Month: December 2025

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, some news on the threat of cosmic ray disruption of digital microcircuits. A Cosmic Ray Hit May Have Disrupted A320 Flight Controls Struck by a cosmic ray: Galactic …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 10, 2025

On December 10, 1690, Massachusetts Bay became the first American colonial government to issue paper money — the Massachusetts Codfish Notes. They were engraved and printed by Paul Revere. Shown above is a Codfish 8-Pence Note. — December 10, 1520: Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication. — And on December 10, 1906, US President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …


Building a Simple One-Tube Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

Introductory Disclaimer: I have not been paid for writing this article, and I own the radio being reviewed. Scenario: The world has gone mad, it is now TEOTWAWKI and it’s just not a pretty picture folks. And if that wasn’t bad enough, what with the power grid being down, looters and such, and some bozo declaring martial law effectively shutting down all radio, internet, and anything capable of receiving any information except what “THEY” want you to hear … hard to imagine? If you can find a holocaust survivor, or anyone who lived during WWII ask them if that sounds …


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. — Reader Richard T. recommended this article about a millionaire survivalist: Trailblazer: Vernon Pick’s Apocalypse Now. For some context,  Richard also sent these two links: Vernon Pick mansion on Google Maps. Vernon Pick mansion visit on YouTube. The comments to the video from people who knew Pick are very informative. o  o  o …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 9, 2025

On December 9th, 1315, the Swiss Woudsteden renewed their Eternal Covenant. (Eidgenossenschaft or Oath Commonwealth). According to Wikipedia: “[Eidgenossenschaft] means “oath commonwealth” or “oath alliance”, in reference to the “eternal pacts” formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of the late medieval period. In Swiss historiography, this relates most notably to the Rütlischwur (Rütli Oath) between the three founding cantons Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which traditionally dates to 1307. In modern usage, Eidgenossenschaft is the German term used as an equivalent to “Confederation” in the official name of Switzerland, Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (rendered, respectively, as Confédération suisse and …


Planning Your Silver Bull Market Exit Strategy

The recent physical silver shortage and the run-up in the spot and futures prices of silver (around $59 USD per Troy ounce the last time that I checked) has prompted me to issue some supplementary advice about how and when to SELL some of your silver.  We should all be ready to start slowly SELLING or trading a large part of our silver once the spot price passes $125 per ounce.  There will almost certainly be a peak and then a crash in silver. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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. Redoubt News Links Wyoming Girl, 12, Stuns With One-Shot Kill From 600 Yards To Bag Huge Elk. Two In Jail On Claims They Were Being Paid To Drive Teen Girl Through Wyoming. The Innovative “Wood Bank” In Buffalo That Provides Free Firewood For People In Need. Skylar Meade pleads guilty to two counts of 1st-degree murder following Idaho prison break. Send Your Media Links Please send your links …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 8, 2025

On December 8th, 1864, James Clerk Maxwell‘s paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” was first read by the Royal Society in London. (It was published by the Royal Society in 1865.) — December 8th, 1880: 5,000 armed Boers gathered in Paardekraal, South Africa. — Today also marks the birthday of Eli Whitney, (1765–1825) the inventor of the labor-saving cotton gin, several firearms, and dozens of other mechanical devices. He was the first to demonstrate the advantages of fully interchangeable parts in firearms manufacture. — Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We need more …


Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starters, by Thomas Christianson

Each Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starter (SAF stick) is kind of like a giant match which is 5.75 inches long, 1.13 inches wide, and 0.25 inches thick. The shaft of a SAF stick seems to be made out of some sort of pressed wood that is impregnated with a waxy substance. When the match-like head of a SAF stick is struck on the striking strip on the box, it ignites the SAF stick which then burns for approximately 12 minutes. In the process, the SAF stick creates enough heat to effectively ignite most types of kindling. [JWR Adds: The SAF sticks …


Recipe of the Week:

The following simple recipe for Sago, Rice, or Barley Soup is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is just one of the dozens of bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available to order in January of 2026. Ingredients 1 quart brown or white stock, cleared or not cleared 2 tablespoons sago, rice, or barley Salt and pepper Directions Soak sago one-half hour in enough stock or water to cover it. After that, bring the remainder of the stock to a …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  An Aurora Borealis display photographed on December 5, 2025 by Vince Medina of North Pole, Alaska. (Posted with permission.) The thumbnails below are 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.


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“I think part of preparedness is always being quite cognizant of just how tenuous our lives can be. We know that there is a future where we’re huddled around a campfire of burning 2×4s where the tornado took the house, where we look in the fridge and theres nothing but a box of baking soda and ketchup, where we spend hours a day looking for a job as we watch our bank accounts dwindle, where we feel unsafe, insecure, and hopeless. That’s why we prepare…to mitigate those events, to reduce our fragility, to increase our resilience. And when you’re aware …