Question: What caused Chuck's gum to swell?
Question: If the package got delivered to the cheating husband, which we see in the scene where he receives it shirtless wearing a cowboy hat, then how did that package end up back on a plane headed to the USA and crash and wash up on beach? Wouldn't that package have been opened by said cheating husband?
Answer: I just re-watched the movie, and realise my previous answer is wrong. Here is what happened. Bettina Petersen, the lady on the Texas ranch, sends a FedEx package to her husband in Russia. She appears to regularly send out packages via FedEx, possibly to customers of her artwork. When driver picks it the package, she tells him she will have another one for pick up on Thursday. That, presumably, is the package that is aboard the doomed FedEx plane that Chuck is on and the one he returns to her four years later.
But why should that parcel return to her?
It "shouldn't" do anything. If the package raywest is referring to is in fact a second package to whoever, really, that just so happened to be on Chuck's plane, there wasn't actually a reason to return it, he just chose to return it to the sender if he ever made it off that island because that package was his saving grace and his will to get back home. That's the only reason he never opened it and why he returned it just so he could thank them by saying it saved his life.
Answer: It appears the package he received contained the divorce papers, which he would have signed and then returned to the woman in the U.S. in a different package.
Might be possible! And maybe for the reason Bettina Peterson never got them she just took of her ex-husbands name at the ranch to just live free for herself again after her husband cheated on her.
Answer: The package delivered to the soon to be ex-husband has pink wings and the package Chuck never opens has gold wings.
Question: Considering that Chuck had been on the island for four years, would he actually still have all of his teeth or would he have lost them all? From all the things that he saw in the packages that he opened, not one of them had anything to keep his teeth clean.
Answer: Even without dental care for four years, it would take far longer for a generally healthy person to lose their teeth if they had previously maintained proper oral hygiene. Chuck's diet was a factor (little or no sugar) and he could also fashion a primitive toothbrush or toothpick from materials on the island. Ancient humans had relatively little tooth decay. It was after sugar was introduced into the European (and later American) diet in the 11th century, that dental problems started becoming more prevalent.
Answer: It's possible that he could keep his teeth, provided he doesn't eat too many sugars. Just think of all the cultures throughout history and today that do not brush their teeth. They certainly have dental issues compared to those who regularly brush and see a dentist, but it's not like none of them have teeth.
Answer: Toothpaste and toothbrushes (+ floss) are not the only things that can be used to clean teeth! (What did people use before toothpaste and toothbrushes were manufactured?) A CLEAN finger can be used or a wet piece of cloth - and some fruits (e.g, apple) and vegetables (e.g, carrot) can help remove gunk from teeth. He had access to sea salt, which could help. If he "wiped" his teeth (after every meal and snack), he would be able to avoid plaque and tartar buildup. Toothpaste in and of itself is NOT necessary - it is added flavor to supposedly make brushing teeth taste better (e.g, bubblegum flavor for kids), be more pleasant (and thereby encourage people to brush longer), and/or add fluoride. Few, if any, people make it through adult life without a cavity, but there's no significant factor during his four years that would make him lose all of his teeth! The information given in the previous answers is also relevant.
Answer: I wasn't told as a kid I had to brush my teeth every day. I brushed them only before going to the dentist or a special occasion, would sometimes go months without brushing. I only started brushing properly after puberty and I still have each and every single one of my teeth. They're a bit yellower than average, but not that bad. Even with smoking all my life and practically living of sugar, most people actually think I have pretty decent teeth and I never get comments about having bad teeth. They do tell me that if this had gone on for much longer, I would regret it and my gums have retracted a bit from all the tartar, but this makes me assume that, being healthy, you can probably go at least 10 years with poor mouth hygiene before your teeth actually start rotting.
Question: Does anybody know where the opening scene with the 'cowboy' is set? Definitely not in Moscow.
Answer: The scene with the "cowboy" is set in Russia. Bettina Peterson, the artist in Texas ships something (presumed by some to be divorce papers) to a man also named Peterson in Russia. If you pay attention the sign at the ranch has both Bettina and her husband's name on it at the beginning of the film but by the end the husband's name has been removed. What her husband was doing in Russia is never explained. In addition to the FedEx driver speaking Russian to himself, if you listen closely you can hear passersby speaking Russian as well.
Question: I have a problem with the scene where Chuck makes a fire by rubbing sticks. While it is possible to make a fire by the rubbing sticks, don't you need to run the stick against bamboo for the trick to work?
Answer: The point of the scene is that he has no idea what he's doing.
Chuck is using the fire plough method. A very established method. This and the fire saw method probably resulted in early sailors bringing back stories of."natives rubbing sticks together" to create fire.
Answer: You can use any wood (although technically bamboo is a grass and not wood), it just should be very dry wood. He's employing the fire trench method where the friction is created by rubbing one stick at a 45° angle against a trench in a wood plank (his trench looks to have been created because the plank was slit).
Actually, I looked up how to make a fire by rubbing sticks because asking this question, and I misread it as suggesting using bamboo. It was actually suggesting using coconut wood.
Question: What is that green thing that Chuck tries to break open by throwing it against a rock wall, and then by hitting it with a rock? Is it really that difficult to break open?
Answer: They were coconuts. Coconuts come in a green shell which is their husk and they are hard to open up, especially when they get older. Most people use a machete or pick ax to get the husk off.
Is the shell as difficult to break open as shown in the movie?
The film does seem to accurately depict how hard it would be for someone who has never opened one before to get into a green coconut. I've never tried throwing one against a rock wall before though.
I was asking if the shell is as difficult to break open by hitting it with a rock as shown in the movie.
For someone who has never tried opening a green coconut, yes it would be.
The inner shell itself is not that difficult to open. Using a pointed rock, you can break through the round-shaped holes at the end to pour out of the liquid. By hitting the coconut's seam running lengthwise down the shell hard against a rock, it will completely split the shell in two around the circumference.
I'm talking about opening the outer shell, not the inner shell.
Answer: It sure is. You have to be gentle when you break it so all the water doesn't just go everywhere, like it would if you pounded it with say, a large rock.
Question: How come Wilson never deflates from the time Chuck opens the parcel to the time it falls off the raft and is swept away? A normal ball would go flat after a period of time, but 4 years on and Wilson is fully pumped. Does Chuck have a pump?
Answer: Look closely. In the later scenes, Wilson's entire top is gone, now filled with dirt and grass to give him the illusion of hair.
Thanks Brian.
Question: I recently submitted a "mistake" which revealed my own misunderstanding. The package that Chuck eventually delivers to Bettina had been sent to her partner in Moscow, which COULD explain its presence on a westbound trans-Pacific flight. Still, would a package sent from Memphis to Moscow be routed through southeast Asia? It would be shorter, and therefore faster, would it not, to send it across the Atlantic?
Answer: There are two packages sent by Bettina Peterson. The first we see goes to Russia to a man also named Peterson. The second never reaches its destination but we don't know where exactly it was being sent. That second package must have been going somewhere that required it being routed through Malaysia.
Agree with your answer, but something else occurred to me. Bettina appears to be sending out packages via FedEx fairly regularly. She is an artist, and may sell her work internationally. While she does create large-scale wing sculptures, she may also do smaller types of metal artwork, jewelry, etc. We assume she was only mailing packages to her cheating husband, but she could have been sending something to a customer in Southeast Asia.
I found an earlier version of the script that explains this. After rescue, FedEx looked at the husband's records, which indicate he had moved from Russia to Kuala Lumpur. The package on the plane was being sent from the lady in Texas to there. The FedEx people could not locate a current address for the now ex-husband, so Tom returned it to the sender address in Texas.
Question: When Chuck sees the ship and starts waving the torch around, is he really doing SOS by moving his hand in front of it repeatedly?
Answer: No, morse code would be three short flashes (dots = S) followed by three long ones (dashes = O).
Question: Why doesn't Chuck just leave from the other side of the island?
Answer: Probably a variety of reasons. He could not have dragged the heavy raft to the island's other side. Even if he could, it's unlikely there was a flat clear path to get there. There may not have been an accessible beach on that side where he could launch from or that was suitable for establishing a new camp where he could build the raft.
Question: At the end when Tom Hanks is going over the map and the woman drives up, where exactly is the crossroads location?
Answer: The credits mention Canadian, TX. Canadian is on Hwy 83 in the Texas panhandle. The directions given mention Hwy 83 south and I-40 east. I-40 is roughly 30 miles or so south of Canadian on 83. Texas road signs are visible at the intersection. The ranch, a bed and breakfast and museum are at 9760 County Road 5, Canadian, TX. It looks like the crossroads was actually filmed maybe eight or ten miles south at the intersection of Z and 5.
Answer: Somewhere in the Great Plains, you heard the Woman's vague directions, "Whole lotta nothing 'till you get to Canada", and from the looks of things, it's not important anyway, the generic nature seems to be a plot device.
Question: Why did Chuck and Kelly not get back together at the end? Yes I know she's with that other guy but they still have feelings for each other. She didn't move on by choice, she had to move on because she thought he was dead.
Answer: She hadn't seen Chuck in years, she's married to another man, and had a child with him. Just because she still cares for Chuck (and maybe wishes things had turned out differently), doesn't mean she doesn't love her husband or wants to leave him.
And if I recall, they didn't meet because the new husband told her that Chuck didn't want to see her.
Question: On the front of the ship that rescues Tom Hanks, there is a symbol in white. What does that symbol mean?
Answer: I think you're referring to the symbol that looks like a "5" without the top line. It represents the fact the ship has a bulbous bow and its shape. That way tug boats bringing the ship on are aware, since it may be underwater and not visible.
Question: Why did Chuck stand up and then spend ages looking at the part of the toilet that had washed up?
Answer: By that time, Chuck had been on the island for four years and was becoming somewhat mentally unstable. When he first sees the toilet wall section washed up against the rocks, he approaches defensively, spear in hand, as if it's something dangerous. He seems to snap back to reality and gradually surmises it is not only benign, but potentially useful. His mind then begins working out he can adapt it as a sail to escape the island.
Answer: He couldn't believe it, of all the things to wash ashore it was a toilet. So far everything else he found could be used in a certain way, but a toilet. I didn't see the movie at the theaters but I bet the audiences were roaring with laughter.
I saw it in the theater and no-one laughed...it wasn't funny. Chuck is seeing the first man-made object he's seen in years, and he's stunned...and maybe he's getting the idea of using it as a sail.
Question: How many times does Chuck get injured while stranded on the island?
Answer: 4.
Answer: He had a bad tooth that he had delayed getting fixed. He mentions it before leaving on the plane. An abscess then developed in his gums.
raywest ★