I generally lean towards rebuilding, but it really depends on what apocalypse we're talking about here. Zombie? Nuclear war? Asteroid? Nazis? Waterworld?
So, assuming I can survive enough, I'd pick rebuild critical tech like rubber or a way to forge steel or a critical chemical. Think, "Doctor Stone".
But if I need to survive like a water world or a desert world or a zombie outbreak, what I pick is going to be pretty fucking different. Cigarettes don't mean shit if there's no water. Water don't mean shit if that's all you have. And none of that matters if you're stuck in a world with aerosolized zombie infection that results in smart running zombies that fast heal.
Ongoing? Fresh clean salad 🥗. This assumes I can scrounge/ kill/ for other kinds of food. It implies there's a source somewhere, so perhaps I could trace it, for water and arable land. It contains clean water, and while lettuces are not a super food they have C which I can't store and K which is good for cuts. And if necessary I could wipe my ass with a leaf of it .
a thermos of fruit smoothies that is forever cold and will not run out. This kinda work with all kind of apocalypse because foods and drinks is the number 1 thing that would hard to come by, and smoothie is both food and water.
malted barley
In the end of the world, or even just at the collapse of civilization as we know it, these can be used to make beer. Yeast is naturally occurring, hops just grow on vines, but malting grains seems to be the hardest part of the process to me.
Flour. Maybe rice. Something of that nature. The only alternative option that's even close to food might be fuel, depending on the nature of the disaster.
Water is everywhere outside of deserts, and there's enough raw materials for a thinned population to recycle for a long time. Food and medicine is what separates the living from the dead, and medicine isn't a single item. Edit: Although antibiotics or water treatment tablets are probably the closest approximation.
Pleasantly surprised to not see more throwing star-type answers.
Ok so some people are asking what type of apocalypse but I feel that's mostly irrelevant because you said it's a post apocalypse scenario. The apocalypse has already passed.
So there's kind of two options. One is where I would be the sole survivor on the planet, and the other is where there's still pockets of survivors out there.
Most post apocalypse situations involve other people surviving, so I'll start there.
You didn't put a limiter on what the item could be, whether it had to be realistic or not, and how this supply would come to be. So I'll give three answers, each with different degrees of what I'm assuming your intention behind the question is.
The first would be an infinite supply of non tricky, non malevolent genie lamps. Infinite wishes baybee, this trumps pretty much everything.
Something more fantastic but more reasonably grounded would be computers, with a complete set of data on human history, art, music, science and schematics, with instructions on how to rebuild society in a more equitable way, translated into all languages possible, with a pictogram of how to charge it up etched on the outside. Pass those suckers around, rebuild society, got infinite of them, everyone gets one and it has the windows space pinball from the 90s on it just for fun.
But since you said lighters, to play with the idea of things that exist, I'm gonna go with tents. Probably those onion shaped ones that are designed to be permanent housing, or yurts. Sure water and food are important but without shelter you're fucked, and I could house everyone.
Now if it were an apocalypse where I'm the only survivor, I would want an infinite supply of one thing.
Potable water is good, perhaps wheat berries or ibuprofen would be good too.
As for an unorthodox answer, I'm going to say survival guides. Most people have some idea of how they might survive, but it couldn't hurt to have a resource to fill any knowledge gaps.
144 Comments
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 153 pts · 357d
clean water
spankmonkey@lemmy.world · 61 pts · 357d
This really is it. Sure, a high water ratio soup would provide both nourishment and fluids for living, but basic clean water allows for cleaning and the ability to grow food or trade for other stuff.
Plus truly unlimited means you can start your own river to help society recover!
pdxfed@lemmy.world · 42 pts · 357d
We're putting Gatorade on the crops and they don't grow. Ground is broken!
Libb@piefed.social · 8 pts · 357d
I would never have imagined I would witness this becoming our reality but it looks more and more like it.
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 357d
But it's got what plants crave!
ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 356d
No silly that’s brawndo! Gatorade just isn’t there yet you see.
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip · 20 pts · 357d
If you are going that route: Rule of 3
3 minutes without oxygen. 3 days without water. 3 weeks without food (I think it is also "3 hours without shelter" but that is a much more environmental factor and feels shoehorned in). And, depending on the apocalypse, clean air can be hard to come by.
meco03211@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 357d
I've heard it phrased "3 hours without shelter in inclement weather".
DecaturNature@yall.theatl.social · 5 pts · 357d
Yeah, obviously need the first that that will kill you. We take breathable air for granted. But if you need an infinite supply of clean air, you are probably dead anyway. An infinite supply of water has many uses beyond drinking and hygine -- irrigation, power, and cooling come to mind as very useful post-apocalypse.
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 357d
We can clean up the entire Capital Wasteland!
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 355d
I was thinking Fallout 4 when I said it. The cans of pure water.
FenrirIII@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 356d
Aqua-pura for sale!
damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d
Came here to say just that.
Carrolade@lemmy.world · 60 pts · 357d
What flavor of apocalypse matters a lot. If it's zombies, ammo becomes critical. If it's nuclear, ammo is less important and water filtration probably becomes critical. If it's a gigantic asteroid that blots out the sun, water is easy to find but food is critical.
For an unknown apocalypse, I think I'll go with gasoline. Not critical in and of itself, but helps a lot more generally with a lot of stuff, being able to power a generator and move camp more easily.
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca · 19 pts · 357d
What if it's like impact winter? Asteroid, forever blocked out sun, winter, and vampires.
Carrolade@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 357d
Vampires...? Uh, garlic. lol
meekah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
Enough gasoline could blow the asteroid up, preventing the whole thing. Forever blocked sun means no food but with gasoline you can power lamps for the plants. Burn gasoline to keep warm against the winter and burn vampires using gasoline. It is a christian invention after all /s
Gasoline doesn't seem like a bad choice tbh. Also good for trading if, for example, water is scarce.
jonesey71@lemmus.org · 3 pts · 357d
Ah, but the question is "post-apocalypse" so avoiding it isn't really an option. If it were just "slightly pre-apocalypse" you might have a chance to avoid it.
meekah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
Dang it, genie tricked me again
Usernameblankface@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 357d
In the zombie variation, might want to cheat the system and ask for loaded guns. Because guns wear out and get jammed sometimes.
LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 357d
Smart move
princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 357d
Well, no, (liquid) water would be quite scarce :P
hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 356d
And still, only a small amount of water on Earth is actually drinkable.
Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 43 pts · 357d
Milk, given an unlimited supply i won't have to worry about it spoiling. Gives a decent amount of nutrients and water and can use it to make cheese or butter eventually, And is a life without cheese and butter really worth living?
dimjim@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 357d
Shit you got me there, milk it is!
RangerAndTheCat@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 357d
I’m lactose intolerant… but damn if you didn’t sell me on this OP
roofuskit@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 355d
You could use the rotting milk to farm insects for protein.
ccunning@lemmy.world · 33 pts · 357d
Water; for living
Sergio@piefed.social · 11 pts · 357d
Evil Genie: "Granted." It starts to rain. It never stops.
GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 357d
Like that time it rained for two million years
https://youtu.be/_1LdMWlNYS4
iii@mander.xyz · 9 pts · 357d
Ugh i remember
GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 357d
'Twas such a drag, ʕ ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°ʔ
Concave1142@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 357d
"I've seen drier days on Ferenginar. And we have a hundred seventy-eight different words for rain. Right now it's glebbening out there. And that's bad."
LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone · 31 pts · 357d
Hugs from a nice person. The apocalypse is going to be really depressing I'll need the love
Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 357d
thank you for being on this platform and being so positive. I enjoy seeing your posts and they somehow give me motivation to keep my chin up and be more outgoing with someone I recently met at the dog park who's acting curiously shy and different from most people.
LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 357d
That's a lovely thing to say Fiivemacs thanks so much
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 357d
I second the sentiment. You and other frequent posters of delightful posts help this place to feel more like a community. It's also nice because you make me reflect on my own online presence in a manner that provides a positive pressure to be the kind of person I value in my community; I see usernames like yours crop up again and again, and when I find myself noticing that organically, it makes me wonder what kinds of patterns people notice across my own comments — it's introspective, but in a good way
LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 356d
That's a lovely thing to say thanks so much ❤️
brown567@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 357d
cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
they have +86upvotes from me, so apparently I agree
actionjbone@sh.itjust.works · 23 pts · 357d
Fresh, hot pizza from Ray's.
Not fresh at the time of the apocalypse. Fresh at the time I seek it.
Of course that would mean I would also get a steady supply of clean water and of all the ingredients required to make the pizza. But that is simply a secondary side effect of having made my choice for the one, single thing.
ook@discuss.tchncs.de · 20 pts · 357d
shaun@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 357d
Toilet paper. During apocalyptic scenarios, it's worth is apparently uncountable, so I will be able to trade it and live a life of opulence.
Professorozone@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 355d
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to finally see the first item to disappear in every real apocalypse I've been through. Plus it's man's greatest invention. Just ahead of the Hubble space telescope.
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 357d
Got that covered .... I'm still going through my excess toilet paper supply I bought during the start of the 2020 pandemic. When people started clearing the shelves of toilet paper, we panicked and bought several whole cases of the stuff. It was completely insane.
I haven't bought toilet paper in five years.
muntedcrocodile@hilariouschaos.com · 11 pts · 357d
You where the problem lol
meco03211@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
And a bad problem. If you are panic buying anything for the apocalypse, you're not prepared for the apocalypse. I have a "minimum" amount of TP I'll let the house get down to before buying more. My partner is a teacher and so during the winter months when we're both not home we go through it at a glacial pace. We had plenty to last even when we were wfh. Never worried.
agelord@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 357d
Just use water.
GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 357d
You expect the guy who bought cases of toilet paper to worry about wasting it?
etchinghillside@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 357d
I recommend you consider baby wipes and invest in an apocalyptic marketing campaign that praises the variety of usages in face, neck, armpit, crotch and butt wiping.
Lukaro@piefed.zip · 18 pts · 357d
Along those lines antibiotics would be better.
riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 16 pts · 357d
All you big brains saying water.
My first thought was soybeans, since they're so versatile. Or corn for the same reason. Granted, I don't have any way to process them so I didn't think it through.
But a food source that also provides water would be a good idea. Watermelon is too sweet to be your primary food though.
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 6 pts · 357d
Food sources don't provide water unless there is water to grow them, and if the water is contaminated that will just end up in the food.
riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 355d
Ok, well, "uncontaminated soybeans"
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 357d
Potatoes are the best. Easy to grow in marginal soil, varied ways to cook them, and they store easily long term in a simple root cellar.
Add in some squash like pumpkins which have the same advantages and you should be good to go.
mesamunefire@piefed.social · 2 pts · 357d
Ive heard if you need to survive, potatoes, radishes, and beans do really well.
Personally ive had more luck with radishes and beans. They grow quick in just about anything. I keep killing my Potatos!
meekah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
You can make pretty nice savoury dishes with watermelon.
bdot@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 357d
Sendpicsofsandwiches@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 357d
Okay, and this is why we burn heretics
meekah@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 357d
Haven't seen that one yet. I can vouch for a watermelon feta salad, or grilled watermelon with chili flakes, though.
AngryRobot@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 357d
I'm diabetic. I choose insulin.
reksas@sopuli.xyz · 12 pts · 355d
drinkable water
T00l_shed@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 355d
Sorry to be pedantic, but potable water, but yes, that is the correct choice.
crypt0cler1c@infosec.pub · 0 pts · 355d
T00l_shed@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 355d
You first :)
SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 357d
Bottle caps.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 356d
Antibiotics.
We all would die so quickly and horribly without them.
bluGill@fedia.io · 11 pts · 357d
Iodized salt. I live in iowa, we have planty of water (i can figure out how to filter it), and a great climate for growing food. However our soilis naturaly low iodine and there is no salt around so those are critical nutriants I don't think I could get here.
second would be iron - we don't have any and It is usefur for a lot.
bizarroland@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 357d
Army MREs, the modern ones.
Assuming I'm not teleported elsewhere, the place I live has plenty of drinkable fresh water and other supplies, so the only real concern is having consistent high-quality food available, and MREs are engineered to support people in the wild for several months, if not years. In case of a major war breaking out, so it would contain everything I would need to stay alive, or to trade to other people.
floo@retrolemmy.com · 2 pts · 357d
bizarroland@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 357d
I mean, they are chock full of all sorts of preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they also have things like toilet paper and wipes, spoons and forks, heating pads, and various other things, and they can be eaten cold if there's some reason not to start a fire.
That being said, you can live a very long life eating only MREs. It's not like if you only ate them for three weeks you would die. You might have some malnourishment, and you might desperately long for something else, but it wouldn't be the nutrition issue that would kill you. They are designed to keep people alive in situations where bullets are an occupational hazard.
But if I have an infinite supply of them and they are fresh, then when I encounter people that are starving I can trade it to them for bullets or knives or I can just give them away. Could probably save a lot of lives by being a food producer capable of keeping people alive.
The largest risk I would face would be growing tired of the assortment.
CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org · 2 pts · 355d
Yeah, not sure what OP's talking about. Any diet involving a reasonably fresh, large assortment of ingredients will keep you going until you die of old people stuff (maybe early, if it's really that bad).
If you eat only hardtack or only rice, that's when deficiencies become a concern. We're really quite hearty animals.
CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 355d
Hmm, not specifying which one, I see. Granted; it's always chicken fajita.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 357d
Easy answers first. Potable water! You need it every day, helps with sanitation, growing food, etc.
If you wanted more like discrete consumable objects, keflex.
Edit: Or salt!
compostgoblin@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 357d
Ooh, salt is a good one!
toddestan@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 356d
Electricity would be tempting. If you have access to water, you can boil it to make it safe. Run a refrigerator to store food. A convenient source of heat for cooking. Stay warm in the winter, stay cool in the summer. Lights for when it's dark. Use power tools to build things. Listen to music, watch movies, play those old Nintendo games.
Even after some time when your electronics break down and scavenging working ones gets tough, it's not difficult to build things like simple resistive heaters. Making crude incandescent light bulbs wouldn't be impossible either.
Cort@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 356d
How about "fully staffed, fully functional nuclear reactors"? All the staff could come in handy for rebuilding like everything
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 356d
Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 357d
Goats. Food, friends and defense.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 356d
And...
Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 356d
Transportation.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 356d
Yes of course, but also...
Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 356d
Recreation.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 8 pts · 357d
Drinkable water.
AngryishHumanoid@lemmynsfw.com · 6 pts · 357d
Insulin.
iAvicenna@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 356d
unlimited other earths to live in
hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 356d
My meds. I don't think I'll be able to do shit without them.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 356d
nobody has said rice or potatoes or anything like that. you're all completely fucked
also cum
Makhno@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 356d
Got that in droves. Ima protein shot dispenser
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 356d
there could be more cum
Psythik@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 355d
Not a single mention of bullets? Seriously?
In an apocalypse, ammunition will be worth more than gold.
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 355d
Metro 2033 ing intensifies
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 355d
Maybe in a zombie apocalypse, but what are you gonna do with bullets in a regular apocalypse?
You may be the only person you'll ever see for years at a time. You can't drink them, you can't plant them, you can't build with them.
You could probably use them on yourself if you've got a gun that they work in, though, especially if that's the only one item you decided to choose for long-term survival. 😮
Psythik@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 355d
The bullets aren't for the zombies...
They wouldn't be much of an issue after a year anyway, but ammo will still be extremely valuable, especially if you're trying to rebuild society. Gonna need something to defend yourself with against invasions from rival gangs.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 355d
Bullets won't protect you against an intentionally set fire to your home or base. Without laws, it won't be gun vs gun situation.
That said, it would really depend on the type of apocalypse we're talking about.
Massive natural disaster? Nuclear? Pandemic? "Zombies"? Global drought? A breakdown of society?
Bullets might be fine depending on the situation. You might not even survive long enough to use them.
AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net · 5 pts · 355d
Beans. Not only about the most important food source, legumes are also natural nitrogen fixers for soil health.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 356d
Condoms, in case we need to repopulate the earth
hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 15 pts · 356d
I don't think condoms are going to help you with that buddy.
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 356d
I think he's opting out, or trying to prevent it altogether
toomanypancakes@piefed.world · 5 pts · 357d
Gin, I don't plan on surviving in an apocalypse
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 356d
You should've said pancakes because then username would check out
PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 356d
Gin is correct, because there's no such thing as too many pancakes.
lb_o@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 355d
Will "fully equipped cruize ship" count as one item? Then I can scavenge them for all parts required to build new civilization.
And if it is not, then question to OP, what is the limit for the composite items to stop being counted as one item?
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 355d
Why cruise ship and not aircraft carrier?
bitjunkie@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 355d
I don't know how to drive an aircraft carrier, silly
burrito@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 357d
Pregnant women. Because they're hot and their milk supply is easy to induce.
compostgoblin@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 14 pts · 357d
What an odd thing to say.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 356d
Also the fetus is delicious 🍽😋
SoGrumpy@lemmy.ml · 12 pts · 356d
What a time to be literate.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 356d
you can stay in my house 🏡
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 356d
A machine that allows me to travel across space-time so I can just nope-out of the universe amd find a new one in a timelime where the apocalypse didn't happen.
e8CArkcAuLE@piefed.social · 4 pts · 357d
AA-batteries
Cybersec@piefed.social · 4 pts · 357d
You guys were smart to say water, first thing I thought of when I read the question though was peanut butter.
AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 357d
Fully-stocked cruise ships.
figjam@midwest.social · 4 pts · 357d
Nanobots!
daggermoon@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 356d
weed
IcedRaktajino@startrek.website · 4 pts · 357d
Paracord. You can weave it into just about anything. Can probably also weave a water filter.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com · 4 pts · 357d
Heroin. Either build an army of addicts who're completely loyal to me or I can just off myself depending on how things are going.
Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 356d
Economy Wonderglue. I've played Fallout 4, I know what you need.
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 355d
A) Something to trade (rely on others)
B) Something for ME to survive on (rely on nobody)
C) Something to rebuild (everyone relies on me)
I generally lean towards rebuilding, but it really depends on what apocalypse we're talking about here. Zombie? Nuclear war? Asteroid? Nazis? Waterworld?
So, assuming I can survive enough, I'd pick rebuild critical tech like rubber or a way to forge steel or a critical chemical. Think, "Doctor Stone".
But if I need to survive like a water world or a desert world or a zombie outbreak, what I pick is going to be pretty fucking different. Cigarettes don't mean shit if there's no water. Water don't mean shit if that's all you have. And none of that matters if you're stuck in a world with aerosolized zombie infection that results in smart running zombies that fast heal.
NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io · 3 pts · 357d
Fully loaded guns. Watermelons (provides nutrition and water) are also a good candidate.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 357d
Ongoing? Fresh clean salad 🥗. This assumes I can scrounge/ kill/ for other kinds of food. It implies there's a source somewhere, so perhaps I could trace it, for water and arable land. It contains clean water, and while lettuces are not a super food they have C which I can't store and K which is good for cuts. And if necessary I could wipe my ass with a leaf of it .
Flax_vert@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 355d
I think alcohol would be useful for trading.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 357d
Post-apocalyptic enough for that item not to be 7.62x51?
Lighter is a good choice, but I'm thinking toilet paper rolls for bartering.
psx_crab@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 357d
a thermos of fruit smoothies that is forever cold and will not run out. This kinda work with all kind of apocalypse because foods and drinks is the number 1 thing that would hard to come by, and smoothie is both food and water.
thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 356d
malted barley In the end of the world, or even just at the collapse of civilization as we know it, these can be used to make beer. Yeast is naturally occurring, hops just grow on vines, but malting grains seems to be the hardest part of the process to me.
ChexMax@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 356d
Wait so why didn't you just pick beer?
thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 356d
That's a good question
DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 357d
A packet of Timtams.
CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org · 2 pts · 355d
Flour. Maybe rice. Something of that nature. The only alternative option that's even close to food might be fuel, depending on the nature of the disaster.
Water is everywhere outside of deserts, and there's enough raw materials for a thinned population to recycle for a long time. Food and medicine is what separates the living from the dead, and medicine isn't a single item. Edit: Although antibiotics or water treatment tablets are probably the closest approximation.
Pleasantly surprised to not see more throwing star-type answers.
agent_nycto@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 355d
Ok so some people are asking what type of apocalypse but I feel that's mostly irrelevant because you said it's a post apocalypse scenario. The apocalypse has already passed.
So there's kind of two options. One is where I would be the sole survivor on the planet, and the other is where there's still pockets of survivors out there.
Most post apocalypse situations involve other people surviving, so I'll start there.
You didn't put a limiter on what the item could be, whether it had to be realistic or not, and how this supply would come to be. So I'll give three answers, each with different degrees of what I'm assuming your intention behind the question is.
The first would be an infinite supply of non tricky, non malevolent genie lamps. Infinite wishes baybee, this trumps pretty much everything.
Something more fantastic but more reasonably grounded would be computers, with a complete set of data on human history, art, music, science and schematics, with instructions on how to rebuild society in a more equitable way, translated into all languages possible, with a pictogram of how to charge it up etched on the outside. Pass those suckers around, rebuild society, got infinite of them, everyone gets one and it has the windows space pinball from the 90s on it just for fun.
But since you said lighters, to play with the idea of things that exist, I'm gonna go with tents. Probably those onion shaped ones that are designed to be permanent housing, or yurts. Sure water and food are important but without shelter you're fucked, and I could house everyone.
Now if it were an apocalypse where I'm the only survivor, I would want an infinite supply of one thing.
BACKUP. GLASSES.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 357d
can I get them all in one lump sum or do I have to use them up before getting another?
Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 357d
Fuel cans probably.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 355d
Genies in a lamp
njordomir@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
I choose an unlimited supply of cell-phone minutes so I can say "told you so" to all the apocalypses deniers.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 355d
Depends on the apocalypse.
WraithGear@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 355d
ammunition could get you anything you could need. drinking water would be a second i guess, but you could with effort gather drinkable water.
ammunition is heavy, but no where near as heavy as water for trading purposes,
Geobloke@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 355d
Paper, good for lighting fires and keeping people honest. Also I'm guessing pretty hard to make
CyberneticOwl@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 355d
Potable water is good, perhaps wheat berries or ibuprofen would be good too.
As for an unorthodox answer, I'm going to say survival guides. Most people have some idea of how they might survive, but it couldn't hurt to have a resource to fill any knowledge gaps.
stoly@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
Something like Soylent. You can live off of it for a very, very long time. Enough time to get your garden growing.
MangioneDontMiss@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 355d
HubertManne@piefed.social · 1 pts · 356d
Sorta depends on the apocalypse but for most I will take the airline bottles of a high end vodka.
LemmyThinkAboutIt@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 355d
Waterproof matches.
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 355d
Gout sufferer checking in, Prednisone
Jela@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 355d
Mainly maps, but also other informative reading materials such as natural medicine, almanacs and other foraging guides.
lb_o@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 355d
Condition is infinite supply of one item. You have to choose printed Wikipedia book for it to be one item.
bitjunkie@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 355d
The surface of the planet is now covered in a 30-foot-thick layer of paper. All survivors have been crushed to death.
Jela@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 352d
Oh sorry lol, I'll just go over here and fuck myself then..