Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 6, 2024

On March 6, 1475 Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti—who exerted an unparalleled influence on Western sculpture, painting, and architecture and whose works rank among the most famous in existence—was born in the Republic of Florence.

Today is the birthday of Georg Johann Luger (March 6, 1849 – December 22, 1923). He was the Austrian designer of the famous Luger pistol and the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge.

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004.

Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space (aboard Vostok 6). She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR.

These new listings caught my eye:

Turnkey Survival Bunker Homestead on 7 acres — $625,000 — 170 Lightning Creek Road, Harpster, Idaho.

and,

Country Living at Its Best! — $840,000 — 4300 Custer Frontage Road, Pompeys Pillar, Montana

Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

We are in great need of entries for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.