Questions tagged [survival]
For questions about the viability of life in certain conditions. For example, it could be used in questions asking about the possibility of life on a planet or other astronomical body.
81 questions
19
votes
6
answers
42k
views
What would happen if electricity stopped working?
Blackouts happen all the time locally, but what would the implications of a world-wide, indefinite blackout be?
Here is a spark from the fire of what could happen:
(obviously) lights go out
no air ...
- 853
110
votes
27
answers
40k
views
How to survive the heat death of the universe?
The eventual heat death of the universe is an awful time to be alive considering you wouldn't have long left after the last star finally fades away.
In this scenario there is a small group of about a ...
- 1,235
37
votes
25
answers
11k
views
What kind of land transportation can be used for plowing through hordes of zombies?
Set in a zombie apocalypse world somewhere in Chennai, India.
News report shows an estimated 90% of the population here has turned into zombies overnight, soldiers setup a human chain perimeter ...
- 48.1k
20
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Maximum Personal Time-field Speed?
One day, you suddenly get superpowers! Whoo-hoo, you can speed up or slow down the flow of time for yourself. This means you can run faster than a jet, right? So you decide to test it out. You go ...
- 11k
11
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How long can humans survive in increased gravity?
One premise of my current planet-in-progress is that certain locations in the universe are inherently tied to my PIP. For example, all the people and things that have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle ...
- 25.2k
8
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Where to find shelter in a cold, dark world at war?
"From the rumours, it seems this world is cursed. I don't have trouble
believing this, our sky is darkened by a permanent smoke. It is said
that behind this smoke used to be the biggest fireball ...
- 697
5
votes
3
answers
444
views
Using dead bodies for material 3: fuel
The world is suffering from the creatures of fantasy and nightmares which can appear with just a few minutes of warning anywhere, regardless of it being the middle of the street or on top of your bed ...
- 45.7k
4
votes
2
answers
477
views
Calamity breaking a supercontinent in days - Would there be any survivors?
The title says it all. Imagine a superearthquake that would split a Pangaea-like supercontinent (with roughly the same size and land distribution) in half in just a few days / weeks, making them a few ...
- 5,808
3
votes
6
answers
448
views
World Ending Asteroid
[Introduction]
Set in present day Earth, several space agencies and military across the globe had been closely tracking many near earth objects for many years using deep space telescopes and also an ...
- 48.1k
3
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How long can New York City survive under a Dome?
A Little Background Detail
The citizens of New York have woken up and realized that surrounding their entire city is surrounded by a clear dome. Even though it is the city that never sleeps, no one ...
- 311
0
votes
2
answers
512
views
Humans surviving on surface without Sun
Is it possible for humans to survive on the surface of the Earth, assuming the Sun was, for some reason, not emitting any light/heat/other radiation? Would whether the Sun was actually present affect ...
- 1,200
50
votes
11
answers
15k
views
How long could the sun be turned off without overly damaging planet Earth + humanity?
Background story:
Current Earth, in the close future. Astronomers have found first signs of extraterrestrial life: huge sheet-like objects (with surfaces easily as large as the surface of the Earth) ...
- 4,572
41
votes
24
answers
14k
views
How would a society isolated by monster attacks get food?
So I've got a medieval fantasy world where humanity has been forced to live exclusively in fortified towns and city states because of attacks by monsters. These monsters are not kaiju level in size so ...
- 1,022
40
votes
14
answers
6k
views
You are a minor character in a fictional story. How do you get to be the hero? [closed]
Please see my re-open request below (the question is currently closed). Thanks
You come to realise that you are a fictional character in a story.
EDIT In the light of a couple of answers, I need ...
- 49.5k
33
votes
9
answers
8k
views
What can we eat in the late Cretaceous?
Suppose there is a team of explorers sent back in time 66 million years ago somewhere before the K-T event took place, the mission is to spend no more than 3 months to retrieve a blood sample from a ...
- 48.1k
30
votes
15
answers
7k
views
How old do surviving children need to be to keep human civilization from failing?
This question is inspired by several similar questions on this site.
The scenario: at one moment, all people above the age X disappear without a trace. How low this X can be that human civilization ...
- 42.3k
30
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Earth becomes a rogue planet - how long can Iceland hold out?
Inspired by this question and my comment on one of the answers.
If the earth were flung out of the solar system, it would rapidly become far too cold for any unprotected life to survive on the ...
- 11k
19
votes
11
answers
6k
views
How would vampires avoid contracting diseases?
In my fantasy world vampires exist, and most of the intelligent races can be turned into one. I try to make everything in this word kind of explainable by science, at least possible in our Earth.
I'...
- 1,025
18
votes
8
answers
2k
views
What would a society of humanoid carnivores be like?
Suppose a species of obligate carnivores had convergently evolved human-level intelligence and body plan. How would this affect their agriculture/food production, and would it lower their maximum ...
17
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Would a medieval Arcology be possible?
In a barren desert, 5 cities called the desert pearls are placed like pearls on a string.
Travel between the cities are done with huge pack animals who looks like a breed between elephant (mammoth) ...
- 5,692
11
votes
8
answers
4k
views
What's the oldest plausible frozen specimen for a Jurassic Park style story-line?
We've found all sorts of interesting stuff in arctic ice & permafrost around the world.
Bacteria & the like far older than the more media friendly mammoth specimens have been found, living ...
- 10k
10
votes
11
answers
12k
views
How would Vegan Vampires survive?
There is a planet called Vegavampira, and on this planet the only really intelligent animals are Vegan Vampires, but there is one problem, because they are Vegan, they will not kill, nor will they ...
user10622
10
votes
7
answers
24k
views
Can humans survive just by eating hairs and nails?
Can humans survive by eating only nails and hairs of their own?
As they grow they consume their own hair and nails. Hair includes even body hair. What is the maximum number days a human can survive ...
- 1,911
10
votes
11
answers
3k
views
How to prepare for a huge asteroid strike?
The scenario is the following: a civilization with technology level similar to humanity's current, on a planet similar to Earth, shall be hit by a massive celestial body in approximately one year.
...
- 1,557
9
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Could an astronaut in a near-future space ship survive transit through our asteroid belt?
In the near future we may find cargo ships fleeing space pirates!
Given that...
It's a small cargo ship carrying 10 metric tons of wheat (cargo volume, approximately 13 m3). Total volume: 100 m3. ...
- 132k
9
votes
8
answers
925
views
Would humanity survive an empty Earth suddenly populated with young children?
Scenario:
An Earth that is identical to our own (for the sake of being specific let's say the environment is the same as it was in 1 BCE)
The planet is uninhabited by humans (and no there aren't ...
- 107
7
votes
2
answers
951
views
How close is too close for a human habitation to be near an erupting volcano?
I am working on a survival suspense story, where a sizeable group of surivors is trapped in a tropical island (somewhere in the Ring of Fire) by a volcanic eruption. They find shelter from the ...
- 14.6k
7
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How small can a population be with regard to genetic diversity?
I'm working on creating a species that favours small families for a number of reasons, and have no interest in 'breeding as much as possible'. As a consequence, their population size is small. But how ...
- 931
6
votes
2
answers
217
views
Slow killing atmosphere
I have seen some questions asking whether some atmospheric compositions are survivable for humans. Most of them focus on long term survival, as in people being able to breathe indefinitely without the ...
- 142k
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What would the physical effects be to Elves if they began living underground?
Background:
An Elven nation that once thrived for thousands of years as a predominantly agricultural race was forced underground because of unexplainable occurrences of extreme weather conditions (...
- 119
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Post-Apocalyptic Earth. Escape from Warehouse Moon
In its heyday Earth was a great interplanetary trading post on account of its low gravity moon which was used as a warehouse for all kinds of goods.
The Moon was covered almost entirely in large ...
- 49.5k
5
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How long would a medium sized city last if transplanted to another world?
I'm creating a story where a couple of cities across the globe have been transplanted into a different world. About a five mile sphere around a centered point in a city has been taken. They are neatly ...
- 95
4
votes
6
answers
811
views
Is there a way for a creature from earth to survive the vacuum of space for ten minutes?
I was wondering if there was a way for a creature to survive the vacuum of space for ten minutes with only a tank of oxygen and a mask to breathe the oxygen with. The creature comes from an Earth-like ...
- 3,082
4
votes
1
answer
519
views
Using dead bodies for material 4: ammunition
The world is suffering from the creatures of fantasy and nightmares which can appear with just a few minutes of warning anywhere, regardless of it being the middle of the street or on top of your bed ...
- 45.7k
4
votes
5
answers
418
views
Is a 100% effective mass extinction possible without destroying the planet?
Say I want a 100% effective mass extinction to take place on a planet similar to Earth. It should kill everything, even bacteria.
It doesn't need to happen overnight. I'm perfectly fine with some ...
- 4,168
4
votes
4
answers
730
views
Nomadic Tribe of Herders - Source of Carbs/Other Nutrients?
Where would a tribe of nomadic herders obtain their daily carbohydrates and other necessary nutrients?
Naturally they have access to protein and fat through their livestock, but what about the other ...
- 2,769
2
votes
2
answers
605
views
What could microscopic people use for fire? ( series )
Since fire is a staple of civilization and intelligent life , I though that my microscopic people ( 200 μm - 220 μm ) ought to have it too , but upon researching , I realized that fire can not exist ...
user15036
1
vote
5
answers
394
views
How would Elves survive underground without prior experience? [duplicate]
Background:
An Elven nation that once thrived for thousands of years as a predominantly agricultural race was forced underground because of unexplainable occurrences of extreme weather conditions (...
- 119
0
votes
2
answers
390
views
How much space would a city need within a ringwall to survive for an indefinite period of time?
I'm writing a D&D campaign and the premise is that a big bad thing happened and sent waves of energy pulsing over the landscape. A High Mage type character throws up an enormous wall, surmounted ...
- 3
33
votes
17
answers
56k
views
Best places to be on Earth when an all out nuclear World War III breaks out?
This is a world building question in a preventative context because those people or countries would be left fully functional while others are gone and the safe areas are where the world building would ...
- 1
30
votes
10
answers
8k
views
Would humankind remain the dominant species in a world with twice as big animals?
So, a little bit of pseudo backstory first.
Imagine mother nature would be some godly being, that actually exists. Somewhere. In spiritual form.
Now imagine humankind would be a big thorn in her eye,...
- 1,098
28
votes
6
answers
10k
views
How long could a person survive on nothing but water, salt, and sugar?
Magic System
One of my worlds has a magic system that allows people to produce any element, as well as a small number of molecules. When something is produced using magic, it spawns into existence in ...
- 2,962
27
votes
6
answers
7k
views
If a civilization could plant only three crops, which ones would cover all nutritional needs?
For example, beans and rice cooperate to make a "complete" protein, providing all of the amino acids the body can't synthesize on its own -- in fact, most traditional dishes that combine legumes and ...
- 279
24
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Other than magic, how can a cold-blooded race survive in an arctic climate?
I have a race of lizard people who live in an arctic climate (tundra/taiga). I just realized that this might be a problem, assuming they're cold-blooded, and I refuse to change the fact that they're ...
- 937
24
votes
9
answers
9k
views
Arming all untrained people with firearms, which weapon would do?
This is an extention of this question: Using dead bodies for material 4: ammunition
The world is suffering from the creatures of fantasy and nightmares which can appear with just a few minutes of ...
- 45.7k
22
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Creatures that intentionally blow themselves up
How could a creature explode itself?
Why would it?
We see example ideas of these all the time (Scourges, creepers, etc.) but nobody ever said how or why a creature would intentionally explode. I am ...
user14789
22
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Moving stealthily in a hostile enviroment
I'm in the middle of sketching out a new story, settled on a post-apocalyptic version of our present. The main feature of this environment would be blind, mindless, aggressive and contagious versions ...
- 3,816
21
votes
14
answers
3k
views
How to survive for a day if everyone is trying to kill you
I saw this a while ago, and it has bothered me ever since.
Imagine a world where you know everyone is going to go crazy in exactly one day. The entire world's population will try to find and kill you,...
- 353
18
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How long would it take before the water flowing out from an encased and flooded suburb is drinkable?
One of the early events in my story involves a 2x2 mile section of a suburban town that is encased in invisible walls 100 feet (30m) high and perpetually subjected to heavy rain at a rate of about an ...
- 5,161
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How long per day does it take to forage/hunt for food?
Alice and Bob are lost in the wilderness with no supplies!
Luckily, they're trained for this kind of thing; they decide to forage and hunt for food. About how many hours per day will they be spending ...
- 731