On May 7, 1697, Stockholm’s medieval royal castle was destroyed by fire. The Codex Gigas (pictured) — the world’s largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript) — survived by being thrown out a window.
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May 7, 1867: Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patented dynamite in England. This was the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive.
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We are running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion revolvers at Elk Creek Company [1], with deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, May 18th, 2026. Please note that there are cartridge conversion cylinders [2] available for many of these guns — particularly the Ruger Old Army revolvers and the Pietta and Uberti brand clones of the Remington Model 1858. This provides a great opportunity to acquire un-papered handguns in many otherwise restrictive “Blue” states. (Be sure to consult your state and local laws before ordering.)
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [3]. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Gunsite Academy [4]Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course [5] (a $1,095 value).
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) [6] is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses [7]. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course [8].
- HSM Ammunition [9] in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
- Heaven’s Harvest [10] is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
- Harvest Guard [11] is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training [12], that has a combined retail value of $679
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord [13] (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com [14] (a $287 value).
- Preparedness author Jennifer Rader [15] is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [16], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters [17] (a $305 value),
- Two sets of [18]The Civil Defense Manual, [19] (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC [20] that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [16], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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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 [21] 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 [22]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.