Month: August 2025


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 27, 2025

On August 27, 1859, the first successful oil well was drilled near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake. — The birthday of Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 – March 15, 1881). He was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to successfully attack entrenched positions at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American Civil War, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed American military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the nation’s military history, …


Fully Practicing Your Preps, by A.C.

In our world of unpredictable emergencies, from natural disasters to personal crises, a common saying always holds true; “You don’t rise to the occasion, you revert to the level of your training.” This isn’t just my cynical view of human nature; it’s a powerful call to action, especially to us self-described preppers. It emphasizes that true readiness isn’t about spontaneous heroism or “hoping for the best”.  Instead, it’s actually about the deliberate, often unglamorous work of turning preparation into an ingrained, automatic response. When the “stuff” hits the fan,  our carefully laid plans are only as good as our ability …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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. — Video: Abandoned Underground Bomb Shelter Sealed For 50 Years Under My Grandparent’s Garage! (You may want to skip forward to the 9:40 mark, for the actual opening.) JWR’s Comments: I saw and heard about a lot of similar shelters when I was growing up in Livermore, California. Many of them were around  …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 26, 2025

On August 26, 1346: The Battle of Crécy. Edward III‘s English longbows defeated Philip VI’s army south of Calais in northern France. At Crecy, cannons were used for the first time in battle. — August 26, 1946 was the official release date of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” — Today’s feature piece was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest.  Round 120 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a …


The A.I. Danger Approaching, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

It was amazing to see St. Funogas’ article today (8/22/25) entitled “My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence.” Hopefully my thoughts below will add to his insights! Great minds think alike! 🙂 I deny being a Luddite, but I must confess I’m concerned about the rapidly growing utilization of A.I. in our lives. It’s kind of shocking how many devices are connecting to some A.I. flavor or the other, and I suppose – eventually – just one or two super-A.I.s, directly or indirectly. Smartphones (for all their utility, essentially a government eavesdropping device), home security systems, Alexa, cars, and even computers/laptops are …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, updates on the Travis Decker manhunt.  (See the Central & Eastern Washington section.) Region-Wide Scorching heat and smoky skies grip the Inland Northwest before a mid-week cool down. o  o  o Wildfire Updates: Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. Idaho “Swatting” Call: False hostage report prompts major …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 25, 2025

On August 25th, 1609, astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, including the Doge of Venice, Leonardo Donato. — August 25th,1898: 700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen were slaughtered by the Turks in Heraklion, Greece. — On August 25th, 2010: Panic caused by an escaped crocodile being smuggled aboard a domestic Filair flight led to the crash of a Czech Let L-410 Turbolet passenger aircraft near Bandundu Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all but one of the 21 passengers and crew. — Monday Morning Monsoon Update: Map shows flash flooding warning issued for eight …


Victorinox Swiss Army Trailfinder, by Thomas Christianson

Victorinox is the most prolific producer of pocket knives in the world. Although most of their knives are made for the international civilian market, it is the knives that they make for the Swiss Army that supply the inspiration and cachet that drives the sale of the company’s nonmilitary models. Since 1890, Victorinox has manufactured five different knife models for issue in the Swiss Army: the 1890, 1908, 1951, 1961, and 2008 models. Prior to 2008, the models that Victorinox produced for issue to the Swiss Army lacked the three essential features of a modern everyday carry (EDC) knife. Those …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Frozen Banana Smoothies is from SurvivalBlog reader St. Funogas, who writes: “My most important summertime day-to-day survival food is frozen banana smoothies. When the temperature is 95 degrees and the humidity is 110%, it takes all the fun out of working outside. These banana smoothies twice a day are a big help. A Banana smoothie can be kept to its most basic form, which is how I enjoyed them for most of my life.” Basic Recipe: 2 frozen bananas broken into 4 pieces each 1 to 2 cups of milk Blend until thick You’ll have to …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  Map showing the percentage of adults who are homeowners, by U.S. state. (A Civic Science graphic, courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 24, 2025

On August 24, 1847, Charlotte Brontë sent the manuscript of her novel “Jane Eyre” to the publisher Smith, Elder & Company in London under her pen name “Currer Bell” — August 24, 410: Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. This could conceivably be the beginning of the dark Middle Ages. …