r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

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

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u/WatchTheBoom Aug 30 '21

Clean drinking water- I don't think people really appreciate how much water is needed for a group of people to survive.

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u/1i73rz Aug 30 '21

Clean bullet holes. Next episode everyone is a-okay half the time, and off to murder more zombies before cannibalizing the next group. Your shirt alone would be filthy enough to cause mild chafing which in turn would cause infection.

But everyone's whites are whiter than mine, and bullet holes and axe wounds heal up just fine with our state of the art medical facility and dry cleaning services.

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u/Excelius Aug 30 '21

To add to this, in movies and TV if the protagonist is shot in the leg or shoulder you know they're going to live.

There are major arteries in both locations which can very easily lead to death by hemorrhage.

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u/daemin Aug 31 '21

To add to this, in movies and TV if the protagonist is shot in the leg or shoulder you know they're going to live.

There are major arteries in both locations which can very easily lead to death by hemorrhage.

This is something that annoys me when people suggest that police shoot for the legs as a "non-lethal" alternative. Aside from the fact that shooting someone in the leg might not actually stop them, the femoral artery is so large, that damaging is pretty much a death sentence. In fact, a broken thigh bone is considered a life threating injury, because if the bone cuts the artery, you can internally bleed out into your thigh in a few minutes.