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

[Thesh]

Well, it depends. In this scenario am I in my current city?

Depends, are you omnipresent?

Do I know how to fly a plane?

I don't know you that well.

What killed everyone?

Are you a coroner by any chance? Maybe you can do an autopsy and find out.

[Nova]

It's early November in the center of North America. Priority #1 is filling a van with survival supplies and driving to a warmer place that is reasonably free from catastrophes. I'll have plenty of time to formulate medium- and long-term plans while I'm on the road south. I am not wintering here. It would be suicidal.

Wait, wait, I have a pilot's license. I'll steal a nice Cessna 210 and fly south. (Best to do this while the avgas in the tanker truck is still usable.)

Humanity started in really balmy places. As we civilized, we learned to survive in the other places. With just me and no civilization looking after me? Back to the balmy places, real darned quick.

I think the most depressing thing about the whole scenario, aside from the sudden loss of every single human being, would be the relentless crush of increasing difficulty and spoilage deadlines as everything man-made decays. One week on, no electricity, anywhere, so scavenging fresh food from retail stores ends. One month on, most scavenged gasoline will be waterlogged and decaying. A few years on, canned goods are unusable, packaged batteries are becoming quite dodgy, and so forth. Ten years on, I'm fifty years old and starting to wonder when I'm going to come down with a usually-treatable malady that will kill me dead.

[Zohar]

I won't have any problems staying here in winter. The problem is water. But even that's not such a big deal - I drive to the Kineret and I have an endless supply of fresh water right at my doorstep.

I'll try to find where's the nearest big military base (probably pretty close, considering it's Israel), and they're bound to have enough long-term lasting food. I'll have to start growing things myself but really, this is a pretty good area to do so. There won't be a problem getting cows and chickens, which I'll have to keep in separate pens to avoid disease (since I probably won't be able to cure them). There aren't any natural predators in Israel, either - a few tigers in the desert (literally - less than ten), so I'm not worried about that. Wild dogs will probably be a problem...

Boredom would be a problem. I don't think I have any chance of reviving the human race, I'll have to find nearby libraries and occupy myself with farming work. I'll have to see what I can do about sustainable power, since I'd definitely want to listen to music, hear human sounds, have some form of refrigeration. I'll have to study how to do those things.

[Oregonaut]

MREs only last two years.

[SecondTalon]

Canned food lasts 1-3 years, apparently, depending on a number of factors. There was some argument on the definition of "lasts" in a few various forum threads in other places.. some were arguing you shouldn't eat it at all, some others were saying that, as long as the can wasn't bulging or leaking or whatever and was intact, the contents wouldn't kill or even cause discomfort, they just were no longer nutritionally sound.

Still, either way, after about two or three years, it would appear a more permanent reoccurring food supply would need to be established. So might as well make it a priority to get to a comfortable climate if you aren't already in one, and get a farm set up and running while you didn't necessarily need it so you'd know what you were doing when you did need it.

[Oregonaut]

Hmm, I should have put only in italics there. I are the sleepy, and forgot that the internets do not convey "tone". ST explained very well what I was thinking.

Carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, strawberries, apples, I should think.

[El Spark]

How long does dried grain last? Seems like I heard something about viable corn seeds found in the pyramids or something...that sounds like they'd still be edible, too.

In my part of the world, you'd find huge silos full of dried rice. Seriously, between that and soybeans, you've got our two major crops in the Arkansas Delta. Obviously, you wouldn't want to keep it in the silos, but it shouldn't be TOO hard to find glass jars that would allow you to keep lots and lots of dried rice and beans for quite some time.

I could be completely mad. It's happened before.

[SecondTalon]

Grain will keep if stored properly.

...

Do you know how to store it properly without power? I sure as hell don't. In a quick lookup, it seems that it's not a big deal if you have stuff set up ahead of time, but doing it alone may be troublesome. Then again, that's for storing for years. If you're storing for months, then it's probably not going to be as big of a problem. Coffee Cans will work for that.

[Oregonaut]

Salt the ever living monkey nuts out of any meat you have, then find an underground shelter to store it in, I'd think.

[El Spark]

Well, I now know more about storing foods than I did. ^.^

USA Emergency Supply is a HELL of an interesting website that deals with how to store food, dehydrate food, etc. I suspect that a lot of their info relies on electricity for its viability (or at least its preparation), but I also think that a lot of it would be adaptable. The website is also a place to buy those supplies, but it has a lot of good info in its FAQs about storage life.

[SummerGlauFan]

Grain will keep if stored properly.

...

Do you know how to store it properly without power? I sure as hell don't. In a quick lookup, it seems that it's not a big deal if you have stuff set up ahead of time, but doing it alone may be troublesome. Then again, that's for storing for years. If you're storing for months, then it's probably not going to be as big of a problem. Coffee Cans will work for that.

A very quick Youtube search turned up this video. Not likely to last more than a few years, but it certainly gives you storage in case something happens to your farm. Not to mention past civilizations used to store grain for decades, so that is something worth looking at as well. There's also self-canning. Honestly, if you're someone who is concerned at all with self-sufficiency, you should at least read up on canning and gardening.

I'm also planning on having a source of power anyway. Though, would refrigeration affect the shelf life of canned foods?

Canned food lasts 1-3 years, apparently, depending on a number of factors. There was some argument on the definition of "lasts" in a few various forum threads in other places.. some were arguing you shouldn't eat it at all, some others were saying that, as long as the can wasn't bulging or leaking or whatever and was intact, the contents wouldn't kill or even cause discomfort, they just were no longer nutritionally sound.

Still, either way, after about two or three years, it would appear a more permanent reoccurring food supply would need to be established. So might as well make it a priority to get to a comfortable climate if you aren't already in one, and get a farm set up and running while you didn't necessarily need it so you'd know what you were doing when you did need it.

Only one human being needing to feed himself should be able to do so just with hunting/gathering, throw in fishing, and you're set. I'd probably have a vegetable garden and some fruit trees to give myself variety.

Something that was touched on earlier is the psychological effect such an event would have on someone. I'm talking about more than just the initial shock of waking up to find every human being dead. I'm talking about year after year after year of being alone. I'd probably cope with pets; in addition to the practical use of dogs and cats, the psychological comfort and companionship they would provide would be invaluable. If I had some way to care for them I might also keep some smaller animals like gerbils and turtles. Even so, I don't know if I would wind up like the guy in Castaway, talking to a volleyball or something, or if the animals would provide a suitable outlet for that. I can imagine some periods of depression, though, especially in the times of the year when there is not a lot to keep myself active, such as winter. Yet another reason to find a warmer place.

[addams]

I'd probably be frantically thinking of ways to get something going that resembles my current life .. Leaving the thinking about what just happened for later.

I'd try and find some place that has a wind generator tho. Or a few places that have them. And of course get a computer going(cant... help.... myself....). Then maybe a few , then maybe a cluster , then have it generate random routines and run them , if they run give them some memory space and boundries to run in , have a go at it for a few months , crying in a corner , trying to make myself a "friend" , realising what loneliness really is , giving up on hoping the bloody thing will spontaniously sprout intelligence, start making the thinking algorythms I pondered on while i was younger (and are on every programmer's eternal to-do list i'm sure). Go mad. raid pharmacies for "antibiotics" cough cough ... oh and cough syrup for that cough there <-- . Go a different kind of mad . Boldly pee where i never peed before. Read , eat .. probably scavenge for the first couple of years tbh , I'm not sure i'd be starting some kind of farm from the get-go. Get to Japan , thinking there's survivors there. Cry , be disaponted . Go mad again . Go back home. Live out the rest of my life reading , programming , playing fruity frank on my cpc464 emulator .Near the end leave some distributed program running with my earlier spontanious life project , Have a last long laugh thinking about the guys that believed in reincarnation ,Die.

So funny! Yeah. Me, too.
Maybe, not in that exact order.
I can't read code and I would expect the internet to
completely collapse.
I would stick my nose in a book, between, episodes of insanity.

I think that I might just walk south to Mexico, thinking;
There have got to be a few Mexicans.
Die somewhere out there still thinking; There are Mexicans.
The Mexicans of my imagination are just as loud as the real ones.

[monaliza]

oh Gosh!!! I usually think about that .What a bad feeling to be lonely

[Arancaytar]

Yes, we are all dead. If you see anything, it was just a bot. Like me.
I put forward the neccesity to have a website where it tells if all the people on earth have died in the event of the totally plausible scenario in this topic. Maybe i haven't searched enought.

www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com ?

[thorgold]

So, everyone's dead? First thing to do is curse my rotten genetics for making me the only survivor, or whatever cosmic power kept me alive.

First, I'd go to Colorado, specifically Colorado Springs. Set up a home base at USAFA, clear out bodies, loot food, fuel, and water from the towns nearby. Then, I'd FLY. There are hundreds of planes, information on how to fly those planes, and simulators to boot. Plus, I've always wanted to explore the old nuclear bunkers they have built under the base.

I think, after a few years, once I fulfill all my aspirations, I'd fly a plane as high as possible, then eject with no parachute.

[delfts]

In one universe, I might try to max out my parkour skills. Living in New York City provides a ton of parkour opportunities, but I've never done it as it's a tad bit on the illegal side.

[SecondTalon]

In one universe, I might try to max out my parkour skills. Living in New York City provides a ton of parkour opportunities, but I've never done it as it's a tad bit on the illegal side.

Not really? I mean, breaking and entering, vandalism, trespassing.. yeah, that's all illegal. If you're talking about the idiotic leaping from rooftop to rooftop... you shouldn't be doing that anyway, so it's legality is irrelevant.

But just leaping over park benches or going up and over a wall? How's that illegal?

[Kang]

I would use all that time in which most things still halfway work to sift through all sorts of internet forums and necro old threads.

[fuzzycuzzy]

How is it that we're four pages in and nobody has mentioned Buttercup Festival? http://www.buttercupfestival.com/2-74.htm
That being said, I think I'd erect a tower... a really big tower... I mean a really really big one... ... ... d*#@ it Frued, no, not like the Big Ben Tower, but... maybe a stairway... or space elevator!

[the_bandersnatch]

I'd probably just have a wank.

[Cornish]

To start of with, I'd set up a way to signal my survival to the outside world. Since it's not likely that you'd actually 'know' that every other human being has passed away, simply that everyone in your vicinity has passed away doesn't suggest that it's global. So, I'd set up a radio broadcast and probably a light signal; I'd need power for these, so I'd be inclined to borrow a wind-mill for power generation. (It's always windy here and I don't mean one of those huge once, something more manageable.).

It'd probably move all this to the nearby forest, which is full of fertile land which would be useful as a food supply; and due to low population in that area I'd not have to deal with the smell of decay and so forth later on. (It's out of the wind of nearby towns.) I know there are several wells there, so even water supply should be decent; last time I heard it was tested it was unpolluted. Since I have a small supply of food in house by default, such as several kilo's of wheat flower, several litters of bottled water and so forth I could manage reasonably well till my crops would started growing. (I have seeds for several crops in stock for use later this year.)

After looking after my basic needs, I'd really have no clue. Maybe I'd try to study new stuff. Perhaps try to find the cause of the occurrence that killed to my knowledge a lot of human beings. Maybe I'd go insane from the lack of company. I don't know.

Wether or not I'd try to preserve some of the corpses I'm not sure of, it's an interesting idea though! With my locale climate being as it is, I'd probably be able to preserve them easily, freezing them would mean I'd have to manage my power more efficiently. (The windmill I've in mind offers between 400 and 1800 watt, so freezing would be costly.) Unless I put up more windmills or other sources of power.

[deskjethp]

1) Learn how to fly a heicopter or plane from the internet before the power goes out. 2) Find motorcycle 3) Ride around the world on motorcycles eating canned food from grocery stores. 0) Eat a ton of bread. All the good bread will get moldy soon, so this should be first. 0.5) Eat tons of other stuff. 4) Climb tall stuff and go to all the places people aren't supposed to go but where it would be fun to go do things. An example being rounding out the edges of the Sear's tower stairways and then getting it slippery all the way down. Instant really big slide

[TheStrongest]

Honestly, what would be the point of living on if everyone around you whom you ever cared about dropped dead? It's pretty cliche, but I'd off myself pretty damned quick.

[Menacing Spike]

Laugh, starve.

Maybe try necrophilia.

[Athe]

Probably play around with hunting with high explosives, demolish a couple of cities, make a state sized rail gun, see how close i could get an object to 3.0*10^8 m/s and play around with finding immortality so i could waste some more time alone. Why not?

[delfts]

In one universe, I might try to max out my parkour skills. Living in New York City provides a ton of parkour opportunities, but I've never done it as it's a tad bit on the illegal side.

Not really? I mean, breaking and entering, vandalism, trespassing.. yeah, that's all illegal. If you're talking about the idiotic leaping from rooftop to rooftop... you shouldn't be doing that anyway, so it's legality is irrelevant.

But just leaping over park benches or going up and over a wall? How's that illegal?

My mistake. Still, I'd like to try it out if I were the last person on Earth.

[Hyst]

Okay. IF.
I'm aware of the situation fully beforehand, and humans are safely vaporized rapture style (Easiest way for me to contemplate survival.)
Get straight to a library. Start printing alot of DIY stuff, alot of medical self treatment stuff, Farming information, How to set up power generators and stuff like that, and stuff like that. I'd eat and sleep at the library until internet shuts off, then make my way home. If I have all the information I can think of that would be useful, I'd spend the rest of the time printing out erotic fiction and stockpiling books. Don't judge me, I need SOMETHING to do when I'm alone. Next stop would be raiding all water and seeds and canned food I can. Then I'd find a new home, by the river. Prefferably somebody richer than me.
I'd bring my harddrive with me though, and my pets. I'd begin to maintain a farm, living off canned food, I'd have a bit of canned food for my animals, though I'm not sure cats can live off grain. Regardless, I'd fish in my spare time. I'd aquire as many solar panels and car batteries as I can for storing the power from my panels going to waste, I'm only running a refridgerator and recharging an ipod, And in the nights, powering lights and giving myself heat.
I'd feed fish to my cats, and as I drink water, might have to electrically boil the river water (In my google session I'd find out if all river water is drinkable without cleaning.), or use wood for fires to do so, not sure what would be more efficient. Get myself an accoustic instrument, steal the matterials for a rain tank or fifty. Hey, why not? Get a bike generator and use it to power a UPS as mentioned before, and use it to power a laptop or computer, Not going to waste power on my computer unless it's earned.
Can a human live off their own farm? Then again, I've got fish as well, but still. Will I get malnourished? I'd eventually have to raid sex stores. Without a human to procreate with, I'd get frustrated. I'd steal from pharmacies and read medical text books.

That's all that I can think of now, maybe my wikihowing would help me in anything I dont know that I would need.

[Alexander Falco]

So everyone just drops where they stand? I imagine I'd wander around till near starvation trying to come to grips with WTF I am actually going through and if I am lucky the initial shock actually does come and I cry myself into a stupor instead of storing it away without any hopes of sharing the mental load with a sympathetic human. I'd give my immediate family a proper pagan burial then probably just walk around or sit around for a couple days. I'd go find a sperm bank and go to great lengths making sure it is kept properly and won't go bad and I might even find thinking for the first time "If only I was a women and could get pregnant." For the first two years of food, I'd use the two years of store-able foods I bought (in case something like this ever happened ). I'd read. Read read read. Books on agriculture, mysticism, history, etc. and I'd make sure to throw in an extra dose of post apocalyptic fiction. Sightseeing would be a must. I'd go to the Atacama desert in Chile before anywhere else. I'd also write about every detail of everything I did ( when I got up, what I ate, when I masturbated, ALL of it) and find a printing press and create millions of copies and find a way make sure they were preserved for millions of years after I died. I would also build my own house instead of living in one of the abandoned ones. Might be a strange idea but hey, why should I let the end of the world keep me from my dream? It would make an excellent project to keep me occupied. Whatever I did to fill up the years, I would try to leave as big an impact on the face of the earth as I could. I don't mean I would do this in a destructive way but leaving an impact in hopes that whatever intelligent entity occupies Earth in the future will know not that we existed, but that I did almost seems like human instinct. It is definitely the first thing I thought of in response to this post. Besides performing bodily functions, leaving my mark, getting in the best mental and physical shape that is humanly possible, searching for beauty, and seeking the companionship of animals, I can't think of too much I would do. There would be a lot of filler but I don't think that is what this thread is about.

[cometoid]

Is anyone else really curious if/how it's possible to get pregnant with a dead person? Provided you are alive and possess a functioning womb, ect.

[Belial]

I confess that I have never been curious about that even once.

[The Mighty Thesaurus]

Do you mean is it possible for a corpse to ejaculate?

[suffer-cait]

that started a really great convo in my house and i'd like to thank you.
also, yes, you can.

[Magnanimous]

I think you'd have to hold their penis just right and wait for rigor mortis to set in.

[Menacing Spike]

I think you'd have to hold their penis just right and wait for rigor mortis to set in.

Get pregnant != have sex.
Also a penis would probably decay pretty damn fast.

[suffer-cait]

sperm dies really fast, one of the first things to go. if the body is freshly dead you can still jack it off. if this is not possible, you could still get into the sperm sack surgically. supposedly some woman got arrested for this recently.

[cometoid]

I apologize for starting this discussion

[SecondTalon]

I think you'd have to hold their penis just right and wait for rigor mortis to set in.

That's... not how that works.

See, you'd want to wait for the gasses to start expanding the body, so they'll go to the place of least resistance first, leaving you with a corpse that has a rock hard erection and.... okay, I'll stop. But seriously, that's how they used to tell if some guy was a vampire. Crack open the casket a few days after death, spot erection, "It's a Vampire! Stake it!"

[Magnanimous]

I think you'd have to hold their penis just right and wait for rigor mortis to set in.

That's... not how that works.

See, you'd want to wait for the gasses to start expanding the body, so they'll go to the place of least resistance first, leaving you with a corpse that has a rock hard erection and.... okay, I'll stop. But seriously, that's how they used to tell if some guy was a vampire. Crack open the casket a few days after death, spot erection, "It's a Vampire! Stake it!"

According to the Google, rigor mortis doesn't affect the penis anyway. *deletes search history*

[Athe]

Probably possible if the body is still worm. After that the sperm are all dead. Although, you probably would have to extract the sperm manually(as in, opening up the testicles), and if they survive that and the trip to the eggs, you might be pregnant. This is unlikely. (And quite crazy.) you really want the human race around that much? Like, mutilating dead testicles bad?

[harpyblues]

Of course, there's the question of whether would you want to get pregnant as the last person on earth? Apart from yourself, there's not going to be any med personal to help you with pre/post natal care. And childbirth would be awful, especially if there were complications. You can't exactly give yourself an easy C-section if there's a problem. My mom had a narrow birth canal that required her to have a c-sec, so I'm likely to need one as well, if I get preggers in the future. We need artificial wombs or something.