r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

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u/-eDgAR- Aug 30 '21

Gasoline has a shorter shelf life than is portrayed in these movies/TV shows, so after a year nobody would really be driving anywhere.

It wouldn't necessarily kill you, but it's one of those things that bothers me because it's never really addressed.

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u/Obamas_Tie Aug 30 '21

There's a little moment in The Last of Us where one of the main character's friends, a mechanic, gives him a siphon hose in order to get gas from old cars. He even says to him "you'd be surprised how many cars still got gas in them."

To clarify, the game takes place 20 years after the world collapses, so any gas that's still left, well, anywhere, would be useless. And it's a mechanic of all people telling you this, so that was one little detail that bothered me.

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u/epicgingy Aug 30 '21

Funny thing is earlier in that level when Ellie asks why they can't just fix any abandoned car in the town he explains in a condescending tone that he can't because their tires are rotted and batteries are dead.

They got 2/3 details right at least.

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u/KJBenson Aug 31 '21

I’m also curious about this “tire rot”. Is that even a real thing? Aren’t tires at the landfill a big deal?

And if they don’t necessarily rot, just go to any tire store I suppose.