Why water and not juice/soda/beer for disaster?

[The HoneyBadger**]

Water is heavy and has zero calories. Yes it is required to live but Soda/juice/beer all have a lot of water in them and hydrate fine.

Yes water has a long shelf life but juice/soda will last for months at a time-- long enough so that if you haven't found a stable water source by the time it has expired you're already screwed.

 

[Which Doctor]

space is finite. Water has the more varied uses, though it's tough arguing against the beer.

 

[The HoneyBadger**]

space is finite. Water has the more varied uses, though it's tough arguing against the beer.

What are waters varied emergency uses? Bathing? Lol.

 

[LazyFatass]

What are waters varied emergency uses? Bathing? Lol.

Well, I mean, hygiene is pretty important. In case of emergency, bathing to remove surface bacteria can be a valuable step. When you don't know how long it will take to get the water up and running, you'll quickly find that water is better than juice/soda/beer. If you're stranded on a desert island, maybe you'd want something a little more calorie-dense, but it would have to have some nutritional value as well. Getting actual consumable supplies to a place in case of emergency generally isn't as big an issue as restoring the infrastructure, like freshwater plumbing.

 

[ShinkanPo]

Can Soda really quench thirst? When I feel really thirsty Soda does nothing for me.

 

[infinitywarrior]

Water is heavy and has zero calories. Yes it is required to live but Soda/juice/beer all have a lot of water in them and hydrate fine.

Yes water has a long shelf life but juice/soda will last for months at a time-- long enough so that if you haven't found a stable water source by the time it has expired you're already screwed.

Try making Kraft Dinner or Mr Noodle with Pop or Juice. Water is good for so many things, bathing, drinking, baking, cooking. While its true pop and juice have calories, whereas water doesnt, the trade off just isn't worth it IMO.

 

[crowded]

Beer has water but overall it is dehydrating. Plus it takes up space and needs refrigeration. I'm thinking whiskey or tequila would be a better alcohol to stash away.

 

[Which Doctor]

What are waters varied emergency uses? Bathing? Lol.

Laugh now, but when you are blowing all your meds on skin infections I'll be laughing.

Beer has water but overall it is dehydrating. Plus it takes up space and needs refrigeration. I'm thinking whiskey or tequila would be a better alcohol to stash away.

Valid point. If you are gonna waste space on beer, the why not waste it on something stronger. You could bathe in beer though, although harder liquor is more antiseptic, and can cause fires too!

 

[BRF]

Water is heavy and has zero calories. Yes it is required to live but Soda/juice/beer all have a lot of water in them and hydrate fine.

Yes water has a long shelf life but juice/soda will last for months at a time-- long enough so that if you haven't found a stable water source by the time it has expired you're already screwed.

Soda water and juice don't hydrate fine. They will all dehydrate you if that is all you are drinking. The juice and soda are both full of sugar and the beer is alcohol. All are going to dehydrate you so you would need water to rehydrate anyway. Water will have many other uses as well. Deinking, cooking, bathing, cleanining etc.

That said, if shit is that bad give me the beer. I'd rather die drunk and dehydrated than hydrated and starving.

 

[crowded]

Valid point. If you are gonna waste space on beer, the why not waste it on something stronger. You could bathe in beer though, although harder liquor is more antiseptic, and can cause fires too!

I've heard of washing one's hair with beer but never bathing in it. Me, I'd rather drink it. Maybe some anti-septic wipes utilized in a sponge-bath manner would be preferable. The whiskey can keep you warm.

 

[The HoneyBadger**]

Soda water and juice don't hydrate fine. They will all dehydrate you if that is all you are drinking. The juice and soda are both full of sugar and the beer is alcohol. All are going to dehydrate you so you would need water to rehydrate anyway. Water will have many other uses as well. Deinking, cooking, bathing, cleanining etc.

That said, if shit is that bad give me the beer. I'd rather die drunk and dehydrated than hydrated and starving.

You're wrong. Beer does not have enough alcohol in it to serve as a diuretic. People in the 14th century only drank ale/wine because of unclean water. Sugar only dehydrates your body if it is in EXTREMELY high levels or you are a diabetic.

Where did you get your degree?

Laugh now, but when you are blowing all your meds on skin infections I'll be laughing.

Realistic disaster scenarios don't last long enough to make that a major issue. It isn't hard to rub your body down with some sanitizing agent that has moisturizers added.

 

[crowded]

You're wrong. Beer does not have enough alcohol in it to serve as a diuretic.

What's this now?

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/health-benefits-of-beer.html

Diuretic: Beer acts as a diuretic, increasing urination. This in turn facilitates increased removal of toxic and waste materials out of the body.

 

[BRF]

Where did you get your degree?

At a small school where there wasn't much to do besides drink in your free time. Five years of first hand experience tells me beer, when drank in large quantities by itself, does in fact dehydrate you. Add in some physical activity which induces persperation and burning energy and you will be dehydrated feom drinking just beer. And no, soda and juice are not going to rehydrate you later.

 

[Sinister]

It may have been said already, but a sugar-filled drink is not going to hydrate you. On a cellular level it could allow for retaining water, but you're going to feel more thirsty than you were before drinking it.

 

[cuality]

There was an episode of ambiguously dual survival and when they came across beer, they just emptied it; of course saying dehydration etc. At first I was flabbergasted, thinking that eventually the alcohol would be able to evaporate, and be boiled off making it suitable for hydration.
Did some more research, and apparently it takes a while to boil off alcohol; where in some cooking methods do not remove that much of the alcohol.

Regardless I think I would take the chance and boil it off and drink in a survival situation instead of pouring it out.

 

[styleten]

What are waters varied emergency uses? Bathing? Lol.

Water can clean wounds, eyes, and crotches

 

[Sinister]

Water can clean wounds, eyes, and crotches

Urine actually does a far better job of this. Or salt water (though salt water in the eyes sucks unless you dilute it quite a bit).

There was an episode of ambiguously dual survival and when they came across beer, they just emptied it; of course saying dehydration etc. At first I was flabbergasted, thinking that eventually the alcohol would be able to evaporate, and be boiled off making it suitable for hydration.
Did some more research, and apparently it takes a while to boil off alcohol; where in some cooking methods do not remove that much of the alcohol.

Regardless I think I would take the chance and boil it off and drink in a survival situation instead of pouring it out.

There can be other uses for beer if you're stationary or your home location is. If not, then yeah, it's likely better dumped off and not carried around.

 

[The HoneyBadger**]

Someone prove to me that you will die if you only consume juice/soda/beer for an entire week straight and EAT OR DRINK NOTHING ELSE.

 

[Henry Huggins]

Someone prove to me that you will die if you only consume juice/soda/beer for an entire week straight and EAT OR DRINK NOTHING ELSE.

if you're so sure, try it and report back to us

 

[BRF]

Someone prove to me that you will die if you only consume juice/soda/beer for an entire week straight and EAT OR DRINK NOTHING ELSE.

I don't think anyone said you would die drinking that for a week. You didn't specify a week in the op. i'm thinking long haul. Still, after drinking nothing but the the three things you specified for a week, you may not be dead but you damn sure be extremely dehydrated.

And where did you get your degree?