It Was Peter
It is an intriguing detail that the human body is comprised of 65% to 90% water. Deprive us of water and we wither and die, like any other living organism, animal or vegetable. We also need food and exercise to keep ourselves hale and healthy.But the human animal can survive for a long time without nutrition derived from basic food. It is water that will keep us alive. Mind, without activity our musculature will inevitably become degraded.
That old adage of "use it or lose it" is important and true, of any and every part of the body, including most importantly the brain/mind.
So, how long can a human being persist and remain alive deprived of food and movement? Several weeks of torment without eating, one might guess. As long as we have access to water to ensure we are hydrated. Starving but well hydrated.
And of course, if our movements are restrained we are using less energy, so have less need of nutrition, although that need does remain a constant irrespective of physical restraint. Our very existence does require that we feed the body and the brain.
So how to explain that a 44-year-old Swedish man, Peter Skyllberg, described as an eccentric, as peculiar, by those who know him as a loner, manage to survive a full two months in his car covered with snow, in temperatures that dipped as low as -30C.
The car, completely enveloped in a thick layer of snow provided protection against the cold, due to what is called the "igloo effect". And he did happen to have with him warm clothing and a sleeping bag. The snow surrounding and enveloping this man inside his vehicle created a layer of air protecting him from the extreme cold.
It is theorized that inside the car, despite an outside temperature of -30C, it would be around zero. Cold, but survivable. He had warm clothing, he had a warm sleeping bag, he had no food. Presumably he had little difficulty accessing the snow surrounding the car and consumed it; hydration, no nutrition.
It was estimated by a doctor who examined him that he might have lost over 19 kilograms in weight. Mr. Skyllberg had been snowed into the confines of his car since December. On Friday his whereabouts were discovered near the northern university town of Umea, south of the Arctic Circle.
He is now recovering from his ordeal, in an ordinary hospital ward, interacting with nurses and other patients. Due to be released from hospital shortly.
His neighbours said offhandedly, one day he just disappeared from his home in Karlskrona, Sweden. "It was a bit of a joke for us. We said 'Oh, I think they just found Peter'. And then it was Peter."
Labels: Environment, Health, Human Fallibility
posted by Pieface @ Monday, February 20, 2012
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