Remember when you bought a new can opener because you thought you lost your old one? What do you plan on doing with that half-used roll of duct tape that's collecting dust in your garage? The last time you used that flashlight in the kitchen junk drawer was to pretend to be a jedi, wasn't it? These are all items you probably have lying around that you can consolidate into a home emergency kit. It might just save you and your family's lives.

Movies are great at telling stories, but they're horrible at teaching basic survival skills. Here are five of the ways they've led us astray - from performing CPR to battling wild animals.

The recent and terrifying false missile alert in Hawaii has everyone asking, "What if it happened here?" While statistically, your hometown is probably not a nuclear target, historian Alex Wellerstein's NUKEMAP shows you what it would look like.

Plane travel is incredibly safe -- your odds of dying on a commercial flight are about one in 11 million -- but accidents still happen and travellers sometimes make it to a different kind of final destination. Many past fatalities may, however, have been avoidable. Here's the safety info you should be up on in case you go down.

Simply floating in water might look easy, but it's actually pretty difficult if you don't have a flotation device, and treading water is an essential safety skill for anyone who plans on spending time on or near the water, well, ever. Here's the best way to do it for as long as possible in an emergency situation.

This post was originally published on January 3 2017 over on Lifehacker. This sponsored repost is brought to you by Surf Life Saving Australia

If you're planning on hitting the beach this summer, take a look at this handy guide before you dive into the water so you know how to escape a deadly rip current. It might just save your life.

When you live in a bushfire-prone area you can’t ignore the danger. Most individuals and families address this necessity by preparing a bushfire survival plan. The best way to survive a bushfire is not to be there when it arrives - but what if you left it too late and are stuck at home?

Here are some survival tips for this terrifying last resort.

It happened. Bright, white light flashed before your eyes, the power of the sun licked your skin, and you felt a shock wave of dust and debris plow through the city you call home. You're one of the lucky ones, for now, but your struggle isn't over yet -- not even close.

Australians fancy themselves as outdoorsy types, but now some interesting insights: results compiled from an online quiz show that Aussies rank as intrepid explorers as opposed to armchair adventurers.

There are few cartoon tropes as ubiquitous as killing ants with a magnifying glass. But if you don't have a glass, you can always just use the next best thing: A Ziploc bag and some water.

Winter storms are a colossal pain in the bum. Depending on the severity, they can also cause extensive property damage and loss of human life. If you're anticipating brutal weather in the months ahead, this infographic checklist will help to keep your and loved ones safe when Old Man Winter goes apeshit.

Contrary to what you see in Roland Emmerich movies, hypothermia can set in if you spend too much time doing heavy work outside during the winter. If someone you know comes down with a case of hypothermia, get them help and use this chart to treat them in the meantime.

In the wake of an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that left 22 dead and over 50 injured, Facebook activated its Safety Check feature, giving users in the area the opportunity to assure friends and family they were safe.

Flood waters may not look all that threatening on TV, especially if you're a skilled swimmer. But flash floods are actually incredibly dangerous, and they can strike with little to no warning. This is what you should do if you or your vehicle gets swept away by the raging waters.

Australia has a reputation for having lots of deadly animals - but we're actually pretty safe from apex predators. As long as you keep out of the water and don't attempt to box a kangaroo, you're relatively safe from harm. Not so in America, where mountain lions have been known to kill and eat humans. If you're every hiking in the US and bump into one of these surly cats, here's what to do.

If you're afraid of being shot, you're not alone. It's less of an issue in Australia, where there are around 200 shooting deaths per year. But if you're visiting America, your fears are, unfortunately, justified. Guns kill almost 100 people in America every single day. Even worse, guns and the bullets they fire are not the hyper-precise weapons Hollywood makes them out to be. They're messy, and they do a lot of damage you can't see. This is what happens if you take a bullet, and what you can do to possibly save your life or someone else's.

While the chances of getting attacked by a shark are much less likely than a dog attack, you just never know, especially if you're out surfing, swimming or diving in open waters. We hope you never have to use these tips, but here's what you should know.

NSW is currently shivering its way through one of the worst cold snaps in memory. Last night, Sydney temperatures dropped to 10 degrees or under - which was a rude shock after weeks of balmy Autumn weather. While we haven't reached frostbite season yet, it can never hurt to be prepared. This infographic explains what to do when Jack Frost tries to bit your nose off.

This is advice I hope you never need but should know anyway. A nuclear attack is everybody's worst nightmare, and the immediate aftermath is just as bad, if not worse, than the explosion itself. Here's what you should do if you survive the initial blast.