THE RULES OF 3's

The Rule of 3's

Although there is no way to precisely judge things like how long can you go without water or how long can you survive cold, there are some good estimates. One of my personal favorites is the rules of 3's. It gives you a very broad idea of some calculations that can help you in a survival situation. The rule goes as follows.

• If it is cold outside, you can survive for about three hours before your body shows significant effects of hypothermia.

• In case, you don’t find any water, you can probably survive for three days. However, you will start feeling the effects of dehydration in a day itself, but you can survive without water for three.

• Similarly, you can survive for about three weeks without food. Again, that does not mean that you will be up and about throughout the three weeks. It just means that you can ‘survive’ and not die if you don’t eat food for three weeks. As long as you are properly hydrated.

Another rule that I would suggest to all of you is that you can live without thinking for three seconds! It means it takes about three seconds to do something dumb that is horrible enough to get you killed if you are thinking right! So, stay calm and don’t do anything without putting some thought into it.