I've seen this chart before, but not showing differences between Americans and Brits. It's odd enough that the confidence levels should be so consistently different between the two populations, but what's even weirder is--there are people who think they could survive a fight to the death with a grizzly bear, etc., unarmed? And there are people who think they couldn't beat a cat or a rat unarmed?
Some people have survived fighting grizzly bears, though the odds are against you.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are people who think they couldn't beat a cat or a rat unarmed?
ReplyDeleteAs with any fight, a lot of winning and losing depends on the amount of pain a contestant (as opposed to a combatant) is willing to absorb in order to win. Dogs should win far more fights against cats than they do, but the cat, once forced into the fight, is willing to take the pain, and it can inflict so much more than the dog generally is willing to absorb.
Now I, on the other hand, am confident I can win [ahem] fights against all the animals on the chart from wolf on up, with the possible exception of the kangaroo and chimpanzee. I'm just smarter, quicker, stronger (except in jaws), and have many more weapons on my body than do those animals.
Eric
I'm not sure what "beat in a fight" means when talking about a cobra. Kill it? With no weapons, or just no knives/firearms? Or does it mean "get away alive"?
ReplyDeleteLikewise with a rat. I don't think one is going to kill me, but they're pretty nimble creatures and even with a stick it isn't trivial to land a blow.
Yeah, they’re fast. My dog and I killed one who somehow got into the bedroom one night. My wife fled the scene and left it to us. It was not dangerous, but it was hard to kill. I ended up turning every piece of furniture in the room on its side so there was nowhere to hide, and we finally managed to pin it.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks they will survive , let alone win,a fight with an elephant, a grizzly bear or a chimp ,unarmed ,deserves a lifetime membership in the optimists club.
ReplyDeleteI don't call it "beating an animal in a fight" just to survive the encounter. People may occasionally survive a grizzly bear attack because the bear for some reason decides not to finish them off and wanders away instead. Ditto for an elephant, lion, or gorilla, but I have a hard time imagining even a very strong unarmed man killing or disabling one of those. I'm taking "unarmed" to mean you don't even get to pick up a handy piece of rebar. Of course if tools are allowed, things change, and a lucky blow could do wonders.
ReplyDeleteA cat or rat might easily escape, in fact probably will if I can't use a weapon, but it's not going to kill me.
I think Tex and Eric both bring up good points. "Survive the encounter" is a way different proposition from "kill with your bare hands".
ReplyDeleteThe discrepancy that gets me is the goose, and that it ranks above(?) a cat and rat. I know those suckers can be mean but once you corral its neck you should be able to finish one off.
Right, I'd rather not tangle with a goose, knowing that the altercation would be unpleasant, and not wanting to harm a goose if I can avoid it. But I wouldn't expect the darn thing to kill me, and that goes double for a reasonably strong young person with any experience fighting, unlike myself.
ReplyDeleteThey say swans are unexpectedly deadly. I'd be cautious about underestimating any bird with a long, sharp beak. I've heard warnings that you shouldn't let retriever dogs go after sandhill cranes. On the other hand, my medium-sized dog has an impressive ability to kill venomous snakes before they can strike him: the trick is instantly going for the kill, something I'm highly unlikely to do. He's quite unconflicted.
https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/things-i-learn-from-my-patients.257985/page-49#post-6811998 foxes...
ReplyDeleteThey're lucky the fox didn't tase them.
ReplyDelete