You Have Died of... Cannibalism | Oregon Trail

One of the most iconic computer games from our childhood is based on a wagon trail that only lasted two decades. Failing to ford a river and dysentery weren't the only things that could kill you though...

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[Patrick Breen Diary]

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Photo Credits -

Music Credits -
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Intro Art and Channel Avatar by PoetheWonderCat

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Hashtags: #history #oregon #california #mormon #lds #oregontrail #utah #america #west #usa #cannibal #snow #christmas #gold #game

[KnowingBetter]

What's this, a video on a Wednesday? Yes, I'm planning on making this my new regular upload day, let me know what you think! Although to be fair, I hope to get them out a little earlier in the day from now on.

Survey results will be on the subreddit in a day or two.

[willemvandendolder]

"The tale of the Mormons is... interesting, and probably deserves a video by itself"

*Three year laters he adds the video suggestion once he does it, that's commitment*

[TheMglitcher]

“shorter than the war in afghanistan” i picked the perfect day to rewatch this considering the taliban took over kabul like 12 hours ago

[iammrbeat]

Cannibalism is so taboo, until you have to do it to survive. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[kenj]

What if I don't have any fat friends. Oh crap... I just realized, I'm the fat friend.

[artificialavocado]

Just remember if you options are to ford the river or pay for a ferry, ALWAYS pay for the ferry.
Being a banker from Boston also helps.

[MrJoecordo]

might the answer to why they didn't take the "easier path" be mud? or soft ground? wagon wont sink into limestone and get stuck. just a thought.

[gonzostrangelove]

I HAVE A DEGREE IN HISTORY... WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING MORE EXPOSURE?! YOU'RE EXACTLY CORRECT!

[crash.override]

8:32 "That's actually shorter than the War in Afghanistan (2001-20??)"
Oof. Well, we have an end date now.
2001-2021

[jcw]

Are you baptising your ferret at 8:50?

[MegCazalet]

When I was in elementary school a huge portion of “computer class” was just playing Oregon Trail. There was always the jokey strategy of taking no food or ammo and, like, a dozen grandfather clocks and swing how far you could get. My husband has an Oregon Trail t-shirt that says “you have died of dysentery”. The game has become a significant cultural and historical icon separate from the original historical subject it is based on.

I’m part of what’s sometimes called the “Oregon Trail Generation” (more popularly the hokey “Xennials”, and the too-specific “Generation Catalano”) a bridge between Gen X and the Millennials. Usually considered to include those of us born around 1977-1983, we don’t quite fit in with either the generation before and after because we came of age right alongside the Internet. We remember life without it, but it was a part of our development. I find it really fascinating.

Smaller categorization for generations also just makes sense. It’s so much more relatable; 2 decades is a huge difference in cultural experience and huge number of people to try to group together in any meaningful measurement, while those born within a handful of years most likely attended school together and/or had older or younger siblings that brought experiences, milestones, and touchstones together. And one that stands out as being highly specific to my peers is Oregon Trail. I think it’s a brilliant marker.

Just sayin’.

[Kaxlon]

Yeah timescale can be tricky.
I live in a small Swedish town, which is young at it's 400 years age.
I can drive about 40 minutes to the north and look at well preserved rock carvings just a few inches of the main road, in a farmers field.
Those rock carvings are art showing feet, like a trail, of maybe 3-5 prehistoric humans walked.
Those were carved 2000 bce.
We live in a old world and we're a people with amnesia.

Great video!
Greetings from Sweden.

[erictaylor]

5:00 Those kind of snow storms still happen. I lived near Lake Tahoe one winter. The night before I spent 6 hours working in intense snowfall to clear a path from the door to my car and my room mate's car, then from the cars to the road. I quit about midnight but woke up at 5:30 because I know I was going to have to dig the cars out.
When I opened the door the entire door and found a wall of snow filling the entire door way. It had snowed 7 feet in 6 hours!
With my roommates help we worked until about 7 and had not even cleared a path past the porch. I realized I wasn't going to make it into work that day, but when I called I was told to keep working on clearing a path. My bass still wanted me to come in.I worked until noon before I could get to my truck and it took me another hour just to reach the main road, which had been plowed.
I finally got to work at about 1:30 but I was told to go on home. So few lift operators had made it to work the ski area simply could not open. Not that it mattered, everyone who would have come to ski were as snowed in as I was.
I did get a full days pay for making it though, at time and a half! So at least all that effort wasn't wasted.
It turned out the snow was so deep my other room mate's car was crushed.

[kulrigalestout]

As a fat friend, the introduction has me slightly worried for my safety on this trail.

[nickb]

I am floored that more people haven't found you yet and I'm going to do what I can to change that. Really fantastic video!!

[ApolloTheDerg]

My family history stems back to the Mormons passage on the trails. We are mostly in southern Idaho and northern Utah to this day.

I’m glad you shed some light on this easily forgotten history, it was a rough time back then and many died doing it.

[satinsleeves]

I'd love a video on Mormonism! That sounds interesting af.

[BlakeGrigsby]

This is really fascinating! Well done!

[rachelann]

My sister has a trail near her house in NJ that looks like those ruts, except not quite as deep. She’s in Egg Harbor Township. The trail is called “Indian Cabin Trail.” It was used for hundreds of year by the local tribe (primarily lenni Lenape, I believe) as they moved seasonally to the shore for fishing (and related food procurement—-especially wild cranberries and other berries that COVER the forest floor and thrive in the shade produced by the pine and cedar treetops.)

When Europeans started to settle, they used the trail like a highway. It saw its heaviest modern use when Europeans discovered there was a lot of iron that could be mined in the area. My sister’s family can still find remnants of iron slag when they go foraging for berries. It’s such a pretty area.

[slavsquatsuperstar]

Is there a "doctors hate him!" joke but with the Oregon Trail Guide?