By JAMILA RIZVI
“I wish my tampon also worked as a survival fishing bobber.”
Now if that’s not a phrase every girl has said to herself at least once in her lifetime, then I don’t know what is.
Okay, so maybe it’s not most days that you find yourself trapped in the bush and fighting to survive (that is, unless you’re a character from Home & Away). But IF YOU WERE, then this information could help.
As the Scouts say – Be Prepared.
Or at the Brownies apparently say, Lend A Hand – or in this case, lend a tampon.
You see, your tampon could save a life.
You didn’t know this, did you? But your tampon can actually be used to start a fire. It can act as a bandage for an open wound. And it can make dirty water clean. Or at the very least… not as dirty.
Brought to you by this hilarious American website The Art of Manliness (who we tracked down courtesy of the team at Jezebel) – are 5 bush survival tips. And all of them require one simple apparatus – your guessed it – a tampon.
Now, we were under the impression that these survival tips were just a bit of fun but on reflection – I think that the self-proclaimed ‘manly’ men – are dead serious.
One final thought: What would you do if you were lost in the woods, fighting to survive and you actually HAD your period?
Also a valid emergency. Lucky you’ve got one of those trusty multipurpose tampons.
TAMPON Survival Use #1: Medical Bandage: They can be opened and then taped or tied over a wound as an improvised dressing. And they can be used to plug a bullet hole until more sophisticated medical attention can be administered.
To see more images click here
Comments
33 Comments so far
I’m on an iPhone, and the gallery has never worked properly, this post is no exception. Unable to see captions and if I want to go back a page, it skips the picture. Love Mamamia, working gallery would top it off!
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Hurah for the return of the galleries!
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Just fyi, the gallery is still not working. As fun as it is to play the guessing game as to what each thing is, it is also frustrating. Also when I click to look at the previous pic, it skips it.
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I read this and it made me laugh, then yesterday I was watching the Wallabies play and one of their players went off with a nose bleed. He never returned to the field as it seems a blood vessel had ruptured and they couldn’t stop the bleeding. They showed him coming out after half time he had a tampon in and up his nose.. So there just not for women!!!!
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If you were lost in the bush (especially American bush) whilst having your period….God help you, and not all the hungry animals following the blood scent trail.
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And I thought McGyver was cool being able to diffuse bombs with an egg and a piece of string. Imagine what he could have done with a tampon!
Love it!
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Bloody McGyver – raising the expectations of women everywhere. Bastard!
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No ones mentioned the fix in the hotel room when travelling. Cut tampons in half and perfect for earplugs. Take them out before brekkie is delivered. !!!
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this is really funny. i showed my boyfriend who does heaps of camping and he started saying how smart it was. im worried he’ll start carrying applicator tampons around with him.
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Oh god! This takes me back to guide camp circa 1999 when I sustained a rather unpleasant wound and the first aided decided to put a sanitary towel on it. Sure they’re hygienic but so are bandages!
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Cee, bandages are not terribly absorbent, they’ll soak through fairly quickly on a bad wound. As sanitary towels are designed for absorption, they’re perfect for the job.
I’d certainly hope that the first aider covered the towel with a bandage though, so at least it didn’t look quite so bad!
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Haha. I am a schoolteacher and did the same thing to a teenage boy who had cut a hole in his leg. When I opened the first aid kit the pad seemed like the obvious choice to soak up the blood while we drove him to hospital!
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Haha! Too bad Bear Gryls has been shafted by Discovery. I would’ve loved an episode of Man v Wild episode of Bear in the jungle with nothing in his backpack except a tampon or two.
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I can’t see the slideshow! I can click back and forth between pictures, but they lose the captions!! Can you put a list of what the uses are at the bottom of the article for those who can’t see the slideshow??
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Hi Amanda.
Sorry it’s not working for you. We’re working on resolving the gallery issue. In the meantime, if you follow the ‘art of manliness’ hyperlink, it now sends you directly to the photos. Thanks so much for your patience.
Jamila x
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Thanks. Turns out all you need to do to fix the gallery issue is mention it in a post. I refreshed the page one last time and there was the fully functioning gallery!
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This is so so so funny. I was a brownie – and we had to say that over and over again. Never thought Id read about it here though!!!!!
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I used to take groups of young people away camping. We’d cook our food on trangia stoves which require metho to fuel them. If things were a bit damp and we needed a fire, a tip for the girls would be that a tampon soaked in metho is just like a fire starter as they burn for a long time. Only had to use it twice but it was worthwhile.
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Wow, how resourceful; Americans sure are happy campers!
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Can’t see the gallery so I don’t know if this was covered, but my nan used to joke about how tampons were the perfect size for when she had one of her frequent blood noses. Her sister even bought her a little survival kit from the supermarket once that had 2 tampons in it for emergency blood noses. Don’t think she ever thested the theory though, I’m more inclined to think they would fall out! It would seem tampons have many different uses.
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But many of these uses require applicator-style tampons and apparently (was this mentioned in a previous mamamia article maybe?) they’re far less common in Australia than USA.
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Not many people use applicators in Australia, hey? And yet when you’re in the US it’s impossible to find a tampon that’s JUST A TAMPON.
So maybe if you’re in Aus and lost in the bush you won’t be able to use your tampon as a survival fishing bobber, but you will be able to use it as a temporary bandage. Woo.
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It’s the same in the UK! Everyone uses applicator tampons!
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At least when we travel in the States or the UK we can take the tampon out of the applicator….what do the American and British girls do when they come here??!
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They ‘man up’ & just get the job done, same as we have to, the simple way.
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they are afraid they might have to touch themselves!
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We come with our own! Whenever I go home to visit I return with boxes and boxes of applicator tampons!
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Use them out of preference actually as after surgery on hips and back, my reach, so to speak, is reduced and applicators work well.
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It’s the new Swiss Army Knife that ladies have been carrying around for decades!
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HAHAHAHA I love this! Who knew that a tampon could be used for so many different things
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Gallery doesn’t work again
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I just growled out loud in the middle of George Street. People think I’m odd. I’m so sorry you’re having trouble Melissa (and any others)! We are very aware of this issue and the team are doing their very best to fix it. Thank you for sticking with us through this – it must be incredibly annoying – we’re working as fast as we can to resolve the issue!
Jamila
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I’m finding that Ctrl-R works everytime to fix the gallery – it’s all good!
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