For the MacGyver in You

"Quick! Get me a ball point pen, scotch tape, gum wrap, and a bottle of whiskey. I'll blast us out of here."

Ah, MacGyver always knew a way out with just things lying around.

Just watching a couple of his episodes I actually learned to pick my diary's lock when I was only 10 years old.
I had lost the key, so I just used a thin paperclip , and it worked!

I thought it would be nice to share some handy survivor tips for the home and outdoors.

I'll start.


I tried this and it works. (My tuna was in olive oil and it worked too.)


Because duct tape fixes so many things. For when you want to travel light.
Duct Tape Stash: Wrap a couple feet of duct tape around a lighter to always have a stash on hand without the bulk.


I haven't tried this but I think Mythbusters did.

Cool thread idea! I used to love MacGyver. I may have even had a mild crush on him, if we're being completely honest, lol. It was so dang attractive to know that you could always count on him in a pinch!

I haven't really tried any of those odd or interesting things like the tuna can candle. I've used dryer lint as tinder if that counts!

As far as duct tape, we usually have loose or dangly straps on our BOBs, and we wrap the duct tape around those. No, I'm not speaking as a royal we or something, lol, I mean my husband and myself!

Once i was stranded on the interstate, had a blown fuse. I remembered that particular MacGuyver thing and used a gum wrapper over it. worked like a charm

A crayon can be used as an emergency candle. The paper wrapper acts as the wick.
You can color with them too.

originally posted by: EyesOpenMouthShut
Once i was stranded on the interstate, had a blown fuse. I remembered that particular MacGuyver thing and used a gum wrapper over it. worked like a charm

As long as you don't overload the circuit and start your car on fire.

Funny you should start this thread, just got my first set of Lock picks a few days ago. I aint no MacGyver.
Just reading up on the art of lock picking. some interesting stuff.

Now i need to make a Lever tool from a old wiper blade and i'm good to go.

I can see this turning into a redneck thread.
If any of you survivalists end up in a situation where you are surrounded by lots of canned food, but you find yourself without a can-opener, then you may need to know this so you don't beat it on a rock or whatever:

a reply to: Fylgje

A knife works fine as does a flat head screwdriver or 1 sharp rock with 1 blunt rock. anything harder than the metal on the can really

I don't know if there are any videos of it out there, but you can also make an emergency light with:
- A Pencil
- 2 pieces of insulated copper wire
- A car battery

Say you are broke down in the middle of nowhere. You need to get your car up and running again but have no light. All you need to do is remove the graphite core from the pencil. Wrap a strand of wire on each end of the core. Then press one wire to the positive and negative terminals of your car battery.

In seconds, the graphite will glow. Be careful, it's very hot. You can also start a fire with it, if needed.

Duct tape is useful, I wont deny that--I always keep a roll in the car. But sometimes you need something a bit stronger, always carry some JB weld too.