
311 years ago, Alexander Selkirk was rescued on a desert island - the_matrix
https://anniversary7.blogspot.com/2020/02/311-years-ago-alexander-selkirk-was.html
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thewarpaint
The Wikipedia article tells a slightly different story:

> Selkirk had grave concerns about the seaworthiness of their vessel, and
> wanted to make the necessary repairs before going any farther. He declared
> that he would rather stay on Juan Fernández than continue in a dangerously
> leaky ship. Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the
> island with a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding
> and some clothes. Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling
> refused to let him back on board.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk)

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londons_explore
If the ship later sank, do we have any other source for this story?

For all we know, Selkirk was chucked off the ship for being a thief, the ship
later sank, and Selkirk made up the story to not reveal he was a thief.

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acqq
> For all we know

No, much more is known than what is casually assumed in this sentence.
Unfortunately the sentence turns out to be just "for all londons_explore
knows" but surely not "for all it is known from the survived texts."

And what is known is written in the very Wikipedia article which thewarpaint
linked and which "londons_explore" obviously didn't read:

"Cinque Ports did indeed later founder off the coast of what is now Colombia.
_Stradling and some of his crew survived the loss of their ship_ but were
forced to surrender to the Spanish. The survivors were taken to Lima, Peru,
where they endured a harsh imprisonment.[16]"

Wikipedia also cites the source, the article from 1713:

Steele, Richard (3 December 1713). "Alexander Selkirk, an Account of His
Living Alone Above Four Years in a Desolate Island". The Englishman. 1 (26):
168–173.

Also the link to the online readable form of the article, as it was printed in
1714, more than 300 years ago:

[https://books.google.at/books?id=IY2UnI4L6g8C&pg=PA168](https://books.google.at/books?id=IY2UnI4L6g8C&pg=PA168)

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celeritascelery
It crazy that he was so confident the ship would sink he was willing to
stranded, and he was right. I can hardly think of anything I am that confident
in.

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anonsivalley652
Well, if you're sure it's going to sink compared to resources and your
survival skills, it's logical to choose the lesser of two weevils.

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lostlogin
Is that a typo? I like it either way.

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gumby
It's a joke from "Master and Commander"

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galangalalgol
A man who would pun, would pick a man's pockets.

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nl
It's strange, but being marooned wasn't as unusual as one might think.

William Dampier (who Selkirk served with some years before being marooned)[1]
had himself been marooned in the Nicobar Islands:

 _Later that year, by agreement, Dampier and two shipmates were marooned on
one of the Nicobar Islands._ [2]

I believe this was mostly about disagreements at sea with commanders. Many
empty islands had been stocked with animals such as goats and rabbits in case
of shipwreck, and would have ships call at them a few times a year for water
and resupply.

It does seem an odd thing to modern thinking though.

[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk)

[2]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier)

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anonsivalley652
Reminds me of the LOT 5055 / Il-62 / Soloviev D-30 that AgentJayZ talked about
that ended up killing 183 people because the engine manufacturer was low on
supply of LP main roller bearings, and so used half as many and sometimes the
wrong sizes of bearings. He took apart 5 of them and they were missing these
critical components, and some of the engines even wobbled by having a couple
of millimeters of play when they should be solid perpendicular to the the
shaft.

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jcims
Will have to dig that one up. One of my favorite channels on YouTube.

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Findeton
I don't want to be that guy, but I can count at least two spelling mistakes:
It's spelled "Colombia", not Columbia. Also, it's Daniel Defoe, not Defor.

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the_matrix
Thanks dude, I've fixed it.

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adaisadais
This is such an incredible story. This dude was a BA buccaneer and
accomplished sailor.

He had one book with him: The Bible.

If you were allowed one book on a deserted island what book would you bring
and why?

I’m taking the ESV Study Bible. Massive book with loads of commentary.
Regardless of one’s beliefs it would be a phenomenal thing to concur.

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14
Encyclopedia Britanica Book S. Look up survival training and hope it has some
useful information. Religion really is interesting to me and I am always
curious to those discussing it what their thoughts are on other gods. If you
believe in your bible and Jesus and god, and other people believe in their god
who is right? Do you believe in more than one god or is this person who
believes in another god wrong? How do you know? You don’t actually have to
answer me these are just the questions I often wonder when I hear people
talking about religion. I used to be religious in the past as we went as a
kid. I lost my faith many years later and to this day question religion. Still
looking for answers. Have a good day.

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dane-pgp
Those are good questions to ask, but I wonder if you think they only need to
be answered by religious people. If someone doesn't believe in some particular
god, it is still possible to ask them "Is this other person who believes in
that god wrong?" and "How do you know?".

Perhaps a helpful example for showing this is the conspiracy theory concerning
Bielefeld in Germany[0]. Is non-belief in Bielefeld any less subject to
questioning than belief in it?

Anyway, keep looking for answers, and I wish you a good day too.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_Conspiracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_Conspiracy)

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adaisadais
If one has read the Bible it becomes pretty apparent that YHWH, the God of the
Bible, claims (and I believe is) the only God and that all other gods
essentially aren’t real.

A god is usually thought of a some deity but the meaning is much deeper than
that: a god is something one worships. Many people worship money as god, their
job or company as god, drugs or sex as god.

But like I said, the Bible makes it very clear that there is only one God
(according to the Bible).

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dboreham
Small world. He was born 16 miles from where I grew up.

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1024core
This looks like the island where he was marooned?
[https://goo.gl/maps/1TUQqWZPHsaLJmQw9](https://goo.gl/maps/1TUQqWZPHsaLJmQw9)

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billfruit
Also remembering William Cooper's famous poem, 'The Solitude of Alexander
Selkirk'.

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vmh1928
It's almost a "frozen o-rings" moment.

