You are the last person left on earth. What do you do?

[Bakemaster]

I'd fill the plane up with fuel, pack some memories into a bag, take a camera and paper/pens from a shop nearby, and travel forever, keeping a diary and accurate log.

Where by "forever" you mean "a few thousand miles" and then you run out of fuel and are stranded somewhere likely less hospitable than wherever you started.

[Izawwlgood]

Well, lots of inhospitable places are so because of people. I'd love to goto some parts of South America but wouldn't travel there... But yeah, flying a plane into the middle of the Sahara is just as deadly as flying a plane to the middle of, I dunno, Baghdad.

[Bakemaster]

Guarantee that more places on Earth are hospitable because of people than are inhospitable because of them.

There are these crazy things called weather and temperature that ancient man had to deal with back in the stone age, see...

[Izawwlgood]

It's a gorgeous image, that the last man on Earth crash lands his well stocked plane in the middle of the rain forest. And figures meh, might as well wear some tiger skins.

[broken_escalator]

First I'd freak the fuck out by waking up next to my dead S.O. (I assume it happens over night). I'd probably frantically try to call anyone to help and shortly realize something terrible has happened. Next I'd probably be super paranoid about what could have caused this wildly impossible phenomenon. I'll probably go check on my parents house and freak out a bit more. I'll be comforted by my dogs at the very least.

I don't know where I would choose to live, probably my dad's house because he owns a generator and grows food in his yard. I'd have to bury those I hold dear but I'd probably just set to burn the rest in the area around me. Sanitizing the house I live in would be priority, but next would be securing food/water/fuel. There are so many grocery stores in the area that I'm sure to have potable water until 'help arrives'. I'll probably keep hoping that help arrives because I couldn't imagine being the only one spared, it just doesn't make sense.

I'll need to find more dogs to keep me company, because being alone will definitely make me depressed. Especially when the power/internet grids turn off. I think finding company would be the most important thing besides basic survival. Just snuggling with my dogs and crying would probably comprise of the first few days once I dispose of the bodies. I'd definitely want to bury them sooner than later that is for sure.

I don't know a lot about fuel or power sources, so I'll probably hope to just keep using the generator as long as I can. I'm within driving distance of D.C. so finding books and knowledge of how to do things shouldn't be too difficult. I'll probably hope to find solar panels I can use, but I doubt I could configure it right away. All I really need the electricity for is entertainment mostly. I have nearly a TB of videos and games on my desktop computer alone, I'm sure I can raid houses for other entertainment too. I'll probably also look into ways to make the house more comfortable for living in.

I'll really miss living with a woman. I've grown fond of having a partner.

[El Spark]

Assuming that I don't go crazy, I'd probably pack up my truck and try to head south a bit. Perhaps an hour and a half south, by normal travel, you can find one of the biggest Wal-Mart distribution centers in America. I'm willing to bet that there would be backup generators there, and I know for a fact that it's about thirty miles from several large towns that feature gas stations. At that point it's an issue of piling the relevant dead bodies somewhere far away so that the smell and disease don't get me, and then settling down into life at Wal-Mart. Frozen food, check, limited power, check, ridiculous amounts of all kinds of supplies, check. Find some pharmacies, raid them, then teach myself important things about medicine.

I imagine I could hold out pretty well there for several years while I read my way through the nearby libraries. I'd probably kill myself in a silly accident involving a motorcycle.

[undergroundpanda]

After I majorly freaked out at the sudden disappearance of every single person I know, I would go about getting the necessities to survive. After that, I'd prepare for a very fun life. Think about it. You have access to anything you want. Games, books, food, movies, cars, the list goes on. It would be a pretty sweet life.

[SummerGlauFan]

Assuming that I don't go crazy, I'd probably pack up my truck and try to head south a bit. Perhaps an hour and a half south, by normal travel, you can find one of the biggest Wal-Mart distribution centers in America. I'm willing to bet that there would be backup generators there, and I know for a fact that it's about thirty miles from several large towns that feature gas stations. At that point it's an issue of piling the relevant dead bodies somewhere far away so that the smell and disease don't get me, and then settling down into life at Wal-Mart. Frozen food, check, limited power, check, ridiculous amounts of all kinds of supplies, check. Find some pharmacies, raid them, then teach myself important things about medicine.

I imagine I could hold out pretty well there for several years while I read my way through the nearby libraries. I'd probably kill myself in a silly accident involving a motorcycle.

You'd be surprised how much useless junk is at one of those distribution stores. Washer/dryer combos, garbage bins, furniture, etc will take up the bulk of it, and most of the food there will be of the perishable variety and likely already spoiled by the time you arrive.

[SecondTalon]

I'm.. also not sure where people keep getting the notion of backup generators lasting for weeks or whatever. Backup generators are.. a backup for when power is interrupted, not a backup for when the grid goes down. You usually measure their power generation capabilities in hours, not days and sure as hell not weeks.

Now, while I will grant you that a lot of supermarkets and deep freezers and the like may be on generators depending on the nature of business and it's faith in the grid, and the food and such inside isn't going to go bad instantly, you're still measuring it's lifespan in days. I mean, best case scenario for keeping that shit good is that all this happens in the dead of winter and you live in a place that gets at least close to freezing, if not below freezing. But that's going to present it's own problems in keeping yourself warm.

Hell, even if the very first thing you did was pump out gas from all the stations you could find, you're probably going to run out of containers before the power fails, and even if you manage to get all the gas out, you're not going to keep the power up for months. Weeks, maybe, but not months. Even if you ration it, though that may help you stretch it out to months. Still not years, though.

[Thesh]

A walk-in freezer at a grocery store will keep temp for a week after power loss, provided that you don't open it... Not sure how much good it would do you if you can't open it.

[Josephine]

Chemicals exist to allow fuel to be preserved for years. With access to a camping/boating store and the cars in the area, you could last long enough to get a permanent fuel source up. Will backup generators work indefinitely provided fuel access?

[Foremorrow]

I think I would start by observing my new environment. Then I believe my second action would be to start punching trees. I would just progress from there.

[Josephine]

I think I would start by observing my new environment. Then I believe my second action would be to start punching trees. I would just progress from there.

At least there are no creepers.

[tastelikecoke]

I'll borrow a steam roller from a dead acquaintance. I think New York is the best place to use it. Yay dead people's blood.

[Vapour]

I think I would start by observing my new environment. Then I believe my second action would be to start punching trees. I would just progress from there.

I like the way you think.

[Arolandforan]

Find a good towel and take up stargazing. Most of all, Don't Panic. It's a busy galaxy, someone will be along in a moment.

[SecondTalon]

Chemicals exist to allow fuel to be preserved for years. With access to a camping/boating store and the cars in the area, you could last long enough to get a permanent fuel source up. Will backup generators work indefinitely provided fuel access?

How good are you at generator maintenance? What about machine fabrication? I mean, provided you can determine what made a generator fail and have either the parts to fix it or the knowledge and tools to create the parts, then for your purposes it could be theoretically indefinite, assuming all of the fuel depots you're using have been treated.

[El Spark]

Assuming that I don't go crazy, I'd probably pack up my truck and try to head south a bit. Perhaps an hour and a half south, by normal travel, you can find one of the biggest Wal-Mart distribution centers in America. I'm willing to bet that there would be backup generators there, and I know for a fact that it's about thirty miles from several large towns that feature gas stations. At that point it's an issue of piling the relevant dead bodies somewhere far away so that the smell and disease don't get me, and then settling down into life at Wal-Mart. Frozen food, check, limited power, check, ridiculous amounts of all kinds of supplies, check. Find some pharmacies, raid them, then teach myself important things about medicine.

I imagine I could hold out pretty well there for several years while I read my way through the nearby libraries. I'd probably kill myself in a silly accident involving a motorcycle.

You'd be surprised how much useless junk is at one of those distribution stores. Washer/dryer combos, garbage bins, furniture, etc will take up the bulk of it, and most of the food there will be of the perishable variety and likely already spoiled by the time you arrive.

Well, that's true. But I'm talking about a distribution center here; it's one of those huge places that acts as the central repository for more or less the entire state, so that whenever a Wal-Mart runs out of whatever, the center can truck it to them the next day. I suspect that they'll have a lot of useless stuff and things that will spoil, but I ALSO suspect that they'll have a LOT of things like ammunition, camping supplies, canned foods, food preservation supplies, etc. I'll just quietly set up a small apartment in there, use the electricity while I can to get ready for when it's gone (dried meats, etc), and then I figure I'll probably do pretty well for a while.

[SecondTalon]

I was under the impression that most businesses, Wal-Mart included, deal with a more On Demand supply chain rather than a Buy'n'Store one - where if Wal-Mart needs more ... Wolverine Bicycles or diapers or shotguns or whatever... they may have a small stock on hand, but more likely they just tell the manufacturer "Yeah, we need 500 extra units for Witchita, no fucking clue why". Now, you may be right, but I was under the impression that those distribution centers were the gathering point, not the storing point. So there's absolutely no telling what will be there. Ammo and such if it's near a hunting season, yes, but otherwise.. probably not. Food's going to be an always thing, so there is that.

[El Spark]

I was under the impression that most businesses, Wal-Mart included, deal with a more On Demand supply chain rather than a Buy'n'Store one - where if Wal-Mart needs more ... Wolverine Bicycles or diapers or shotguns or whatever... they may have a small stock on hand, but more likely they just tell the manufacturer "Yeah, we need 500 extra units for Witchita, no fucking clue why". Now, you may be right, but I was under the impression that those distribution centers were the gathering point, not the storing point. So there's absolutely no telling what will be there. Ammo and such if it's near a hunting season, yes, but otherwise.. probably not. Food's going to be an always thing, so there is that.

After reviewing some of the information I could find, you're pretty much right.

Still, this is Arkansas. There'll be ammo. =P

If not, hell. I'm the last person on earth; I can just walk into the average Wal-Mart and find enough hunting and fishing supplies to last me until I die of food poisoning from an improperly cooked deer.

As a side note, it's also the rally point for me and my brother in the event of a zombie uprising.

[scienceroboticspunk]

Once I am done freaking out i will visit my local police station, see if everyone is really dead, then raid the armory there. I would visit a camping store and a adult toy store sometime just for fun too. Then I would just drive around fast and drink all the alc I can.

[Foremorrow]

Find a good towel and take up stargazing. Most of all, Don't Panic. It's a busy galaxy, someone will be along in a moment.

Yes, you make a good point. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire human race got mysteriously wiped out when you consider that Zaphod Beebelbrox is running the galaxy right now.

[Bakemaster]

I'm.. also not sure where people keep getting the notion of backup generators lasting for weeks or whatever. Backup generators are.. a backup for when power is interrupted, not a backup for when the grid goes down. You usually measure their power generation capabilities in hours, not days and sure as hell not weeks.

To be fair though, not all gas-powered generators are backup generators. Back in Boston they had a portable light set up outside the subway stop by my house every night for the better part of a year, and if it wasn't running on gas, it did a hell of a job pretending it was. Had wheels and a trailer hitch, even. That's the sort of thing I'd be looking for. There's a national guard armory and a highway patrol station here in town. Failing that, there's the USFS ranger station, city police, city fire, hospital, and two volunteer fire stations to check out.

In any case, the idea isn't to have power indefinitely, but to have power long enough to transition away from the need for power. Or at least ease that transition. And the gas is just as critical for transportation as for power; especially if this goes down in winter (and I have to relocate ASAP to a warmer area). I don't want to be siphoning habitually from random cars in a world with no medical personnel.

One thing I have been wondering though is what the shelf life of various types of battery might be. Let's say I've got a dump of wikihow on the slimmest netbook I can rip off from somewhere. It would be great if I could refer to it in perpetuity, seeing as it's searchable and portable. But I'd need a way to either recharge the battery, or power it on scavenged batteries. I have no doubt that given enough time I could jury-rig some kind of setup that would give me occasional use of the thing... Probably go through a lot of netbooks experimenting, but supply isn't really an issue in this scenario. But how long will any battery that could potentially provide the necessary juice hold onto its charge, just sitting on the shelf? I mean, for all I know, every accessible battery in the world might have discharged in the packaging within 20 years. I don't have a lot of knowledge about batteries.

[Thesh]

I remember a long time ago, I used to read stuff that was on paper. Does anyone know if it possible to get a dump of wikihow and then somehow transfer that information onto paper?

[Midnight]

I remember a long time ago, I used to read stuff that was on paper. Does anyone know if it possible to get a dump of wikihow and then somehow transfer that information onto paper?

Can't tell if you're joking, but if not: ...hit "print" on whatever page you're on.

[Zohar]

I'm pretty sure he was joking...

And Bakemaster, I read several months ago about portable chargers for your phone that have a crank attached - turn the crank and it will charge the phone. It will probably work for a computer as well. And if you can't find any generators, you can try hooking it up to your car, there are converters for that as well.

[El Spark]

And Mr. Bakerstein, I read several months ago about portable chargers for your phone that have a crank attached - turn the crank and it will charge the phone. It will probably work for a computer as well. And if you can't find any generators, you can try hooking it up to your car, there are converters for that as well.

Oh yeah! There are crank-charged radios and lights at camping-goods sections and stores all over the place. That'd be handy, I imagine.

[SecondTalon]

I'm.. also not sure where people keep getting the notion of backup generators lasting for weeks or whatever. Backup generators are.. a backup for when power is interrupted, not a backup for when the grid goes down. You usually measure their power generation capabilities in hours, not days and sure as hell not weeks.

To be fair though, not all gas-powered generators are backup generators. Back in Boston they had a portable light set up outside the subway stop by my house every night for the better part of a year, and if it wasn't running on gas, it did a hell of a job pretending it was. Had wheels and a trailer hitch, even. That's the sort of thing I'd be looking for. There's a national guard armory and a highway patrol station here in town. Failing that, there's the USFS ranger station, city police, city fire, hospital, and two volunteer fire stations to check out.

In any case, the idea isn't to have power indefinitely, but to have power long enough to transition away from the need for power. Or at least ease that transition. And the gas is just as critical for transportation as for power; especially if this goes down in winter (and I have to relocate ASAP to a warmer area). I don't want to be siphoning habitually from random cars in a world with no medical personnel.

One thing I have been wondering though is what the shelf life of various types of battery might be. Let's say I've got a dump of wikihow on the slimmest netbook I can rip off from somewhere. It would be great if I could refer to it in perpetuity, seeing as it's searchable and portable. But I'd need a way to either recharge the battery, or power it on scavenged batteries. I have no doubt that given enough time I could jury-rig some kind of setup that would give me occasional use of the thing... Probably go through a lot of netbooks experimenting, but supply isn't really an issue in this scenario. But how long will any battery that could potentially provide the necessary juice hold onto its charge, just sitting on the shelf? I mean, for all I know, every accessible battery in the world might have discharged in the packaging within 20 years. I don't have a lot of knowledge about batteries.

I figure a bike generator tied to a UPS would suit a lot of small power needs - laptops and the like. Bike for an hour or so a day, charge up the UPS, should give you a bit of power.

Anyway, yeah.. a fuel generator with an uninterrupted supply of gasoline will last quite some time. Two winters ago when we had that bad ice storm and before that when Ike sent up a windstorm, my workplace lost power for several days.. Ice storm I think was 3 or 4 days, Windstorm was a few days more than that... the problem became that we were having problems finding gas stations who were capable of dispensing (and that also had diesel). Can't remember how long our batteries run.. point being that while my workplace can continue to do it's job without power, it can only do it for a day at most. Then it needs diesel.

So yeah, I'm wondering how often someone was by to refuel that light generator.

All that said, if you run a generator to charge batteries, and shut it down when you aren't charging, you're going to make the fuel last longer. Assuming you aren't microwaving stuff while using a hair dryer and watching a DVD Movie while listening to some CDs, of course.

[broken_escalator]

Assuming you aren't microwaving stuff while using a hair dryer and watching a DVD Movie while listening to some CDs, of course.

Sure, if you call that living!!!

One thing I just thought of: it would really suck to lose the internet. Having to find extensive guides to DIY from libraries is going to suck. I better go print out some survival pages in case someday we have a doomsday scenario and either me or someone else stumbles across my survival pages. I think I remember a tshirt that listed like all major discoveries in a very simplified form or something. Damn can't remember now.

[SecondTalon]

This one?

[JBJ]

Alvin PREF pocket reference. Better in my opinion. Tables, maps, formulas, constants, conversions.

[broken_escalator]

This one?

Bingo.

[SummerGlauFan]

I'm.. also not sure where people keep getting the notion of backup generators lasting for weeks or whatever. Backup generators are.. a backup for when power is interrupted, not a backup for when the grid goes down. You usually measure their power generation capabilities in hours, not days and sure as hell not weeks.

To be fair though, not all gas-powered generators are backup generators. Back in Boston they had a portable light set up outside the subway stop by my house every night for the better part of a year, and if it wasn't running on gas, it did a hell of a job pretending it was. Had wheels and a trailer hitch, even. That's the sort of thing I'd be looking for. There's a national guard armory and a highway patrol station here in town. Failing that, there's the USFS ranger station, city police, city fire, hospital, and two volunteer fire stations to check out.

In any case, the idea isn't to have power indefinitely, but to have power long enough to transition away from the need for power. Or at least ease that transition. And the gas is just as critical for transportation as for power; especially if this goes down in winter (and I have to relocate ASAP to a warmer area). I don't want to be siphoning habitually from random cars in a world with no medical personnel.

One thing I have been wondering though is what the shelf life of various types of battery might be. Let's say I've got a dump of wikihow on the slimmest netbook I can rip off from somewhere. It would be great if I could refer to it in perpetuity, seeing as it's searchable and portable. But I'd need a way to either recharge the battery, or power it on scavenged batteries. I have no doubt that given enough time I could jury-rig some kind of setup that would give me occasional use of the thing... Probably go through a lot of netbooks experimenting, but supply isn't really an issue in this scenario. But how long will any battery that could potentially provide the necessary juice hold onto its charge, just sitting on the shelf? I mean, for all I know, every accessible battery in the world might have discharged in the packaging within 20 years. I don't have a lot of knowledge about batteries.

I figure a bike generator tied to a UPS would suit a lot of small power needs - laptops and the like. Bike for an hour or so a day, charge up the UPS, should give you a bit of power.

Anyway, yeah.. a fuel generator with an uninterrupted supply of gasoline will last quite some time. Two winters ago when we had that bad ice storm and before that when Ike sent up a windstorm, my workplace lost power for several days.. Ice storm I think was 3 or 4 days, Windstorm was a few days more than that... the problem became that we were having problems finding gas stations who were capable of dispensing (and that also had diesel). Can't remember how long our batteries run.. point being that while my workplace can continue to do it's job without power, it can only do it for a day at most. Then it needs diesel.

So yeah, I'm wondering how often someone was by to refuel that light generator.

All that said, if you run a generator to charge batteries, and shut it down when you aren't charging, you're going to make the fuel last longer. Assuming you aren't microwaving stuff while using a hair dryer and watching a DVD Movie while listening to some CDs, of course.

My apologies for the quote pyramid.

I would only use gasoline generators for a few purposes.

1. Immediate need. Since my state gets every form of weather imaginable besides actual hurricanes, if this scenario goes down in a time when temperatures are extreme I will need a form of power just to stay alive.
2. Transition. Mostly deals with the above scenario, though I already have a small generator that can produce enough power to run a few appliances and power tools. Anyway, I would use such a generator for essential power while I get some solar panels and install them (I won't say it's easy, but it's even more simple than building a PC. The actual difficulty will be finding the panels). I have less experience with wind turbines, but I know there are small models intended for homes.
3. Backup/supplement to my long-term solar/wind generators. If it's cloudy and calm (especially in the winter when the bitter cold will place even more strain on electricity) I will want a generator to supplement my power. However, I also plan on wiring a series of car batteries to store juice as well.

[Josephine]

You could just hook up a turbine to cars and let it run until something goes wrong with the engine. then get a new car. repeat.

[Nintendo01]

My first thing to do (after I finished freaking out and realized that I'm all alone) would be to load up my backpacking gear and hike down to the local Wal-Mart to get whatever I don't currently have that I'd need for survival right away, then find a small house with a woodstove near the city and near an above ground water source, clear out the bodies and rotting foods, then set up for myself. I'd make trips back and forth from Wal-Mart and other stores until I have what I need to last a while. I'd gather canned food to last me the winter and for future emergencies, rechargable batteries and solar rechargers to power light sources, seeds for a garden, guns and ammo for hunting, water purification devices (lots of bleach for when those run out), extra clothing, medicines and first aid supplies, and other things I'm not thinking of right now. I know the batteries won't last more than a few years, but the lights would be handy while they lasted. Come to think of it, Christmas lights would be a good light source: low power and nearly every house has some in storage.

Once I get settled I'd construct a large bunker (cement blocks with rebar and cement as mortar) built into a hillside for a permanant shelter. It'd likely take a few months and hundreds of wheel barrow trips miles to the nearest Home Depot to complete, but it would give me something to do and the house I took over in the beginning wouldn't be permanant enough for my liking. One good storm could take it away and concrete would be easier upkeep than a house. It's not like I'd need something decent and expandable to raise a family in.

Once the bunker is finished, I'd explore my local area and probably move much of the local libraries to my new home. Since there would be no power, no internet, and no people, my only source of entertainment would be books. After that, I don't really know besides farming and hunting and living. Perhaps gather some chickens, cows, and other farm animals and raise them.

Other people have mentioned various permanant power sources, but would power really be necessary? Power would be useful for food preservation (refrigerator/freezer) and entertainment purposes (computer), but the power source or something related that you depend on (a refrigerator full of food) would eventually fail and you'd be screwed. I think that, if you do have a power source, use it for convenience things like lights, not anything that you rely on for survival.

[Essah]

you know this might not be what you intended with the topic but if there were noone else on the earth than me there were no point in living myself.
i would probably kill myself somehow.

[Bakemaster]

My long-term motivation for having a source of occasional power is that I don't want to spend the rest of my life not being able to ever listen to Regina Spektor (et al)

[SummerGlauFan]

Power has a ton of uses. In addition to storing food longer, it allows you to be active longer in the day (light), allows use of a broader and more powerful range of tools (power tools), provides you the option of a dwelling not susceptible to outside temperatures (heating/air), allows a broad entertainment choice, medical usage, defense, etc etc.

Electricity is simply far too valuable to intentionally ignore.

[Ubik]

Even the southernmost parts of this country get enough snow for winters to become a real problem to me, I suspect. I mean, the snow blanket would just get thicker and thicker during several months when there's no one to plow it away, so even if I could drive a car, roads could get completely useless. Moving to another country would be problematic too, because knowing the local language would be essential. I simply wouldn't know how to operate many things if I couldn't consult manuals. Or grow things properly, because canned food probably isn't all that healthy for longer periods of time. Wouldn't canned food get bad anyway, even if it took years? Germany would probably be my only realistic option for another country of residence, because I have at least some knowledge of the language already.

I would probably get south within the country first and find a garrison. There would be weapons (though locked heavy doors could become a problem, hard to say) because in addition to hunting, encounters with wild animals would probably become more common when there's no more other humans to keep them away from urban places. I know very little about generators, but the ones I have I used were the ones I used in military service, so that would be another point for garrisons as a living place.

A point I don't think anyone has made yet is the effect of the time of the day when everyone else dies. If everyone drops dead in the middle of the day, there would be lots of bodies all over (so scavenging animals and smell would be all over too) and stoves left on and things like that could mean entire cities burning down. At night most of the people are inside and sleeping so chances of big fires should be lower. But cities could still burn, because there wouldn't be anyone to stop the fewer fires from spreading. Luckily we don't live predominantly in wooden buildings anymore.

[Subliminity]

Well, it depends. In this scenario am I in my current city? Do I know how to fly a plane? What killed everyone? If there's some kind of radioactivity or debris that could potentially harm me...it depends, yeah.

But anyways I'd steal a B-2 bomber, do flips, and shoot down elephants.