Original subtitles

CHARLIE: What's up guys, here's the situation.

We're in the Alaskan wilderness.

Now we've got to build fires, construct shelters, and make sure we survive.

I just started this fire with some lip balm, it's time for Weird but True !

KIRBY: Salmon! CHARLIE: Victory!

KIRBY: Salmon! CHARLIE: Victory!

Oh, hey guys! Charlie here. You know my sister Kirby!

KIRBY: Hey!

CHARLIE: You guys are never going to believe what just happened.

KIRBY: This is incredible!

CHARLIE: The coolest thing! Alright, check it out.

Kirby and I eat a lot of salmon.

Like a lot of salmon.

Our favorite? Slammin' Salmon from Sitka, Alaska.

KIRBY: Slammin' Salmon!

CHARLIE: It's so good.

And they have this contest on the package.

KIRBY: Every time you send in Slammin' Salmon coupon codes,

you get entered to win a camping a trip in Alaska!

CHARLIE: So naturally, we ate like a boatload of salmon,

sent in about 100 coupon codes, and...

We won!

KIRBY: We won the trip!

CHARLIE: We're going to Alaska!

Victory! Victory! Victory!

KIRBY: But we have a problem.

Camping in the Alaskan wilderness requires mad skills.

It's so big and cold!

And don't they have bears?

(roar)

CHARLIE: We need to be prepared in case something goes wrong.

So today, we're unraveling the world of...

KIRBY: Human Survival!

CHARLIE: Alright guys.

We got two tickets on a flight to Alaska, for our camping trip.

KIRBY: And it leaves in about oh shoot, very soon!

CHARLIE: But first we need to do some research to learn how to survive!

KIRBY: Gotta hit the books!

CHARLIE: Alright I've got some info here.

KIRBY: Me too.

CHARLIE: Turns out if we want to know how to

survive in the wilderness,

we need to know the basic needs and limits of the human body.

Here are the big three: Body Temperature.

Food and water. And Sleep.

One of the first things you've gotta do is think about your body temperature.

KIRBY: Because if your body gets too hot or too cold,

things are going to go downhill.

Super quickly.

CHARLIE: This is normal body temperature: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit

or 37 degrees Celsius.

If your body gets this hot, 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 38 degrees Celsius,

you've got a fever and you're feeling pretty sick.

Add just a few degrees and you're approaching life threatening temperatures!

Going the other way, a few degrees down and you're shivering.

Just a few more and your skin is already turning blue because of reduced blood flow.

So, your body temperature functions perfectly at a very narrow range,

only five degrees Fahrenheit or three degrees Celsius.

KIRBY: Which just goes to show you.

People who survive long exposures to hot or cold, are truly survival all-stars.

CHARLIE: Like this lady, Anna Bagenholm.

In 1999 while skiing, Anna Bagenholm fell into a stream

and became trapped under a thick layer of ice.

She was trapped, in the water, under the ice, no air for 80 minutes!

And her body temperature dipped to 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Miraculously she was rescued and made a full recovery.

KIRBY: The number two thing you need to think about is food and water.

CHARLIE: We've all heard the facts, right?

Up to 60% of our body weight is water.

The brain is 73% water, and our lungs are 83% water.

Our body uses water in every organ, in every tissue, in every single tiny cell.

And we all know, food fuels our bodies.

Without it, eventually our bodies would just stop working,

which is not what we're looking for.

So, they say human body can only last three weeks without food

and three days without water.

KIRBY: And there was one man who pushed himself to the absolute limit.

This guy. Mahatma Gandhi.

In the 1940's, Gandhi went 21 days without eating any food.

He only sipped on water to survive!

All the while, leading a movement for peace,

independence and unity in India.

CHARLIE: Let's check this out, if Gandhi was eating a healthy diet,

he would have consumed 42,000 calories over those 21 days.

That's about 150 turkey sandwiches, or 440 bowls of cereal, or 820 pancakes.

But his inspiring campaign was worth the hunger.

And the next thing you might want to think about is getting some sleep.

Just ask Randy Gardner, sleep all-star.

In 1965, as a high-schooler, Randy stayed awake for 11 days and 12 minutes.

All as part of a science fair project.

11 Days! And 12 Minutes!

During those 11 days he should have gotten, around 88 hours of sleep.

That's like sleeping from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon, straight.

KIRBY: The trouble is, during the experiment, Randy started slurring his speech,

he had trouble concentrating, and by day five, he was hallucinating.

CHARLIE: And, as Randy demonstrated,

sleep deprivation brings on a lot of medical issues.

What medical issues?

KIRBY: Aching muscles. CHARLIE: Confusion.

KIRBY: Memory lapse. CHARLIE: Hand tremors.

KIRBY: Hallucinations. CHARLIE: Depression.

Decreased accuracy.

KIRBY: And impaired judgment.

CHARLIE: The outlook does not look good.

KIRBY: So, if you want to survive, it's best you get some sleep.

CHARLIE: Trust us, we're doctors.

KIRBY: Wait, no we're not.

Alright, the three key limitations of the human body are.

CHARLIE: Body temperature. KIRBY: Food and water.

CHARLIE: And sleep. KIRBY: That's it.

CHARLIE: We got it!

KIRBY: Hey Charles, what time is it?

CHARLIE: We got about five minutes until our flight leaves.

KIRBY: Oh shoot, I don't know if we're prepared!

CHARLIE: We gotta do more research! Grab a book!

We'll see you guys in a bit!

KIRBY: Weird but true,

CHARLIE: Hey! So we've done a lot more homework

on what it takes to survive in the wilderness.

KIRBY: Because survival is nothing to mess around with.

CHARLIE: And we thought it was so easy.

KIRBY: Thirsty?

CHARLIE: Just drink from a stream.

KIRBY: Hungry?

CHARLIE: Eat some berries from a little bush.

KIRBY: But if that's your plan, you're not going to last a day.

CHARLIE: Check it out.

Water in streams, lakes, and ponds, is not safe to drink,

unless you can treat it or boil it.

It's got bacteria, viruses, and all sorts of things with weird names that

will make you sick, like cryptosporidium and giardia.

Nasty stuff.

And berries are a whole other monster.

Alright Kirb, I'm going to show you some tasty looking plants,

and you tell me if you'd eat them.

KIRBY: Sounds good.

CHARLIE: Here's a nice one, horse nettle.

KIRBY: I'd eat that right up!

CHARLIE: Well it has high amounts of solanine.

KIRBY: Nice!

CHARLIE: Which is poisonous to humans.

KIRBY: Ooh! CHARLIE: Check it out.

Wild cherries have cyanide in their pits, so they're poisonous.

Virginia creeper, poisonous.

American bittersweet, poisonous.

Nightshade, pokeberries, and holly berries, poisonous, poisonous, and very poisonous.

The vast majority of white, yellow, and green berries,

and about 50% of red berries are poisonous too.

So, finding food in the wild is much more difficult than we thought!

And while you're trying to find food, you're also starting a fire and building a

shelter, and hide from bears, and wolves, and bugs,

and everything's just going nuts, man!

KIRBY: It seems impossible!

CHARLIE: That's why survival stories are so impressive.

KIRBY: So impressive. CHARLIE: So impressive.

KIRBY: Like Donn Fendler, 1939.

This Boy Scout was only 12 years-old when he got separated from

his family while hiking in Maine.

Suddenly, a storm hit! He was completely lost!

300 National Guardsmen, mountain climbers, police officers,

and volunteers searched for him and came up with nothing.

He spent nine days, nine days wandering around the wilderness,

surviving by eating safe berries, drinking water from streams,

and sleeping in an old burlap sack he found.

Donn walked for 35 miles until he stumbled across a group of campers

that brought him to safety.

Donn Fendler, the truest, mightiest Boy Scout there ever was.

CHARLIE: Oh my gosh, our flight's leaving, we gotta go!

KIRBY: We are not prepared!

CHARLIE: Don't worry about it.

I figured this might happen.

So, I scheduled us a class before things get rolling.

KIRBY: What? CHARLIE: No time to explain!

Time to pack and time to go.

We'll see you guys in a bit-in Alaska!

Anchorage, Alaska, here we come!

Alaska is so huge that the 22 smallest U.S. states

could all fit inside of it.

And this vast expanse of wilderness is where we'll put

our survival skills to the test...

so stay tuned!

KIRBY: Weird but true,

A man survived six days in an Australian desert with no water,

by eating ants!

CHARLIE: Hey guys!

KIRBY: We made it!

CHARLIE: The State of Alaska!

The last frontier!

With more than 30 mountain ranges, over three million lakes and 54 million acres

of National Parks, this place is the definition of wild.

So, if you want to test your survival skills, this is the place to do it right here.

KIRBY: But I definitely don't think we're ready.

CHARLIE: Kirb, don't worry man I booked us a little training sesh, I got us covered.

KIRBY: Ok let's do it. CHARLIE: Let's go guys!

KIRBY: This is it.

CHARLIE: This sounds perfect yeah.

KIRBY: Excellent.

CHARLIE: Learn to Return is one of Alaska's premier

and longest running survival schools.

It's exactly the place we need to be to learn how to survive in the wild.

And this is the guy who's going to teach us: Clint!

Clint is the toughest guy you'll ever lay your eyes on.

He was a Green Beret, an expert instructor for wilderness medicine.

Drop Clint anywhere in the world, he will survive.

Guys it's Clint! Hi, Clint I'm Charlie.

CLINT: Charlie it's a pleasure.

CHARLIE: Nice to meet you.

KIRBY: I'm Kirby. CLINT: How's it going?

CHARLIE: Guys Clint, Clint guys.

CLINT: Hi everybody!

KIRBY: Clint's favorite weird but true fact,

CHARLIE: Kirby and I are going on a camping trip and we're kind of nervous

cause we don't know a lot of survival skills.

Can you teach us a few?

CLINT: Love to. You guys ready to go?

CHARLIE: Yup let's do it. KIRBY: Let's go.

CLINT: This is our main training arena.

CHARLIE: So, this is where it all starts, where people learn how to survive?

CLINT: Correct.

This is where we learn hands on skills training to get you ready

to go out into the woods on your camping trip.

KIRBY: Perfect. CHARLIE: Sounds good.

Clint will cover the most important elements of survival:

shelter, water, food, and heat.

And we'll find out how bringing along a few everyday household items

could help save lives in the wilderness.

Gonna be awesome. Come on let's go.

First up is shelter.

CLINT: There's two types of shelters.

You have your personal shelter, you wear,

and then your group shelter that you would build.

Let's start off with a very basic personal shelter.

Here you go.

CHARLIE: Got a garbage bag. CLINT: A garbage bag?

KIRBY: Super technical.

CLINT: Put your hand through it.

You're gonna put this on your face.

KIRBY: Cool. CHARLIE: Ahh.

CLINT: And go into it just like so. KIRBY: Awesome.

CLINT: So, take a look at this.

CHARLIE: Now you're looking fashionable.

CLINT: Now remember the key to warmth is what?

CHARLIE: Insulation. CLINT: Insulation.

If it was cold outside, what could I stuff inside here?

KIRBY: Grass. CHARLIE: Sure.

CLINT: Moss. KIRBY: Some leaves.

CHARLIE: Nice insulation. CLINT: Yeah.

KIRBY: Nice.

CLINT: There you are, right there, not too big.

CHARLIE: Weird but true, a garbage bag could save your life.

Now we learn to build a group shelter using a tarp.

The key is being able to tie the corners to something.

If the tarp doesn't some with usable holes,

Clint uses a cool technique called buttoning.

CLINT: We're gonna unfold it, ok?

So, go ahead and grab yourself a corner.

So, what we're gonna do is we're gonna take this rock

and we're gonna put it just like so.

Go ahead and hold that, Kirby.

There you go.

I'm gonna do an overhand slip, just like so.

CHARLIE: Quick, quick little overhand slip.

Not a big deal.

KIRBY: Good to go. CLINT: I'm gonna pull that tight.

So, this right here is gonna help us attach it to anything that could give me

a good solid anchor.

CHARLIE: Let me try it again, ready? Down.

CLINT: Rotate. CHARLIE: Rotate.

CLINT: Hand all the way through.

CHARLIE: Up. CLINT: Yup.

CHARLIE: And got it. CLINT: There you go.

CHARLIE: Down, rotate, up, got it.

CLINT: We wanna have the tarp angled slightly.

It all depends on which direction the wind's coming from.

KIRBY: Hmm.

CHARLIE: Angling the tarp at the bottom facing into the wind

helps give a windbreak, and also allows rainwater to run off.

Our next survival lesson is about building a fire, and man,

it's good to have a striker.

CLINT: We gotta get a spark ok?

And that's our first goal.

Ready? Now watch me first and.

CHARLIE: Ah.

CLINT: Just like so, look at that.

There's the technique I'm looking for.

CHARLIE: Alright, alright I'm getting it.

CLINT: Oh excellent.

CHARLIE: Alright guys, fire, super important for surviving

in the wilderness.

We need to stay warm and our clothes need to stay dry.

CLINT: Go! CHARLIE: Oh my gosh.

-Yay!

CLINT: There you go. Nice.

CHARLIE: Pew. KIRBY: Take two nice.

CLINT: Nice. CHARLIE: Fire! Holy cow that was so quick.

KIRBY: Its burning fast too.

CLINT: Let's make that cotton ball burn longer.

Now we're gonna add a wax.

CHARLIE: Wax. CLINT: This lip balm.

Any petroleum-based product will work.

KIRBY: So just smash it on? CLINT: Yup smash it.

CHARLIE: Just mash it?

CLINT: Smash it up, smash it up.

KIRBY: So why does wax slow it down?

CLINT: You are making exactly what you burn all the time.

It's a candle!

CHARLIE: Oh. KIRBY: That's awesome.

CHARLIE: Weird but true fact, a number one thing I guess we gotta bring

on this camping trip is lip balm.

Shelter, done.

Heat, done.

KIRBY: What about finding water and food?

CLINT: We're gonna go outside and work on this.

KIRBY: Let's do it.

CHARLIE: Finally, out in the elements.

CLINT: Wanna go? KIRBY: Perfect.

CHARLIE: Let's hit it. Alright this way? Let's roll.

CLINT: So, we wanna look for clean, clear, fast moving water.

CHARLIE: We're not going right out of the stream, right?

CLINT: We're gonna use some stuff to help purify the water.

And what I would recommend is this system right here.

Once you get it full of water, close it up, and now this has a filter in here,

that all you gotta do is open the, the nozzle.

CHARLIE: And you can. KIRBY: Ahh.

CLINT: Squeeze it.

KIRBY: He's going for it. CLINT: Oh yeah.

CHARLIE: So, water, super key, you can only last about three days without water.

So, if you go into the wilderness or go camping make sure you got super, crazy,

nice filter like we got here.

So, what happens if we don't have a filter?

CLINT: Basically, you're gonna have to figure out a way to boil that water.

CHARLIE: So boiled water is kind of your only hope if you don't have one of these?

CLINT: Alright, now that we're all refreshed, we got some water in our systems,

it's time for the other part of the equation, food.

CHARLIE: Food!

CLINT: You pack something with you that has enough proteins, fats,

and also some items that have sugars that you can get into your systems really quickly.

CHARLIE: What's the best strategy if you run out of your food?

CLINT: It's either gonna be lower your activities so you don't need as much food,

and also, you're gonna have to try and find something.

CHARLIE: Start foraging?

CLINT: Exactly, exactly.

KIRBY: You have to be super careful when you look for food in the wild,

but Clint has an unexpected go-to.

CLINT: Have you guys ever seen cattails that are kind of in swamps and stuff?

CHARLIE: Sure.

CLINT: They have the little uh tuber right on top.

CHARLIE: Brow thing.

CLINT: Yeah long, on a long stem.

CHARLIE: Uh huh. KIRBY: Mhm.

CLINT: Well if you actually go to the base of those

and you dig out the roots, and they're about the size

of your pinky almost, you just clean those things off,

you start a fire, and you toss them in right, directly into a bed of coals.

You wait until they get soft, just like a potato.

KIRBY: Baked potatoes. CLINT: Exactly!

CHARLIE: Sounds pretty good. CLINT: Great survival food.

I love 'em.

CHARLIE: Yeah? CLINT: It's, it's a delicacy.

KIRBY: Cattails, pretty crazy.

CHARLIE: Clint takes us back inside for one more important lesson.

CLINT: We have black bears and brown bears where you're gonna be.

The first option, if we can leave the whole situation and keep anything from happening.

CHARLIE: Get out of there.

CLINT: That's good. Alright?

Quietly leave, slowly back away without it seeing us.

Next, if the bear does look over at us as we come around the corner, we wanna freeze,

we wanna make sure we don't run the other way,

cause then the bear might think you're what?

(record scratch)

CHARLIE: Prey? CLINT: Yeah prey!

(bear roar)

Make sure that we kind of stand our ground, let the bear know, 'hey buddy'.

CHARLIE: Hey bear. CLINT: Make yourself big.

Hey bear.

CHARLIE: Hey bear.

CLINT: Yeah talk in a deep voice alright?

Next, if you have bear spray on you, bear spray works.

You just spray it in this general direction.

CHARLIE: Whoosh. CLINT: Yeah you bet you.

KIRBY: Good to go.

CHARLIE: Yeah all over the place.

CLINT: Poof big ol' wall.

CHARLIE: Weird but true guys, over 3,000 people are reported

missing in Alaska each year!

The good news is that more than 90% of them are found within the first day.

CLINT: Alright guys, I think you're ready for a test.

CHARLIE: Uh what'd you have in mind?

CLINT: A good old Alaskan Survival Smackdown!

Today's survival smackdown: Kirby vs Charlie!

Location: the Alaskan Wilderness.

Objective: build a fire, build a shelter.

The best survivor wins!

CHARLIE: You're going down Kirb!

KIRBY: Nope.

CLINT: You guys need to save it for the smack down.

CHARLIE: Give us a couple minutes to get ready,

but when you come back its smackdown time.

You don't stand a chance Kirb.

KIRBY: Weird but true,

Spectacled bears are the only wild bear species found in South America.

CHARLIE: Hey guys! Alright perfect timing.

Right now, we're in Alaska, learning survival skills from our man Clint.

And it's time for a good old Alaskan Survival Smackdown.

Gotta make a fire, build a shelter.

Best survivor wins. Let's go.

CLINT: Ok, you guys ready for your survival smackdown?

KIRBY: Absolutely. CHARLIE: Born ready Kirby!

Let's roll!

CLINT: Here's your survival kits. KIRBY: Awesome!

CLINT: They're exactly the same.

Remember, build a fire, build a shelter.

The best survivor wins. You have one hour.

And three, two, one, go.

KIRBY: I got a rope. CHARLIE: I got a big red tarp.

KIRBY: Knife, you can always use a knife.

CHARLIE: We got the striker.

Nice for a little fire right there.

KIRBY: You gotta set up a shelter first.

Let's do it.

This side's clear, I'm gonna go with this side.

I don't think it has to be that tall.

CHARLIE: I feel like it's downhill so the water whip over that way if it rains.

KIRBY: I'm rocking it. I don't know about you.

CHARLIE: Dude, I got three corners of

my tarp up already huh?

I'll invite you over for dinner later Kirb huh?

KIRBY: I'm focusing, man!

Don't you be like distracting me over here.

CHARLIE: Oh, you can't multi-task?

I thought you were a good survivor there, Kirb.

I ran out of cord already for my last corner of the shelter.

I need it attached like that one right there.

I got this tape, so I'm spinning it around trying to make another cord.

Little pro move, hopefully Clint's impressed.

KIRBY: Super tight.

CHARLIE: This is perfect, guys check it out.

Nice and roomy, spacious.

KIRBY: Just enough space to take a nice snooze.

Our shelters are done, but there's no time to relax.

We've got fires to build.

CHARLIE: Clint throws us a last-minute curve ball.

CLINT: You gotta get that flame one foot tall.

CHARLIE: Break this up really tiny.

KIRBY: Alright. Chomp it all up and mix it in.

Yes!

We've got to keep an close eye on our fires to make sure they don't get out of control.

CHARLIE: Weird but true Earth is the only known planet where fire can burn.

All the other planets they know about, not enough oxygen.

CLINT: Five, four, three, two.

CHARLIE: Ahh.

CLINT: One, hands up! Hands up! Hands up!

CHARLIE: Done! Done! Done! Done!

CLINT: Alright come on over here.

Originally you started off with your shelter really high, I was a little nervous about

that at first, but I liked where you put your fire.

You could still be under your shelter and have that warming fire and bounce the

heat into your uh little shelter area.

KIRBY: Awesome.

CLINT: Charlie, I liked how you kept your tarp nice and tight.

However, your fire was a little bit away from your shelter.

CHARLIE: Ah.

CLINT: Both of you have positives and negatives.

However, this is still a competition.

Charlie had the one-foot flame first.

KIRBY: I got you.

CLINT: So, I'm gonna claim Charlie as the winner for this round

of the Alaska Wilderness Survival Smackdown.

CHARLIE: Oh! CLINT: Good job.

CHARLIE: Yes! CLINT: Here you go Charlie.

CHARLIE: Yes.

CLINT: This right here, it's an Alaska survival lifeline

that all survival instructors carry in our backpacks

whenever we go out with our families to not only

protect ourselves, but the people we go out with.

CHARLIE: So, it's a responsibility to help other people survive now too?

CLINT: That is correct, Charlie.

CHARLIE: Kirby, it's been an honor.

KIRBY: It's been an honor true.

CHARLIE: You're a worthy opponent. KIRBY: So are you.

CHARLIE: Until the nest wilderness smackdown, man.

I think we're ready guys.

Time to go on our slamming salmon camping trip.

KIRBY: Weird but true,

CHARLIE: Hey guys!

KIRBY: What a trip!

CHARLIE: We just got back from Alaska.

KIRBY: I started a fire with lip balm!

We learned so much today.

CHARLIE: Heck yeah, like...

KIRBY: The human body has limits on what we need to survive.

The big three are body temperature, food and water, and Sleep.

CHARLIE: And I proved that I am the ultimate survivor!

CLINT: Good job!

KIRBY: Whoa, man. It's was one day in Alaska.

CHARLIE: Still the winner. KIRBY: Yeah whatever.

CHARLIE: What else did we learn today?

There were so many weird but true facts!

The human body functions perfectly at a very narrow temperature range,

only five degrees Fahrenheit or three degrees Celsius.

Water in the wilderness must be filtered, treated,

or boiled for at least a minute before it's safe to drink.

Learning to improvise with the random things you have around you is key to survival!

You gotta love Slammin' Salmon.

KIRBY: Honestly nothing like it.

CHARLIE: Hey got any sauce for this?

KIRBY: Poppin' Rays Pineapple Glaze!

It's the perfect glaze for any days.

CHARLIE: Ah perfect, sweet. Whoa! Check it out!

Poppin' Rays Getaways Contest. Kirb.

KIRBY: We're gonna need more salmon.

CHARLIE: And more rays!

Thanks for coming by!

Come by again when we discover more things, things that are weird.

KIRBY: But true! CHARLIE: We'll see you soon!

Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.