A Micro Survival Kit for Everyday Carry – Part 1, by M.B.
In Jules Verne’s 1874 novel, The Mysterious Island, a group of Union men escape from a Confederate prison during the U.S. Civil War, in an observation balloon. They are swept away into a massive storm and survive a crash landing on a Pacific island with nothing but what they are wearing and what’s in their pockets. In an early scene, the castaways have gathered food, firewood and tinder, but the character preparing the fire suddenly discovers that he has lost his waterproof match container. A frantic search among the castaways uncovers a single match in one character’s vest, and this …