--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd had a magic ejector seat when I…" description: "\"If I'd had a magic ejector seat when I went to Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, I would have pressed it multiple times. I felt tot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/jeremy-wade-8413_depth_if-i-d-had-a-magic-ejector-seat-when-i-w_2228214.jpg" --- # If I'd had a magic ejector seat when I went to Zaire… ![“If I'd had a magic ejector seat when I went to Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, I would have pressed it multiple times. I felt totally out of my depth. I had no money and there was precious little infrastructure so I had to barter to survive.” quote by Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/jeremy-wade-8413_depth_if-i-d-had-a-magic-ejector-seat-when-i-w_2228214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/jeremy-wade-8413_depth_if-i-d-had-a-magic-ejector-seat-when-i-w_2228214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/jeremy-wade-8413_depth_if-i-d-had-a-magic-ejector-seat-when-i-w_2228214.jpg) > “If I'd had a magic ejector seat when I went to Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, I would have pressed it multiple times. I felt totally out of my depth. I had no money and there was precious little infrastructure so I had to barter to survive.” [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing extreme hardship in a foreign, resource‑poor environment forced improvisation and survival instincts, highlighting vulnerability and adaptability. **In simple terms:** Survival in crisis demands improvisation. Key Takeaway Adapt and seek resources. Themes survival adversity resourcefulness Mood determined reflective Type advice narrative When to use this quote - expedition planning - emergency response - humanitarian aid Key Concepts anthropology human geography Questions to Reflect On - What resources would have helped most? - How can you prepare for unknown environments? A Different Perspective Limited resources can endanger safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Congo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congo/) [Congo Pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congo-pressed-5002691/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Precious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precious/) [Republic Congo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic-congo-2999516/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) [Went Zaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/went-zaire-5002690/) [Zaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zaire-211959/) ## Related quotes > [The Democratic Republic of Congo was the most unbelievable place I have ever seen. 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But, the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-congo-is-really-beautiful-people-correct-me-and-say-oh-you-mean/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, believed to have one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, girls and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-believed-to-have-one-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No man is a caricature, no individual can alone bear responibilty for a nation's collapse. The disaster Zaire became, the dull acquiescence of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/in-the-footsteps-of-mr-kurtz-michala-wrong/no-man-is-a-caricature-no-individual-can-alone-bear-responibilty-for/) [In the footsteps of Mr Kurtz Michala Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/in-the-footsteps-of-mr-kurtz-michala-wrong/) > [“The kill rate in humans infected with Ebola Zaire is nine out of ten. Ninety percent of the people who come down with Ebola…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-kill-rate-in-humans-infected-with-ebola-zaire-is-nine-out-of-ten/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“After a moment or two a man in brown crimplene looked in at us, did not at all like the look of us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/after-a-moment-or-two-a-man-in-brown-crimplene-looked-in-at-us-did/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Ebola haunted Zaire because of corruption and political repression. The virus had no secret powers, nor was it unusually contagious. For centuries Ebola had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-garrett/ebola-haunted-zaire-because-of-corruption-and-political-repression/) [Laurie Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-garrett/) > [Zaire needs me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mobutu-sese-seko/zaire-needs-me/) [Mobutu Sese Seko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mobutu-sese-seko/) > [I will never be known as the former President of Zaire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mobutu-sese-seko/i-will-never-be-known-as-the-former-president-of-zaire/) [Mobutu Sese Seko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mobutu-sese-seko/) > [I go to the Congo or the Amazon, but every river has its mystery of what is down there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-go-to-the-congo-or-the-amazon-but-every-river-has-its-mystery-of/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [My background is very much tropical rainforests. We did a lot in the earlier series in places like the Amazon and the Congo. Almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/my-background-is-very-much-tropical-rainforests-we-did-a-lot-in-the/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [One place that I have very strong memories of is the Congo. That's somewhere I've been to four times. It's not a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/one-place-that-i-have-very-strong-memories-of-is-the-congo-that-s/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [Twenty-five years ago my two main target species were goliath tigerfish and arapaima from the Amazon. Each took me six years to track down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/twenty-five-years-ago-my-two-main-target-species-were-goliath/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) ## More by Jeremy Wade > [Normally, you want the river when the water is low and not when it's flooded. For example, there are parts of the Amazon where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/normally-you-want-the-river-when-the-water-is-low-and-not-when-it-s/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [The way that we live with potentially dangerous animals is not to kill them, but to understand them and to coexist with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/the-way-that-we-live-with-potentially-dangerous-animals-is-not-to/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [I grew up in a little village in England that had a river running through it so I've been fishing from a very early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-grew-up-in-a-little-village-in-england-that-had-a-river-running/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [I actually found contracting malaria in the Congo fascinating. 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That would be quite special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-ve-never-caught-muskie-that-would-be-quite-special/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [Florida's nice and warm, there's all sorts of stuff living there that shouldn't be there!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/florida-s-nice-and-warm-there-s-all-sorts-of-stuff-living-there-that/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [I have caught some big eels in New Zealand, where the climate is very similar to Scotland. But they grow to around five feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-have-caught-some-big-eels-in-new-zealand-where-the-climate-is-very/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [The most fascinating and satisfying encounter so far was the goliath tigerfish of the Congo. I first caught one in 1991, and then again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/the-most-fascinating-and-satisfying-encounter-so-far-was-the-goliath/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [We all need a bit of mystery in our lives, and rivers offer plenty of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/we-all-need-a-bit-of-mystery-in-our-lives-and-rivers-offer-plenty-of/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [Normally if you are in a boat, you can follow a fish around, but if you are on the shore, you have to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/normally-if-you-are-in-a-boat-you-can-follow-a-fish-around-but-if-you/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [The worst thing that happened when filming 'River Monsters' was the time when our sound recordist was hit by lightning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/the-worst-thing-that-happened-when-filming-river-monsters-was-the/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [I made a series set in India that was more of a conventional fishing show. The fish were very uncooperative, so we were casting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-made-a-series-set-in-india-that-was-more-of-a-conventional-fishing/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [The great thing about freshwater fish is most of them are incredibly ugly, a lot of them are, so no one can fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/the-great-thing-about-freshwater-fish-is-most-of-them-are-incredibly/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [With 'River Monsters', I am the investigator: here's the crime scene, I talk to witnesses, I establish a suspects list, I narrow it down;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/with-river-monsters-i-am-the-investigator-here-s-the-crime-scene-i/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) [Explore all 81 Jeremy Wade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) ## More Congo quotes > [“No one can know, of course, accurate population figures from an era before there was a census, but many officials on the ground at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/no-one-can-know-of-course-accurate-population-figures-from-an-era/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [“My rights to the Congo are not for sharing; they are the fruits of my labours and my expenditures . . . The adversaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-rights-to-the-congo-are-not-for-sharing-they-are-the-fruits-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [“In little more than a generation, the Belgian king’s yearning for empire and fortune may have killed ten million people in the territory—half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-french/in-little-more-than-a-generation-the-belgian-king-s-yearning-for/) [Howard W. French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-french/) > [“Stanley must have realized that this postponement would probably be fatal. But while he did not give up, he never for a moment thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jeal/stanley-must-have-realized-that-this-postponement-would-probably-be/) [Tim Jeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jeal/) > [I started, actually, as an analyst on African affairs, mainly on Al Jazeera. 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Eventually you will get malaria or you will get dysentery and whatever you do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/the-country-is-like-a-great-sponge-it-finally-absorbs-you-eventually/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [There are places that I've always wanted to go. 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