surviving the plane crash
It is mid-January and you have just crash-landed in the woods of Alaska. The plane in which you were traveling has been destroyed except for the frame. The pilot and co-pilot have been killed, but no one else is seriously injured. The crash came suddenly before the pilot had time to radio for help or inform anyone of your position. Since your pilot was trying to avoid a storm, you know the plane was considerably off course. The pilot announced shortly before the crash that you were eighty miles northwest of a small town that is the nearest known habitation. You are in a wilderness area made up of thick woods broken by many lakes and rivers. The last weather report indicated that the temperature would reach minus twenty-five degrees in the daytime and minus forty at night. You are dressed in winter clothing appropriate for city wear—suits, pantsuits, street shoes, and overcoats. While escaping from the plane, your group salvaged the fifteen items listed below. Your task is to rank these items according to their importance to your survival. You may assume that the amount of each item is the same as the number in your group and that the group has agreed to stick together. Of the following items, which three would you grab and why?
Compress kit (with 28 ft. of 2-inch gauze)
Ball of steel wool
Cigarette lighter without the fluid
Loaded .45-caliber pistol
Newspaper (one per person)
Compass
Two ski poles
Knife
Sectional air map made of plastic
30 feet of rope
Family-sized chocolate bar (one per person)
Flashlight with batteries
Quart of 85-proof whiskey
Extra shirt and pants for each
Can of shortening survivor
