Yes, I've done survival exercises, but only for a few days in length,
and Canadian IMPs (individual meal packets) are considerably better
than American MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).

(Another thing I'll confess to is being the duty van driver on half of
the survival exercises I've attended.  If I have to load the van and
drive the van (and in one case, sleep in the van--I do NOT recommed
this in the fall and winter months), then I think I have the right to
put my own survival-kit in the van.  It consists of pepsi and doritos)

--Fil

PS I also once ate moldy cheese, and, though I grossed out when I
realized what I'd done, I'd eaten half of it by then, blue fur and
all.

Don't forget that the average adult has eaten at least 8 spiders in
their sleep (the people's sleep, not the spiders) over their lifetimes.
Course, that's about the only way I'd knowingly eat a spider these
days.

Smokie Darling (Annie) and since I'd be asleep, I wouldn't be knowingly
eating them, right?

I stopped sterilizing early on, when I found Jason asleep in a bed at my
idiot sister's house, sucking on "Bill" the cat's ear.  She didn't mind
and Jason was happy, and didn't die of anything, though I wonder that he
didn't hork up a hairball.  Later he ate cat food, d*g food, sucked on
bones and so forth.  It's not that I wasn't a vigilant mommy, it's that
their house wasn't the best organized back then.  If I were to have
panicked every time one of the kids got into something and then stuck it
into their mouths, I would be writing a different version of this from
the nuthouse.

Pam S. who's wondered sometimes if it wouldn't be calmer in the nuthouse....

Same here, I had a picture among the ones at Tish's that shows Henri
standing on a stool up to my small table, having a good feed off my
dinner while I had gone for something from the kitchen, of course I threw
the rest of my dinner out, like fun I did, I sat down and ate it and asked
him if he wanted to share the rest.   Jean.