On May 17, 1897, the first successful submarine that could run submerged for any considerable distance and combined electric and gasoline engines (USS Holland, SS-1) was launched in the US by its designer John Philip Holland. [1]
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On this day in 1769, George Washington launched a legislative salvo at Great Britain’s fiscal and judicial attempts to maintain its control over the American colonies. He brought a package of non-importation resolutions, drafted by George Mason, before the Virginia House of Burgesses. This initiated a chain of events that led to Britain’s House of Lords demanding that men involved in the extra-legal Massachusetts convention of towns be tried in England. Britain’s plan backfired and created an American identity where before there had been none.
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Sale Ends Tonight! All of my knife and bayonet inventory [2] is on sale, at Elk Creek Company. This sale ends at midnight Pacific Time, tonight, Friday, May 17th, so order soon.
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Today’s feature is a short guest piece selected by JWR that was authored by metals analyst Hubert Moolman, of South Africa.
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We are seeking entries for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [3]. 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 [4]. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [5] 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.