Gulp Assessment: Fill & Download for Free

Survival Myths VS The Truth:Myth: If you are lost and have only a limited amount of water, you should try to ration it and stretch it out as long as possible.TRUTH: People have died in the desert with water still in their canteens. You should avoid panic-gulping all your water, but feel free to try and keep yourself hydrated with the water you DO have, for as long as possible. Once the water runs out, you have two, three days at most before you become incapacitated. By staying hydrated at the start for as long as you can, your chances of being able to cover ground effectively and find MORE water are greatly increased. Rationing your water too much will simply bring on weakness and dehydration that much faster.Myth: The minute you come to the conclusion you are lost, you should turn around and head back the way you were going, especially before it gets dark.TRUTH: Unless you are absolutely sure you know your way back, you should NOT do this. Sit down, calm down, assess the situation, and THINK. Will you be there for the night? Then start building a shelter. Get a fire going, and gather enough firewood to last through the next morning. Accept that you will be spending the night, and leave it to the next day to try and find your way out. You will be more rested and think more clearly in the morning.Myth: Lack of water is your biggest worry. You can die in three days without water.TRUTH: Lack of water is actually SECOND on your worry list. Shelter and warmth are more important. Hypothermia can kill you in much less than three days. If you are caught out in the cold and lose core body heat, you could be dead in three HOURS.

There’s an obvious difference between a cat luxuriously licking its chops after a meal, and the nervous, tongue-just-visible, licking of a cat that’s in (or just escaped) a stressful situation.Two cats in a not-quite-yowling-standoff situation will exhibit that nervous licking behaviour in sequence, first one, then the other, until both cats have got the message that neither is dominant and/or aggressive. They’ll retreat away from each other and, once in a place of safety, continue that licking until they feel calm.If you drop your keys, noisily, in the presence of your cat, she’ll escape and lick nervously from a safe distance while she assesses the situation. It might not be a means of communication, rather a reflexive action to stress, just as we might gulp (do we gulp? Or is that only in comic books and cartoons?) before giving an important presentation.

One day I was at Home Depot enjoying a large Polish dog with all the fixins’ at the Hot Dog stand.I was sitting alone minding my own business, munching away.I gazed across the parking lot and my eyes met with a curious scene: an elderly man was approaching shoppers as they walked to their vehicles. His hands were waving wildly, yet no sounds were coming from his mouth.People walked right past him as if he was not there.This particular Home Depot parking lot was located in Santa Cruz, and if you’ve ever visited this surf town in California, you’d know that there are a lot of crazy old people around town, homeless or otherwise, so this wasn’t far from the usual.All of the sudden, he catches my gaze and locks eyes with me from 60 feet away and starts stumbling towards me.I set down my hot dog and straighten up in my seat.In zombie like fashion, arms waving, silent, eyes bulging, he made his way across the parking lot towards me.Upon closer inspection, this wasn’t some homeless guy, but likely someone’s grandfather, he was clean enough and dressed casually in a black polo shirt in jeans.As he approached my table I stood up and assessed the situation: “sir are you alright?”He struggled for the words, and began pounding his chest as if he was having a heart attack, I asked if he was alright a second time as he wobbled around struggling for balance.It dawned on me that this man is not breathing, and he was clearly in distress.“Do you have heart issues? Should I call an ambulance?”“Gaahhhhck!” Was his reply.Instantly it dawned on me, this man is choking!I grabbed his outstretched arm and whipped him around into a bear hug, his face aimed at the trash can, and began administering the Heimlich Manuever.After three quick thrusts of my clasped fists up into his abdomen, a 2 inch long chunk of jumbo hot dog shot out from his mouth, landing with a loud “thwack!” Into the plastic bag lined trash can.He gulped down his first breath and steadied himself on the picnic table.I asked him if he was alright, and he nodded his head but still said nothing.As he regained his breath, without saying a word to me, he straightened up and walked to his car and drove past me out of the parking lot, with a wave of his hand as a thank you.Nobody saw this happen…and in disbelief I threw away the rest of my hot dog and walked into the store.Good thing I worked as a pool lifeguard during the summer when I was in highschool.