wu :: forums - Print Page


    
      
        wu :: forums
        (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        riddles >> general problem-solving / chatting / whatever >> What will you do?
        
(Message started by: gotit on Apr 25^th, 2008, 11:09pm)

Title: What will you do?
Post by gotit on Apr 25^th, 2008, 11:09pm

It is summer and your palne crashed in a desert. All passengers including the pilot and co-pilot are dead and you are the sole survivor. Just before the plane crashed, you got the following information:

You are 70 miles south-west from a mining camp which was the nearest known habitation.

The temperature was 50 degrees.

You have got the following 15 things with you.

1) A cosmetic mirror.
2) One quart of water per person.
3) Flash Light.
4) Parchute (Red and White).
5) Jack Knife.
6) Plastic Raincoat.
7) 0.45 caliber pistol (loaded).
8 ) A pair of sunglasses per person.
9) An overcoat per person.
10) A First Aid Box.
11) Magnetic Compass.
12) Sectional Air Map of the area.
13) A Book titled "Edible Animals of the Desert".
14) Two quarts of Vodka.
15) Bottle of salt tablets.

Your task is to rank this articles based on their importance in the current situation.

And it's urgent. So, any help will be appreciated.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by mikedagr8 on Apr 26^th, 2008, 1:48am

I'd like to help but I only know of the version where you are trapped on the moon. :-/

IF the moon is considered a desert, I can try and remember the answer. I do know that if you are on earth that the compass is usable, on the moon, it is not. :-X

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by gotit on Apr 26^th, 2008, 2:23am

The moon is not involved here. I have a few questions that I want you guy's to answer.

1) Are the map and the compass to be considered more important than the water and salt tablets?
2) How can we utilize the raincoat?
3) How imporatnt is the book?
4) What can be the possible use of the cosmetic mirror?

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by rmsgrey on Apr 26^th, 2008, 4:30am

Depending on the desert, the map may be more or less useful - if it shows a nice chain of oases zigzagging toward the mining camp, then it's useful; if it just shows sand dunes, then it's pretty much useless. If sunlight is reliable, then the sun can help you establish a direction reasonably well, though the compass would probably improve your accuracy. Salt and water are going to keep you alive while they last, while the map and compass (under ideal circumstances) are going to improve your odds of reaching civilisation before your supplies run out.

The raincoat, assuming it's waterproof rather than a fancy modern breathable fabric, is good for use as a dew-trap.

The value of the book depends heavily on its quality - though the more useful information it contains, the heavier it's likely to be... Once you set out, its main uses are going to be identifying the creepy-crawly you've got stuck to the end of your knife, and providing kindling for your fire overnight... Yes, any hints on how to catch them in the first place would be useful, but it's the sort of thing you really want to know in advance rather than looking up on the fly.

The mirror is good for signalling - using as a heliograph - if anyone tries S&R.

My big question is why things are listed "per person" when you're the sole survivor and there's no indication of how many passengers there were...

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by towr on Apr 26^th, 2008, 1:23pm

Set up, or find, shelter, and stay where you are.
Walking to the nearest inhabited location that's 70 miles a way through a desert is likely to see you dead, you're better off waiting for rescue. Especially if you have a quart of water for everyone that was in the plane (none of whom are alive to use it).

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Apr 27^th, 2008, 8:04pm

Plus you have two more than enough booze to keep you entertained. ;D

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by gotit on Apr 27^th, 2008, 10:59pm

Since tha parachute had red color on it, I thought it could be used to draw attention.
Also, the overcoat and vodka could be used to keep you warm at night.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by rmsgrey on Apr 28^th, 2008, 2:51pm

Possibly a silly question, but when time of day was it 50 degrees, and on what scale? It seems safe to assume it wasn't 50K, but 50F and 50C both sound possible, depending on the time of day, the latitude, and what sort of desert it is anyway.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by JiNbOtAk on Apr 28^th, 2008, 11:24pm

Of course the most important item is the 0.45 caliber. You would need it to commit suicide once your depression starts to kick in. ;D

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by mikedagr8 on Apr 29^th, 2008, 2:46am

on 04/28/08 at 14:51:33, rmsgrey wrote:

and what sort of desert it is anyway.

One where it doesn't recieve enough rain to not be classified as a desert. Sorry stupid response.

And JiNbOtAk if this were on the moon it would be very useful. Very.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by JiNbOtAk on Apr 29^th, 2008, 2:49am

on 04/29/08 at 02:46:01, mikedagr8 wrote:

And JiNbOtAk if this were on the moon it would be very useful. Very.

If this were on the moon, it wouldn't matter either way. Without a space suit, you're screwed anyway.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by mikedagr8 on Apr 29^th, 2008, 2:53am

on 04/29/08 at 02:49:11, JiNbOtAk wrote:

If this were on the moon, it wouldn't matter either way. Without a space suit, you're screwed anyway.

In the puzzle you were abandoned with 15 similar items, one of which was a hand gun and started in a space suit. You could use it for propoltion as I recall.

I'll continue to think about this, it's a challenge for an appropriate answer.

Title: Re: What will you do?
Post by Roy on Jun 1^st, 2008, 7:02am

Why do you say that the temperature "was" 50 degrees? what is it now? and i think it would probably be Celsius anyway.

My answer isn't based on what ranks highest overall, but what item ranks higher in groups of two.
The overcoat can shade you during the day and keep you warm at night whereas the raincoat is absoutely redundant since this isn't Antarctica, water and salt tablets are obviously equally important, with water ranking slightly higher. comparing the jackknife to the gun, even if it's loaded, it will still run out if you come across too many snakes or whatever, but the knife is lightweight and never runs out. Since there aren't many edible animals in the desert, the book would be pretty light, however if you take the first aid kit you can heal any wounds that the animals would inflict before you kill them. The map is insignificantly light, plus it could fold to fit in your pocket, along with the compass, so you can have both of those, although you only need the compass to know which direction you're facing. I have no idea why you would rank vodka high, unless the plane was going to germany to view the best of the best beer factories as a prize for an alcoholics contest, or something. I would go on about the rest, but i'm very tired, my head is frazzled, and it doesn't work to it's full amount of awesome-ness if it's frazzled. but i will edit it to include the rest later