Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 1, 2026

On May 1, 1840 the “Penny Black” — the world’s first adhesive postage stamp was issued by the United Kingdom. It featured an image of Queen Victoria.

May 1, 1857: William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrendered to the U.S. Navy, in Rivas.

And on May 1, 1898 US Admiral George Dewey commanded: “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley” as the US routed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay.

An encouraging news flash: House Appropriations 2027 Funding Bill Ends Suppressor, Short Barrel Rifle Registration. JWR’s Comment:  Be sure to contact both your U.S. congressman and your state’s two U.S. Senators, to insist on their support for this important legislation!  Please phone them and e-mail them!

Today’s feature article is an essay by SurvivalBlog’s Senior Editor, James Wesley, Rawles (JWR).

We need more entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.