Insulin.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
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can I get them all in one lump sum or do I have to use them up before getting another?
All you big brains saying water.
My first thought was soybeans, since they're so versatile. Or corn for the same reason. Granted, I don't have any way to process them so I didn't think it through.
But a food source that also provides water would be a good idea. Watermelon is too sweet to be your primary food though.
Food sources don't provide water unless there is water to grow them, and if the water is contaminated that will just end up in the food.
Potatoes are the best. Easy to grow in marginal soil, varied ways to cook them, and they store easily long term in a simple root cellar.
Add in some squash like pumpkins which have the same advantages and you should be good to go.
Ive heard if you need to survive, potatoes, radishes, and beans do really well.
Personally ive had more luck with radishes and beans. They grow quick in just about anything. I keep killing my Potatos!
You can make pretty nice savoury dishes with watermelon.
Okay, and this is why we burn heretics
Haven't seen that one yet. I can vouch for a watermelon feta salad, or grilled watermelon with chili flakes, though.
Bottle caps.
AA-batteries
Iodized salt. I live in iowa, we have planty of water (i can figure out how to filter it), and a great climate for growing food. However our soilis naturaly low iodine and there is no salt around so those are critical nutriants I don't think I could get here.
second would be iron - we don't have any and It is usefur for a lot.
Army MREs, the modern ones.
Assuming I'm not teleported elsewhere, the place I live has plenty of drinkable fresh water and other supplies, so the only real concern is having consistent high-quality food available, and MREs are engineered to support people in the wild for several months, if not years. In case of a major war breaking out, so it would contain everything I would need to stay alive, or to trade to other people.
Even modern MRE’s only provide stable nutrition for about three weeks— they don’t provide complete nutrition. After that, you need to supplement it with other nutritional sources.
I mean, they are chock full of all sorts of preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they also have things like toilet paper and wipes, spoons and forks, heating pads, and various other things, and they can be eaten cold if there's some reason not to start a fire.
That being said, you can live a very long life eating only MREs. It's not like if you only ate them for three weeks you would die. You might have some malnourishment, and you might desperately long for something else, but it wouldn't be the nutrition issue that would kill you. They are designed to keep people alive in situations where bullets are an occupational hazard.
But if I have an infinite supply of them and they are fresh, then when I encounter people that are starving I can trade it to them for bullets or knives or I can just give them away. Could probably save a lot of lives by being a food producer capable of keeping people alive.
The largest risk I would face would be growing tired of the assortment.
Easy answers first. Potable water! You need it every day, helps with sanitation, growing food, etc.
If you wanted more like discrete consumable objects, keflex.
Edit: Or salt!
Ooh, salt is a good one!
You guys were smart to say water, first thing I thought of when I read the question though was peanut butter.
Paracord. You can weave it into just about anything. Can probably also weave a water filter.
Fully-stocked cruise ships.
Fully loaded guns. Watermelons (provides nutrition and water) are also a good candidate.
Ongoing? Fresh clean salad 🥗. This assumes I can scrounge/ kill/ for other kinds of food. It implies there's a source somewhere, so perhaps I could trace it, for water and arable land. It contains clean water, and while lettuces are not a super food they have C which I can't store and K which is good for cuts. And if necessary I could wipe my ass with a leaf of it .
a thermos of fruit smoothies that is forever cold and will not run out. This kinda work with all kind of apocalypse because foods and drinks is the number 1 thing that would hard to come by, and smoothie is both food and water.
Post-apocalyptic enough for that item not to be 7.62x51?
Lighter is a good choice, but I'm thinking toilet paper rolls for bartering.
A packet of Timtams.
Fuel cans probably.
Something like Soylent. You can live off of it for a very, very long time. Enough time to get your garden growing.