Practical Uses for Headphones in a Survival Situation
Headphones or earbuds have a surprising number of practical uses during a crisis. From navigation to first aid or hunting to making repairs, they are so beneficial that you will probably want to have an extra pair handy in your survival kit or bug out bag. Let’s take a look at a few examples of how you can put them to work for you.
Fire Starting
Snip off two pieces of wire that are a few inches long each. Carefully peel off a portion of the insulation from each end to expose the bare wires. Attach one end of each wire to the positive and negative terminals on a small battery. Place the other ends next to some tinder and connect them together. This will create an electrical current that should spark, and it may be enough to ignite the tinder. You can also use this as a way to ignite flammable material as well, as long as you take the necessary precautions to avoid getting burned or shocked.
Simple Snare Trap
You can take the wire from your headphones along with two twigs or small branches that have forked ends and fashion them into a rudimentary trap. The first step is to make a loop near the end of the wire so the jack sticks out a few inches. Place the wire leading to the jack beneath the top of the loop and hold together with your fingers.
Next, bring the jack through the underside of the loop near the top and feed out over the top of the opposite side so that it resembles a pretzel. Then, feed the jack underneath the right side and center of the pretzel and have it exit over the top of the left. Finally, pull gently on the free end while holding the other end in your hand. This will form a slip knot around the loop that can be adjusted to the size of your trap.
To set the snare, place the twigs on either side of the noose to hold it in place. Tie the snare to a tree or stake in the ground and place the loop against the twigs. Make sure that the snare is resting above the ground and that the loop is at about head-level for the animal you are trying to trap. Bait the area and check the trap periodically to see if you caught the animal.
Compass
You can make a rudimentary compass from the magnets inside of your headphones if you have some objects that contain small amounts of ferrous metal. Paper clips or needles are good choices, and they are very easy to find. The first step is to break open one of the earbuds and remove the speaker. The speaker has a magnet inside. Take the magnet part of the speaker and run it across the length of your metal object. Make sure that you run it in the same direction around 50 times to magnetize the metal.
Next, take a small object that can be used as a basin, such as the lid from a container or a piece of a paper cup, and place a natural object that floats, such as a leaf or piece of bark onto the water. Mark the end of the metal object that represents the direction that you wiped the magnet toward so you you can identify its position. Place the needle atop the floating item in the water, and the marked end should point north if you’re in the northern hemisphere.
Aside from these examples, there are more basic ways that you can put your headphones to good use. They make great cordage, and can be used for tying things together or hanging items. You can use them as a tourniquet in some cases or to make a makeshift sling. You can also use them for fishing line or to sew holes in canvas or tarps. The possibilities are endless. Consider these and other ideas, and see why headphones make for a must-have addition to your survival gear.
