5 Weird Survival Stories That Put Castaway to Shame

There’s nothing like survival stories to shock and inspire us. Who doesn’t get a little misty-eyed when Wilson floats away from Tom Hanks in Castaway?

Survival stories pit us against incredible odds and the forces of nature. We read them with our hearts in our throats and feel relieved when it all works out.

The survival stories we have for you though are less inspiring and more just weird. They involve animals, body parts, and sheer dumb luck.

So sit back and get comfortable. Here are 5 weird survival stories that will make you glad you’re warm and safe, not trapped in a capsized boat.

Survival Stories: Crocodiles on a Plane

Traveling by plane is effective, but at what cost? A bad flight is as inevitable as taxes and death. The seats are tiny, there’s always a fussy baby on-board, and the food is terrible.

Passengers on a Congo flight can tell you the worst thing is when some guy smuggles a live crocodile on the plane.

Oh wait, they can’t because everyone but one guy is dead.

The flight took off in June 2014, with 18 passengers and two pilots. Unbeknownst to everyone else, one passenger had smuggled a three-foot-long crocodile on board. Why you might ask? Was he your run of the mill animal smuggler? Or did he have a soft spot for these reptiles?

In the end, it doesn’t matter. The crocodile escaped and caused a panic on this tiny plane. Passengers rushed to one side of the aircraft, which knocked it off kilter. The plane stalled, and it plummeted to the ground.

At the end of the day, only one man survived the plane crash. He walked away with his life, and one heck of a story.

Left Hanging

When you’re planning a trip with your friends, the last thing you think about is what to do if one of them gets injured. Luckily, Simon Yates and Joe Simpson did have that talk before they scaled Siula Grande.

The two friends tackled the mountain in 1985 on the west side. On the way down, Simpson fell and broke his right leg and heel.

Rather than leave his friend, Yates had to lower Simpson down the mountain using ropes in stages. It was slow but steady progress until they hit a patch of bad weather in the night.

At this point Yates had Simpson dangling over an unseen cliff edge. He had no idea what was below them, only that things were bad enough that he had to make a choice. Would he die alongside his friend or survive by himself?

Yates cut the rope, and Simpson fell to his supposed death.

Simpson didn’t die, however. He fell 50 feet into the mountain crevasse and survived. He climbed out and reached camp four days later.

Today the two friends are in talks to make a documentary about their survival stories. Simpson defends Yates and says that he would have done the same thing in his place.

If you’re taking a climbing adventure, don’t get caught without the right tools. Read more here about silk saws, so you too can cut your friend loose while dangling over a 50-foot drop.

The Ears Have It

Do you remember being a kid with big ears? Did relatives tell you on a regular basis that you’d grow into your Dumbo ears?

If that sounds familiar, you can now go back in time and tell them that Big Ears Save Lives.

Ask six-year-old Ming Ming. This little Chinese boy woke up from a nap only to discover that his grandfather had gone missing. The elder family member was watching him but had gone out to run an errand.

Ming Ming, who might have thought his grandfather got taken by aliens, ran to the 8th-floor window. When he looked outside, he lost his balance and toppled out.

The only thing that stopped him from plummeting to his death? His ears got suck in the iron grates.

Firefighters rushed to his rescue, and Ming Ming got saved. His ears were sore, but he has one of the best survival stories.

These Soldiers Prove Indiana Jones Right

Remember that ridiculous scene in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull where Indy hid in a refrigerator during a nuclear test?

Turns out it wasn’t that ridiculous.

Five American soldiers volunteered to stand below an exploding nuclear missile in 1957. Why? For science, of course! Or maybe they didn’t want to pay those overdue library fines.

Turns out the joke was on them, and us. All five soldiers survived the experience as Indiana Jones did.

Of course, if Indy is like those soldiers, he got cancer at least once in his life. It’s a small price to pay for the love of country.

Under Pressure

Harrison Okene had it all: a great job as a tugboat cook, and a beautiful fiancee he was going to marry as soon as he landed.

Then on May 26, 2013, a sudden ocean swell capsized Okene’s tugboat. It fell 100 feet below the surface, with Okene trapped inside the bathroom on board.

He escaped, but no one was in sight. He immediately found a 4-foot air pocket in the boat and held back the ice-cold water with mattresses. He had a flashlight, a few bottles of soda, and some emergency tools.

Oh, and did we mention the sharks that started feeding on his fellow crewmates? He could hear them fighting over the floating bodies.

With a limited air supply, Okene survived for three days in the capsized boat. He got rescued and was able to marry the love of his life. They just won’t be going on any weird adventure dates anytime soon.

Want to Read More Weird Survival Stories?

If you love reading about weird survival stories, then you’ll love our story about the World’s Dumbest Criminals.

You can also check out the 4 weirdest places to visit and create your own weird survival stories.

If those things aren’t your jam, then you’re sure to find something on our most popular posts page. If it’s weird, we’ve got it.

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