The Snowflake Generation

[MaryN]

This made me smile, but I have the feeling it may be on the money. I know several Millenials who fit these criteria to a T - they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, so I suspect the following llittle tasks would be completely beyond them. (American basis of course, but the meaning is the same..._)

#1) Plant a seed in dirt and grow an edible plant.
#2) Change a bicycle tire.
#3) Sharpen a pencil.
#4) Identify the name of any tree or bird in the real world.
#5) Check the oil level in any engine.
#6) Name a single star in the night sky.
#7) Change a blown fuse in anything (or even reset a circuit breaker).
#8) Drive a stick shift. (Many don't even know what "stick shift" means.)
#9) Navigate using a printed map without using GPS.
#10) Strike a punching bag without injuring their frail, fragile wrists.
#11) Repair a broken garden hose without throwing it away and buying a new hose.
#12) Stop bleeding with a tourniquet.
#13) Cut a piece of wood in a straight line using a hand saw.
#14) Carry a 50 lb. bag of animal feed on their shoulder for 50 meters.
#15) Cook a real meal that isn't "instant" or microwaveable.
#16) Start a camp fire, even with a lighter.
#17) Sharpen a knife, even using a knife sharpener.
#18) Build a shelter in the forest by using only forest materials.
#19) Use a car jack without ripping the bumper off the vehicle.
#20) Chop wood for a wood stove.
#21) Locate and reset the ground fault tolerant button on an electrical outlet to restore power to the outlets.
#22) Dry clothes on a clothesline.
#23) Strip a copper wire.
#24) Securely tie a rope to anything at all.
#25) Calculate a 15% waiter tip in their heads.
#26) Make a broken bone splint out of anything at all.
And for advanced skills, Millennials have absolutely no idea how to do any of the following:
#27) Catch a fish.
#28) Clean a pistol.
#29) Swap out the hydraulic hose on a piece of farm equipment.
#30) Intelligently read any food label.
#31) Purify water using a plastic bottle and sunlight.
#32) Make a water filter out of charcoal and sand.
#33) Fold a paper airplane.
#34) Make an emergency funnel out of aluminum foil.
#35) Chop down a dead tree with an axe.
#36) Read a compass.
#37) Cut a stuck seatbelt to escape a burning vehicle.
#38) Paddle a canoe in any intended direction at all.
#39) Open any can of food without using electricity.
#40) Siphon fuel from the gas tank of an abandoned car.

Now ask yourself this question, and answer honestly. Given that most Millennials know absolutely nothing about the real world -- and have no real-world skills to speak of -- how can they possibly survive the next great collapse?

The only time they're ever venturing out into the real world is when they're playing Pokemon Go (and walking off cliffs or stumbling into traffic as a result).

Scary eh?

[CharlesHarris]

Add some basic bushcraft skills to the list

Build a fire without using matches
Boil water in a paper bag (rock boil)
Catch a rabbit
Dress the rabbit for cooking using bare bands
Cook the rabbit and eat it
Build a debris shelter
Find the North Star (or Southern Cross)

[Mortblanc]

Oddly enough I had more fun spotting the anachronisms in the list than figuring how many kids I know could not accomplish them.

I am not much of a canoe person, preferring the small john boats of my native area. So I am not concerned with that one. Few canoes or kyacks in my neighborhood. More bass boats and cruisers.

No one uses bumper jacks any more. In fact, the quality of car tires is such that I have not been required to change one in about 20 years.

And the pistol cleaning challenge??? Really?? As if there is only one type pistol and only one way to clean it? Neither does the process carry over between brands or types.

And I am 66 years old and have never been called on to change the hydraulic line on a piece of farm equipment! Why should I expect the little girl next door to do so? I could figure it out, and she is a smart kid and I think she could too.

And Charles, boiling water in a paper bag??? The only place I ever see paper bags any more is at the fast food drive through, so to get one you have let someone else cook for you first! Sort of defeats the purpose.

Some of that crap just does not matter, so why feel bad if you can not do it, or feel superior because you can and someone with no exposure to any of those things can not? Most are quite useless in the modern day to day world.

And there is the secondary consideration that most of those things are learned from a participating parent. Why hold someone in contempt because their parents were worthless?

[harrypalmer]

Don't knock the youngsters, what we may see as weaknesses may be seen as strengths by their peers so they can function well in society plus, young brains learn fast when needed too...that said also I'm a firm believer that British stoicism will shine through in times of need

[CharlesHarris]

A purist would do the rock boil inside the rabbit skin, but with a paper bag the herbal tea tastes better...

[MaryN]

Boil water in a paper bag?? So how does that work then? I can see the point of using hot rocks to heat water, but in a paper bag?

[MaryN]

Harry, the last word I would use to describe the youngsters of my acquaintance is "stoic"! They whinge if their iPhones aren't working, and I doubt very much if many of them would survive anything more than a week long powercut!

[CharlesHarris]

http://stoneageskills.com/articles/boili...tones.html

If you are careful, you can actually boil directly over the fire in a paper bag, too.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryd...er-Bag.htm

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/...paper-cup/

[harrypalmer]

"Harry, the last word I would use to describe the youngsters of my acquaintance is "stoic"! They whinge if their iPhones aren't working, and I doubt very much if many of them would survive anything more than a week long powercut! "

That type of moaning is only skin deep Mary, I'll bet your parents were not happy with your generation...mine moaned about my lot.

Have you tried frying food in a paper bag over a fire, thats another easy one for you, give it a try...its a bit of fun and the greasy bag makes a great fire lighter for later use.

[MaryN]

I really don't know what my parents thought about my generation, Harry. Certainly they never moaned to to me - but then I didn't have a particularly ordinary childhood.