What are some skills you think everyone should learn?

[Valiss]

I'm often surprised how many people have no clue how to change the tire on their own car. I think more people should take 1/2 hour out of thier weekend and just practice it once; change the tire with teh spare. You'll learn where all the spare parts are store in your vehicle and you'll know how to change the tire. And you wont have to learn/figure all of this out when it's pouring rain on the side of a busy highway. 

What are some other skills you think everyone should learn?

[DonaCatalina]

1. How to milk a cow.
2. How to skin and dress a meat animal, or even a fish.
3. how to plant, tend and harvest some basic vegetables including potatoes.
4. How to shoot, for self defense if nothing else.
5. How to build a basic shelter from natural materials and build a fire.

These are basic survival skills that I think everyone should know. I have tried very hard to teach my daughter these things but she balked at the skinning. Most people think that these skills are unneccesary in a modern world. But it wasn't that long ago that a couple in their thirties died in north Colorado because they took a wrong turn in heavy snow and ended up on an abandoned logging road. So who knows what other circumstances might test your ability to feed and shelter yourself?

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

Dona, you are spot on!  These skills may come in handy someday.

[PollyPoPo]

I'm often surprised how many people have no clue how to change the tire on their own car. I think more people should take 1/2 hour out of thier weekend and just practice it once; change the tire with teh spare. You'll learn where all the spare parts are store in your vehicle and you'll know how to change the tire. And you wont have to learn/figure all of this out when it's pouring rain on the side of a busy highway. 

What are some other skills you think everyone should learn?

Daddy made me rotate the tires on my first car before he let me drive it.  Taught me how to change a tire, and why I should never drive alone to any place where I might have to do it myself.  Ever.  Ever.  Ever. 

[Elennare]

I would add sewing (at least enough to mend tears, replace buttons, and such) to the list of important survival skills.

Also, swimming.

[PollyPoPo]

How to:

Read instructions.  
Use the internet to find the instructions.
Know when to call for someone else to help.
Know who to call.

[Captain Teague]

CPR and First Aid.

[Auryn]

great thread
I concur with everything listed so far.

Skills I think everyone should learn
1. how to test electrical wires to see if they are live- and actually do it
2. how to start a fire without matches
3.how to drive stick shift- my dad taught me how to drive when i was 14 with his stick shift truck- that way if something ever happened to him while we were on a road trip i wouldnt be stranded.
4. everyone should know how to use military/aviation alphabet - alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo, etc.  its so much easier to understand when someone is spelling something out to you, especially when they have accents

[Archer]

These are good lists above.

Learn how to filter water when boiling is not possible.

Learn what you need for a basic medical go bag, including items to provide minor injury treatment.

Secure a few books on treatment of trauma; survival in extreme climates of cold and heat.

Learn map reading and how to use a compass and terrain/topical maps.

Determine if you want to know more about having a survival seed bank.  Some do not know about genetically altered seeds.  http://www.survivalseedbank.com/?gclid=CNPO4NTbtK4CFYFgTAodXk01Sw.  I feel comfortable vouching for this source for that type of item,  from personal experience.

Boy Scout Motto is "Be prepared" so, simply "be prepared" is not a bad idea.  If you don't need it in your lifetime, you have something to pass on to those you might care for,  who may need/use, down the road.

[SirRichardBear]

Two books which I think should be in every home

How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew

How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew

[raevyncait]

*How to check the oil, coolant, wiper fluid, and other generally accessible fluids in their car, and where to add to them if necessary
*How to check the pressure in the tires, AND how to add air if necessary (one would think this is fairly self-explanatory, but given that I know a 21 year old who DESTROYED the rim on the classic Jaguar he bought from his aunt because he had a flat, in the WalMart parking lot, the spare was on it because another tire had a leak in it, and he didn't know how to add air to the leaky one so he could put it back on to get the 4 miles home, so he drove on the flat)
*How to cook a basic meal, even if it's chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese, using a stove and oven, instead of a microwave
*How to operate a washing machine (and preferably a dryer)

[Merlin the Elder]

The skill that seems to elude the most people, in my opinion, is simple logic. But then, I'm a computer geek, and one of those rare idiots that reads the manual.

[angusmacinnes]

What Dona and Bear said for sure and the other things mentioned here.  And Merlin reading the manuel is always a good place to start.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

1. How to milk a cow.
2. How to skin and dress a meat animal, or even a fish.
3. how to plant, tend and harvest some basic vegetables including potatoes.
4. How to shoot, for self defense if nothing else.
5. How to build a basic shelter from natural materials and build a fire.

These are basic survival skills that I think everyone should know. I have tried very hard to teach my daughter these things but she balked at the skinning. Most people think that these skills are unneccesary in a modern world. But it wasn't that long ago that a couple in their thirties died in north Colorado because they took a wrong turn in heavy snow and ended up on an abandoned logging road. So who knows what other circumstances might test your ability to feed and shelter yourself?

Spot on... good basics.  All other survival skills stem from these general ones.  My G.O.O.D bag and 30 seconds in my weapons locker and i could pull back into the boonies for a long time. 

[SirRichardBear]

Always liked this from the notebooks of Lazarus Long

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!