Re: [HoE] Longevity

["Damon Harper" <nomad74@hotmail.com>]

>Anybody on the list familiar with the effects of aging on material 
goods?
>What happens to gas that has been sitting for 13 years, or cotton, or
>ammunition, or Lil' Debbie Snack Cakes.  Canned chili, batteries, etc.
>Anyone know about this stuff, or any sources wherein which I can find 
this
>out?

  Anything in your local grocery store that isn't in a refrigerated 
section has a chance of lasting well over 13 years.  I've eaten canned 
fruit(as in old-fashioned canned, like a jar) that was older than me 
when I ate it.  Of course, anything can happen if air gets in the can.  
I'd say roll a d10, and if it comes up a 1 or 2, then the item in 
question has become rotten(or if it's ammo, unusuable).  Batteries, from 
what I understand, if they aren't kept in an airtight container can rust 
and eventually leak(e.g. not usable), but only Shane can say if it's 
true of "Spirit Batteries" or not.
   Lil Debs and hostess can last a loooong time.  You don't want to know 
what the "cream filling" really is...
   TNT sweats nitro if it gets too old, but I suspect after 13 years 
even by then the nitro would have evaporated or soaked into the ground 
or something.
    I don't know about gas, and I suspect bugs would have eaten cotten 
that hasn't rotted away(but it's possible to still be intact).
    Modern day "Milrats"(MRE: Meals Ready to Eat) have a shelve life, 
from what I understand, of upwards of 20 years as long as you don't eat 
any name-brand candy bars or M&Ms(I have the dubious honor of knowing 
that old M&Ms from an MRE taste like medicine- you don't want to know).  
There's an old Army joke that MRE stands for Meals Refused by 
Ethiopians.  I'll never forget the words of encouragement on the 
packages of dried fruit:  "Eat as is or reconstitute with water."  
Mmm... makes your mouth water.
    Hope this helps.

-Damon Harper
 "But if it be a sin to covet honour, 
  I am the most offending soul alive."
		-Shakespeare, King Henry V 
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