National Geographic Doomsday Prepper Test

Posting this as an educational tool. Got all your bases covered?

Critique the quiz and share your score if you want.

channel.nationalgeographic.com...

How long will I make it? 0-1 week.

Definitely gave me something to think about.

Used ATS Search

inb4 government honeypot

I watch that show all the time and they've featured some intereting people in there. Im not sure if anyone saw an episode they aired a few weeks ago but they had some 14 yr old kid who was a prepper and he was learning to shoot all sorts of guns. There was something just a wee bit disturbing about that kid.

Im all for prepping but that mom hopefully keeps an eye on that kid. Just saying ~

Off to take the test....

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady


1-2 months lack of guns let me down but hey Iam in the UK and we have a Gunsmith in my local town

I've got 2-4 months oh hell. I think i will just drink the booze instead of bartering it. rofl

LOL I will only make it 1-2 weeks! Gives me something to think about. I have no guns, but do have a "bug out" location, it's right on a lake so I think that gives me the extra time!

Also 1-2 months, no weapons but I'm also from the UK and live in a rural area where shotguns are pretty much readily available....if you know where to look.

On second thoughts...in a SHTF scenario that shotgun may not be in its locker.

mine said 12-16 months but i have a few things they didnt ask about.But not much power generation as that is the responsibility of other members of my group probably hurt my score but having a creek on my land a well and being .1 mile from a lake probably boosted me more then others thanks op i found this kinda interesting and makes me feel some what secure as all i really prep for is economic problems like Argentina or natural disasters (which in my not so densely populated area of Montana would most likely be blizzard,flooding or fire) star and flag op

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady
Interesting test. I checked out the questions but was too paranoid to answer any of them. Who knows? Could be a front for gathering info. In this day and age you can never be too safe.

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady


Score of 73. 12-16 months. The only thing I am shy on is food, but I plan on gardening and hunting and fishing, and preserving, but I can support 5 people for roughly a year. Nice to know.

Only 4-8 months?! Looks like I need more food and ammo. Although the quiz could have a "moral vaccuum" question to test one's willingness to off a neighbor for food :-P

ETA: the same could be said foe one's willingness to eat said neighbor lol

reply to post by Dispo


Good catch

ganjoa

Score of 34. 1 to 2 months.
We're short on ammo and fuel, and live in extreme cold.
Rural with smart neighbours and tons of food walking/flying around helps.

I think the largest score would be 2+ years.
If you were a SWAT equipped, EMT specialist, with a Ph.D in medical science.
Sheesh, only a few people in the world could ace that test!



I scored 12-16 months only because I didn't have a good source of power.
Which, in my mind, is the last thing you would need for a survival situation.

Food.
Water.
Shelter.
Heat.

That's a great start to any situation.

I don't care for the question How many guns do you have?
Or How much ammunition do you have?
If the government wants this information they WILL get it.

Don't take the test unless you don't care what the government knows about you already.
Sorry, otherwise it would be interesting.

Score 40 = 2-4 months

Not bad for a not prepper. I bet the veggie garden with solar and generator powered water pumps will help for a while. No weapons to hold on to it for long though. My superduperninjaknifeaxethingy looks awesome. I'll wave that around and hope for the best.

Wow, 16-20 months.... Good to be on a ranch I guess. It did give me some other things to think about though. I don't have a "bunker", but don't think I really need one. I definitely need to stock more fuel, but that's one expensive investment (especially keeping the fuel viable long term). We've started year-round gardening efforts, so that helped, along with canning, etc.

One suggestion was currency, but I just can't see that being a desired item in a SHTF scenario. To me, cigarettes (something I don't use, but that are small, portable, and easily divided, and highly desired by others), are a much more sound currency item.

While I do have a 4wd diesel vehicle (with a HUGE extra gas tank), it isn't EMP hardened, so something to check into. I'm surprised it didn't mention horses, as in an EMP event, we could fall back on those for transport...though we'd have to expand our territory for more grazing area (expensive now, but in a SHTF event, we could easily absorb the adjacent orchard... )

Only 4-8 months?! Looks like I need more food and ammo

Probably more off the water questions. I have a well, lots of stored water not in the well, and a nearby pond and spring, so that's probably one of the biggies for my duration score. Of course, none of the questions took raiding into account or partnerships with neighbors, etc...something that is very big out here in the country, when disaster strikes.

I too ain't too heavy in the power department, except for lots of wood. With a diesel generator even, we wouldn't be able to power it very long. Like another said though, not a real big concern. (and that could be foraged).

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady


That was fun. A little depressing only 4-8 months (score of 59) because of the ammo factor, got a rating of 5 in that category. Still weird the shortsurvival time though because I have a garden, a well, a creek nearby and tons of wildlife plus my own chickens and rabbits. Tons of stored foods. I can whip up a solar oven anytime. I have many non electirc tools and household items that rely on good old elbow grease. The biggest downfall in my opinion is living in a state with very cold winters. However, the summers are very hot. I got a 14 on water but I do have a well and running water an 1/8 of a mile away so I only have about 100 gallons stored. My food score was 19, the shelter score was 13.......I don't have a bugout shelter but I do have a bugout location I have decided upon, actually two locations in completely different locations within 500 miles depending on the catastrophe.

reply to post by havok


I thought the power/generator question to be mute as well. Oil lamps from rendered fat, candles from beeswax, and wood for heat. Honestly, true preppers won't need electricity. Give up the grid.

A poorly designed test with a limited reflection on reality.

There is many questions that they have limited answers. There is many possible options that they do not give. Several of the questions do not really apply to the answer.
The relationship of several of the items is not linear. Certain answers compound other answers.

Like the bug out vehicle. You can not logically apply that answer to the others to give an idea of how long you will survive a disaster. A bug out vehicle will tell you what type of disaster you will survive, not how long. When you have to use a bug out vehicle, then all the other answers are meaningless, because you can not take all the other stuff with you. You can not logically apply the questions from the bug out vehicle to adjust the answer one way or the other, because the situations do not overlap.

If they wanted to have a separate test to determine how long you can last if you have to use your bug out vehicle, or your bug out location, then so be it. But they do not affect the answer for how long you can last at your home with the supplies located there.

Same with radio communications. It depends on who you have to communicate with. If it is an idiot that doesn’t even know his own name, then it will have zero effect. If it is a group of farmers that can give you access to all the supplies you would ever need, then all the other answers will be meaningless because you can last indefinitely irrelevant of what you have on your place.

In the firewood supply question. They don’t have an option for unlimited/renewable supply. If you own enough property and enough trees to supply you on your normal yearly usages, then supply questions are meaningless.

They don’t ask you how big your renewable food supplies are. If they are a small garden, or if they are an entire 100 acre field, it will make a big difference.

Specified answers should result in an infinite answer. Renewable food plus renewable water, plus renewable fuel, then there is no practical limit.

Your medical training will only affect an answer if you are bugging out. If you are staying at home, then it doesn’t really have relevance. The chance of having a medical injury while staying at home is so small that it doesn’t really compute.

A couple answers should compound together to equal a near zero answer. No water, plus no barter items should automatically equal zero, or near zero answer stating that you will just make it a day or two, irrelevant of all the other items.

All the test is for, is to keep people entertained.