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charliecompany34's avatar

What did you learn from your boy scout/girl scout days that you still use today?

Asked by charliecompany34 (7810points) October 14th, 2008

i told my sons the other day how you can make a whole meal out of potatoes and onions. they looked at me like i was crazy. and the fridge can, at times, look bleak, but they are amazed how i can divulge a meal out of the same. how do you survive in the metropolitan wilderness? can you make lemonade out of lemons?

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27 Answers

deaddolly's avatar

that i suck at making baskets and it’s much easier to buy ice cream than it is to make it.

loser's avatar

I can make a lean-to for when I get stuck on a deserted island and I can tie a tie while I’m there.

marinelife's avatar

That miracles do happen (I got a sewing badge, but a D minus in Home Ec the sewing semester).

That I can cook on a tuna can stove.

Knots.

marinelife's avatar

@cc34 Did you mean devise a meal?

loser's avatar

@marina: you wanna hang out in my lean-to? We could cook in your tuna stove and tie knots together…

skabeep's avatar

I still tend to always be prepared whenever I go out… So now I pack all sorts of stuff that I don’t need. It kinda sucks. My truck is always full of junk and if I go on a trip I spend forever packing crap I don’t need. Then I gotta take it out and leave it cause my bag is too heavy

marinelife's avatar

@loser I am so there!

jcs007's avatar

I was never a boy scout. But the girl scouts did teach me something about the economy: It is possible for a small organization to have a monopoly. I love the shortbread ones and thin mints…

sketchstudios's avatar

boyscout rule #1:
Always be prepared!

And yes I still use that today.

poofandmook's avatar

all I learned is that girls are very, very mean.

Nimis's avatar

Alas, I was never in the Scouts.
MacGyver has always been my go-to for resourcefulness.

girlofscience's avatar

I was never allowed to be a girlscout. :( I begged my mom and dad every year.

I did tap, jazz, ballet, Irish dancing, gymnastics, cheerleading, arts & crafts, piano, flute, harp, acting, soccer, teeball, and basketball. But no girlscouts. :( :( :(

cookieman's avatar

Make a circular hole in a slice of bread, place in a skillet, crack an egg into it. Makes a yummy breakfast.

Fresh mountain stream water is

cookieman's avatar

the best.

Magnus's avatar

Never trust a brown bear.

SuperMouse's avatar

I can honestly say that there is absolutely nothing I learned in my five plus years of scouting that I still use to this day. Nothing. Although if anyone wants to know the words to “Taps” I’m the goto gal.

EmpressPixie's avatar

You just reminded me that I can Thin Mints in my freezer. YES!

Nimis's avatar

In the frizzer?

EmpressPixie's avatar

err, that I have Thin Mints in my freezer. And yes, they freeze.

rockstargrrrlie's avatar

I’m pretty decent at rolling my sleeping bag nice and tight now.

Knotmyday's avatar

Pocket knives are sharp. At first.

shadling21's avatar

Navigation. Knowledge of the stars, which I learned in scouts, is handy to this day. I’ve used that knowledge on a couple of occasions while driving.

@Knotmyday – Have you knot found that your knot-tying skills are useful?

Wow, deja vu just now…

Knotmyday's avatar

I still have a knotty side.

D’oh.

kelly's avatar

first aid skills, reading and following a map and giving directions, paddle a canoe

marinelife's avatar

@kelly Oh, I forgot about first aid. Me too! That was my favorite badge.

srmorgan's avatar

These days the Scout Law (Boy Scouts) sounds kind of corny but it does embody certain traits that serve you well in adult life.

Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
and
Reverent.

We could have used a bit of # 9 these last few years and #1 and #2 are traits that you have to demonstrate every day.

When my older son was a cub, eight or nine years ago, and they were about to move up to the Boy Scouts, they had to learn the scout oath and the scout law.
Those boys were totally amazed when I (just turned 50) and the grandfather of another boy (who made me look like a kid) stood there are recited the Scout Law for them. Both of us at least 35 years out of scouting. But it is something you don’t forget.
Words to live by.

I also had my first can of beer on a Scout trip to the mountains when I was 14 so there are aspects to scouting other than tying knots and making peach cobbler on a fire.

SRM

jvgr's avatar

That I don’t like wearing uniforms, but that tossing an aerosol can in a campfire was exciting

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