Is Life in the Wreck Patrol As Bad As It Sounds?

  • Thread starter Thread starter nsaspook
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Life
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the living conditions of Filipino marines stationed on the Sierra Madre in the South China Sea, particularly focusing on the challenges they face in terms of food supply and the presence of pests like rats and cockroaches. The conversation touches on the broader geopolitical context of the area, including territorial disputes and resource exploration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note the difficulty in supplying the marines, leading them to catch fish to supplement their diet.
  • Questions are raised about the diet of the rats and cockroaches present on the ship, with speculation that cockroaches might be consuming mold and slime, while rats eat the cockroaches.
  • One participant suggests that the living conditions could inspire a horror novel scenario if a science team were present.
  • There is a claim that cockroaches can survive on glue, although uncertainty exists about the longevity of such a diet.
  • Another participant humorously mentions that old-style glue made from horse hooves might be appealing to cockroaches.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints regarding the diet of the pests and the implications of the marines' living conditions, but no consensus is reached on the specifics of these claims or the overall situation.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the food chain among the pests and the marines, as well as the geopolitical implications of the territorial dispute, which remain unresolved.

nsaspook
Science Advisor
Messages
1,560
Reaction score
5,162
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/07/world/south-china-sea-dispute/index.html

Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the South China Sea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the Sierra Madre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships.
...
"I estimate there are five to six hundred rats and a million cockroaches."

— Hilbert Bigania, Philippines marine
 
Physics news on Phys.org
So, they have a hard time getting supplies to the marines and the marines have to supplement their diet by catching fish. They go out fishing twice a day, in fact.

This raises the question: what are the rats and cockroaches eating?
 
zoobyshoe said:
So, they have a hard time getting supplies to the marines and the marines have to supplement their diet by catching fish. They go out fishing twice a day, in fact.

This raises the question: what are the rats and cockroaches eating?

It looks likes the cockroaches are eating the ship (mold, slime and god knows what else in the interior) then the rats eat the roaches and the roaches eat the dead rats. I'm sure the diet is high in iron in the food chain. The poor guys look like castaways looking for a rescue.

This dispute is mainly over sea lanes and possible large oil fields that nobody has found yet but everybody wants a piece of in case it is found.
http://energyinasiablog.com/2011/10/the-spratly-islands-dispute-defining-sea-lane-security/
 
Last edited:
A very remote, insecure military outpost.

If they had a small science team aboard, there'd be nothing to prevent it from becoming the first scene in a horror novel.
 
I heard cockroaches love to eat glue. So they don't even need real food.

Although, I'm not sure how long they can live on glue.
 
zoobyshoe said:
A very remote, insecure military outpost.

If they had a small science team aboard, there'd be nothing to prevent it from becoming the first scene in a horror novel.

Release the Kraken:
sea_monster.jpg
 
leroyjenkens said:
I heard cockroaches love to eat glue. So they don't even need real food.

Although, I'm not sure how long they can live on glue.

Old style glue made from horse hooves was probably quite tasty.
Young kids like white pasty glue I have heard, so why wouldn't cockroaches.