Imagine yourself marooned on an uninhabited island, alone, with no one trying to find you. We don't really have to imagine, because that's been a staple of stories from Robinson Crusoe to Gilligan's Island to the upcoming movie Send Help. Those stories were inspired by real instances of people surviving being stranded for a long time. That doesn't mean you can count on survival- that depends on your resourcefulness. Do you have guns, tools, and provisions? Can you figure out what you need and how to get it? And most importantly, is there any fresh water available? We must assume that for every amazing survival story, there are many more cases of people who died and left no trace.
Some survivors were marooned intentionally, while others were victims of weather or bad planning. Some even returned to a life of solitude after their rescue! Smithsonian has the accounts of seven instances involving 13 people who survived being marooned on a desert island, sometimes for many years.
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