INGOLT: Rubber Bands

Survival is not just about living physically. Food and water may be essential to staying alive, but if one can not mentally stay intact then one may lose the ability to meet their physical needs. A mental tool is today's "I'm Not Going Out Like That" survival item. Not a standard book or travel mad libs to keep the mind sharp but rather a flexible wordless tool to secure not just our sanity but much more.

A British entrepreneur, Stephen Perry Bobstein, invented and patented the rubber band in 1845. This elastic loop can hold two objects together, one object in place, or snap an eye-ball out...if aimed properly.

For women, hippies, and guys stuck in the 80's, this band of rubber (synthetic rubber now), replaced the string as the number one hair holding devise. String manufacturers started seeing a decline in profits in the late 1800's as women scoffed at string and clamored towards the rubber band. Adjustments such as cloth out siding have been added so as to not pull the hair to tight, but the same concept remains in modern hair bands.

Besides basic rubber band functions, such as holding a newspaper paper or poster in a cylinder together, the rubber band is also useful around the house.

I have cabinet drawers that will not stay together when closed. I use a handy rubber band to hold the 2 knob handles together to keep the doors' swing in check. Also, I have used rubber bands to keep chip bags closed after being opened.

The rubber band has so many uses in ones life but the problem is coming across one. Have you ever noticed to have random rubber bands lying around when you do not need them? Should you save them? They always look a little too used and dirty. But can you just throw them away too? You know they most likely will take a billion years to decompose, and I have never seen a rubber band bin for recycling container. Glass, plastic, paper, rubber bands...not once.

In the end I toss the little guys like old greeting cards. But the next day...

Shoot! I need a rubber band!

Unless you are Tom Sawyer you will never have a rubber band when you need one.

I'm Not Going Out Like That

"I'm Not Going Out Like That" is a new series of post which will have to do with survival in one form or another. This series will also be known by it's totally catchy acronym INGOLT. Based on a lot of movie and television watching (mainly McGiver) I pretty much know what is necessary to get you by and out of tough situations. So let's start this off with an easy one...

Got a light?

Not only does a carrying a Zippo make you super-cool, but it can also be a great tool if you are in the cast of Lost. (Unfortunately, you would have to put a lighter in your checked bag. You can not carry a Zippo on a plane.) The obvious reason for a lighter is to be able to produce fire quickly. If you are stranded somewhere and must survive by hunting and gathering you will need it to start fires to cook your hunted and gathered dead animals. Oh, I forgot to mention that by "gathering" I also meant animal base. You may be trying to survive on an island or in a jungle, but that doesn't mean you have to be a pussy and gather berries.

What about after the lighter runs out of lighter fluid?

The best thing to do with a Zippo lighter is to simply open and shut it. Most people who already own one don't often even produce a flame with their Zippo. Try this:

• Lean against a wall (brick if possible...and outside a bar)
• Take the Zippo from your pocket
• Open and close the lighter a few times
• Smirk at chicks walking by (ladies, also look at ladies)
• Put the lighter away
• Repeat

While the previous technique for survival has to do with the survival of being fucking awesome, this does not mean a fluid-less lighter can't help you survive "stranded style."

It is going to be tougher to start a blaze, but you can still use the striking part (the thumb wheel combined with the bit of flint inside) to make a spark. The spark can help you catch dried out paper, plants, or organic matter on fire. That's right. Burn an old dead body if you have to.

This will lead us to a future survival item...

An old dead body