Month: May 2026

Preparedness Notes — Sunday, May 31, 2026

May 31, 1930 was the birthday of actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood.  Happy 96th birthday! — On the 31st of May 1970, an earthquake off the coast of Peru caused a substantial section of the north slope of Mt. Huascaran to collapse. The avalanche moved downhill at a speed estimated at 175 to 210 mph. with a mass of roughly 80 million cubic meters of ice, mud, and rock. The avalanche traveled nearly 11 miles, burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca in up to 300 feet of rock and debris. It is estimated that this earthquake and avalanche killed more than …


Bicycles and Their Practical Use in Prepping, by Tunnel Rabbit

To look into the future, we only have to visit the past, and how other cultures adapt to their circumstances. Long ago and far away, I lived just south of Copenhagen, Denmark for a while, and then on the oldest and once largest farm still standing on the Island of Bornholm that was first in Swedish territory, and then Danish territory. The farm had been established in the 1700s. In the end,  I was so immersed in the culture and language that locals did not believe I was an American.  More often than not, given my accent, they thought I …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week: 

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Is It Ebola Already? I Still Have My Hantavirus Decorations Up Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.


Editors’ Quote

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be …


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. — And on May 30, 1806, future US President Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson accused Jackson’s wife of bigamy. — 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”! — Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled …


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.


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 …


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 …


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. — 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 …


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 …


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 JP Morgan: The market’s inflation fears are running ahead of reality. USDA: Food …



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. — …


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 …


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 …