Preparedness Notes — Saturday, May 30, 2026

On May 30, 1626, an explosion at the Wanggongchang Gunpowder Factory in Beijing destroyed part of the city and killed and estimated 20,000 people. Pictured above are ancient Chinese cannon, near the Forbidden City.

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And on May 30, 1806, future US President Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson accused Jackson’s wife of bigamy.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”!

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Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received will be considered guest articles and not eligible as contest entries.

Preparedness Observations from the Rideshare Driver’s Seat by Guitar George

For the last six years, I have been supplementing my retirement income by working as a rideshare driver. At first, I was a little apprehensive about picking up complete strangers and all of the potential danger that might entail. After almost 20,000 rides, I can honestly say that there was only one experience where I thought my personal safety was at risk and it was relatively minor. Since those early days, rideshare companies have greatly improved their safety tools for both drivers and riders. Although I did not begin driving as an exercise in preparedness, it quickly became one.Continue reading“Preparedness Observations from the Rideshare Driver’s Seat by Guitar George”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had a very busy week. I pitched about 3,000 pounds of manure and soiled bedding from our secondary dairy sheep pen. That completed the removal of “the island” under and near the rack feeder. I hauled that with one of our wheelbarrows into some open patches in our west woodlot, to form Edible Forest Garden plots and squash-planting mounds.

I replaced two posts and three 35-foot long rails in our main corral.  This time, I used deeply creosote-treated surplus telephone poles for posts, so they won’t rot out — at least not in my lifetime.

I mowed the weeds alongside the county road at the front end of the Rawles Ranch, using our Cub Cadet line trimmer. That is a walk-behind gas engine machine that cuts a 32-inch swath. It has large wheels, so it does well on uneven ground. I was able to rake up some of the trimmings to feed to our sheep.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote

“For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” – Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes — Friday, May 29, 2026

On May 29, 1648, King Charles I of England attempted to escape captivity at Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight, for the second time, by hacksawing through a barred window but he was caught in the act.

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On this day in 1780, the treatment of Patriot prisoners by British Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his Loyalist troops led to the coining of a phrase that defined British brutality for the rest of the War for Independence: “Tarleton’s Quarter.”

Tarleton and his Torries proceeded to shoot any an all Patriots that had surrendered after the fall of Charleston. The Patriots lost 113 men. The slaughter of the surrendered troops became a propaganda victory for the Continentals and Carolina civilians who had been terrified of Tarleton and their loyalist neighbors now rallied to the Patriot cause.

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We are continuing a big sale on all of our blackpowder rifles, all of our pre-1899 cartridge sporter rifles, and selected Mauser rifles at Elk Creek Company. Most of the blackpowder rifles are .50 caliber. There are some very deep discounts, so take a look! Update: I’ve now added another M1891 Argentine Mauser sporter and a LHR Sporting Arms Redemption .50 Caliber Blackpowder Rifle to the catalog. This sale will end on Tuesday, June 2nd, so place your order soon!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”!

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Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received will be considered guest articles and not eligible as contest entries.

Water in Disasters: A Rain Catchment and Treatment System, by Suburban Prepper

Water is essential to all life. The human body can go three weeks without food but only three days without water before completely shutting down. Yet most of us find it much easier to store a year’s worth of food than a month’s worth of water. I live in the suburbs and while I have my beans, bullets and band aids pretty squared away, water has always been an area of concern for me. There is no way to store enough water for a long term outage, and I haven’t found many good options. Recently I have spent more time thinking about this and testing possible options. This article is the result of that.

Water Needs

People need around 1 gallon per person per day just for drinking. For a family of 5, that is 5 gallons per day or 150 gallons per month. At 8 pounds per gallon, that is 1200 pounds of water for the bare minimum for just one month. A year’s supply would be nearly 2000 gallons and 7 tons of water. And that is just the minimum for drinking. Water is also important for sanitation, cooking, flushing toilets, watering gardens, fire fighting and many other things. In our modern world, with water available at the turn of a tap, the average American uses from 60-80 gallons per person per day. In a SHTF situation, we would need to be careful with our water use and try to limit the waste but the true need is likely many times the 1 gallon per day commonly quoted. Realistically, 5-10 gallons per person per day is probably closer to what you need. At 5 gallons per day for a family of 5, that is 9,125 gallons per year or 73,000 pounds. From a storage perspective, this is 1,220 cubic feet of water. That is a cube 12 ft by 12 ft and 8 ft high. That would completely fill a medium sized room from floor to ceiling. Obviously, this is more than the average suburban homeowner can store.

Modern water systems

In my suburb on the outskirts of Minneapolis, our water is pulled from a well over 400 feet deep. Pumps driven by electricity pull water from the ground up to surface level. From there it is chemically treated and filtered to remove pathogens and other contaminants. Then it it pumped into water towers placed around the community and from there, gravity takes it into our homes. In normal times, this means that every time I turn on the tap, step into the shower or flush the toilet, a large, modern system brings clean water right into my house. But if that system fails, we need another way to procure this life-giving resource.Continue reading“Water in Disasters: A Rain Catchment and Treatment System, by Suburban Prepper”

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Here is a world map with national surface areas relatively distorted by their total number of annual births. As you can see, Muslim-dominated Indonesia is growing rapidly, while Australia and New Zealand have pitiful birth rates. (Refer to my novel Expatriates for my predictions on Indonesia’s eventual territorial ambitions.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the ​brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard ​to their own interest.” – Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations.

Preparedness Notes — Thursday, May 28, 2026

On May 28, 1588 King Philip II dispatched the Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia from Lisbon, Portugal to invade England. When it left Lisbon, the fleet was composed of 141 ships, with 10,138 sailors and 19,315 soldiers. The fleet carried 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns. The armada was hampered by bad weather, and then was outmaneuvered by the 200-ship British navy in several decisive engagements. The remainder of the Armada was devastated by storms, disease, and starvation.  An analysis of the human cost of the campaign reveals that 25,696 men departed and just 13,399 returned.

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George Washington, then a young lieutenant colonel in the British Army and future president of the United States, led an attack on French forces at Jumonville Glen on this day in 1754. This battle was later credited with being the opening salvo in the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763).  In his official report of the encounter, Washington described how his troops, aided by warriors under the Indian leader Tanacharison, surrounded a detachment of 32 French soldiers near the fort on May 28 and, within 15 minutes, killed 10 of them, including the garrison’s commander, wounded one and took another 21 prisoner.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received will be considered guest articles and not eligible as contest entries.

A Letter To My Younger Self – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

The World As We Now Know It

Succeed here first. A good man succeeds regardless of where he is. Marcus Aurelius would be a good man here or in ancient Rome. Same for Sejong the Great. Same if an Adeptus Astartes was put in your place. A good man succeeds where he finds himself.

“I would succeed if only…” is loser talk. It’s taken many a man who might have succeeded and turned him into one who did not. You’ve probably heard “if you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”. That saying is importantly wrong. You cannot think your way to victory. It’s also importantly correct: you can think yourself into a loss. Avoid loser talk. Avoid loser think. Avoid hanging out with losers. Avoid them in cyberspace. And avoid them in meatspace.

This principle is concerned with putting first things first. Yes, you are incredibly exposed for things going sideways right now and there are no guarantees about when that might happen. If the balloon goes up tomorrow you’ll wish you had maxed out your cards on tangible goods. But if (as is more likely) it doesn’t go up tomorrow, you will regret debt that puts you into slavery for decades. One of those is more likely and that is the one you must attend to first.Continue reading“A Letter To My Younger Self – Part 2, by N.C.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, Wrench Attacks on Bitcoin Whales.

‘Wrench Attacks’ Have Crypto Whales Living in Fear

The UK Telegraph reports ‘Wrench attacks’ leave crypto billionaires living in fear. A quote:

“Billions of dollars in cryptocurrency are stolen every year in cyber attacks, scams and frauds. In 2025, about $3.4bn in digital currency was stolen, according to blockchain experts at Chainalysis.

But in 2026, physical assaults are on the rise.

A report from Certik, a crypto security business, found there had been 34 physical attacks on industry figures in the first three months of 2026, a 41pc increase on 2025.

These attacks resulted in publicly reported thefts of more than $101m in cryptocurrency.”

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote

“I explain the law of compensation like this: ‘Returns are minimal in spite of massive effort at the start, yet returns can be massive with minimal effort over time.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Preparedness Notes — Wednesday, May 27, 2026

On May 27, 1930 Richard G. Drew (pictured) invented cellophane tape. Five years earlier, he had also invented painter’s masking tape.

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On May 27, 1941, the British Navy sank the German battleship Bismarck.

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Also on this date, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of Maryland issued Ex parte Merryman, challenging the authority of President Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. military to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received will be considered guest articles and not eligible as contest entries.

A Letter To My Younger Self – Part 1, by N.C.

This is an article hypothetically written to my younger self, as if I were just going to start on my path of preparation. These are lessons I spent a couple decades learning. So, this is for you, young man. Things I’ve learned, what I’d do if I were in your shoes:

Social Skills Are the Primary Prepping Skills

Not guns. Not gardening. Not bushcraft. Social skills. Social Skills are the single most important skill you need. It will affect your career and therefore your resources and your preps. It will affect your mate options. It will affect your children. It will affect your sanity itself. You need to be able to get along with other human beings and join a healthy community. And odds are if you’re on this site you struggle a bit with that. At least I know I did as a young man here.Continue reading“A Letter To My Younger Self – Part 1, by N.C.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

The weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned that Karl Bushby (pictured) was last reported in Nuremberg, 500 miles from Calais, on his way back to Hull, England. He has now walked or swam nearly all the way around the world. He might be done by July 1st, 2026. JWR Asks: Will the French and British authorities let him walk through The Chunnel?

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At Breitbart: Freedom Caucus Cheers House Advancing Privacy Protections Against Data Brokers in Appropriations Bill.

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Reader T.E. sent this, from John Andrew Hildreth: What if we had the representation the Framers of the Constitution designed and intended with 1 representative for every 30,000 Americans? JWR’s Comment: In Hildreth’s map, notice the uniform shading of the American Redoubt region, except for Boise.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”