MovieChat Forums > Thirst (2010) Discussion > Factual errors about survival (Spoilers)

Factual errors about survival (Spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by Haccubus
9 replies | jump to latest

I watched this movie because I'm a fan of Lacey Chabert's. All around it was an interesting movie. But a bit slow and boring at parts.

What I didn't like was the character's ideas for "re-hydration". I'm not much of an outdoorsman myself, but I never heard of a person being able to survive on blood or unfiltered urine. So afterwards I was curious and I even looked it up! Some sites I found said because of the salt/toxins in blood & urine it would it even dehydrate you more by drinking these things! Any doctor-to-be should have known that (Lacey's character)!

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Lacey Chabert website: http://www.laceyrealm.com

[–] broncos24 14 years ago

There has been storyies of survivals of people drinking urine and the blood would provide more of a protein rich nutrients, should of cut the head and tail of the snake and eat the meat

[–] jackboot 14 years ago

Survivors of the Whaleship, Essex, in the 1820s, the story of which is the basis for Melville's "Moby Dick", lost adrift at sea for three months, did last for a while drinking their own urine.

[–] jbowmore 13 years ago

If water is a problem, than eating is the last thing you should do (digestion uses up water).

[–] cupcakenightmare 13 years ago

Yeah, in no way is urophagia safe for survival. It can be done, but it's not recognized in any survival manuals, as well as drinking blood. Our bodies actually use more water to break down the salts and proteins from the blood and urine, which would cause more dehydration.

What I want to know, is why didn't they cook the rattlesnake over the open flames and eat it? That would've been way better than drinking raw blood from a snake that could've been carrying salmonella on it's skin.

Also, why did the arsenic-tainted water smell/taste like garlic? Arsenic has an almondy smell. (y'know cause I drink arsenic for fun when I'm lost in the desert :P)

[–] bzs imdb 13 years ago

It's cyanide which has an almond odor, usually described as bitter almonds. No idea what strychnine (tainted water) smells like.

P.S. It was arsenic, and arsenic tainted water supposedly smells like garlic, or that's what the wikipedia says so it must be true.

[–] dwarol 13 years ago

I used to deal with solutions that were heavily laced with arsenic, but I never noticed any smell. Maybe it depends on the particular arsenic compound.

[–] chas437 13 years ago

I agree with you. I don't believe any serious survival manual would suggest drinking your own urine.

This ill-fated excursion was filled with one bad decision after another, and their "leader" was a complete fool. First, if they were indeed 80 miles from pavement, they should have had several gallons of water, and 2-3 days food supply. Second, after they crashed the vehicle, the two guys should have grabbed most of the food and water and ASAP started walking out to pavement or cell phone range. Trust me, young people can walk that far if their lives depend on it. They can walk at night if its too hot. I think it was day 3 when they finally realized that's what they should have done.

[–] vestdennis 13 years ago

Agree, it was stupid to start walking out into the desert without a clue as to where they're going. Go back the way you came or walk into cell phone range. Dumb...

[–] ronaldt49 13 years ago

Also there is a remote chance that the liquid from the truck radiator could have been used for survival. Not all vehicle owners put anti-freeze in their vehicle. Your vehicle can actually do quite well on plain water in non sub-freezing climates. Some farmers actually never use anti-freeze in equipment that is not used regularly during the winter months; they just fill up the radiator in the morning and drain it in the evening when the equipment is put away.

Liquid in truck windshield washer container might also have been safe to drink. How many of us just fill it up with tap water instead of washer solution? I've done it many times.