Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 18, 2026

On My 18, 1804, Napoléon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate. — May 18th, 1825 was the birthday of Daniel Baird Wesson (of Smith and Wesson fame). — On May 18th, 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted, causing a massive avalanche and killing 57 people. Ash from the volcanic eruption fell as far away as Minnesota. — Take note that we will be switching to weekly postings, on June 2nd. Thenceforth, you can look for SurvivalBlog “Fresh Every Tuesday.” — The last day! We have been running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map that shows the white population distribution by percentage throughout the American states and Canadian provinces. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The lower detail map shows the small northeastern states. The thumbnail images below are click-expandable.           — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Bakeless Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies is from SurvivalBlog reader E.J..  This recipe requires no baking — just heating a mixture in saucepan. Ingredients 3 TBSP cocoa powder (unsweetened) 1/2 c milk 2 c sugar 1/2 c butter 3 cups of dry rolled oats 1/2 c peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring this mixture to a rolling boil and let it cook for just over one minute. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and peanut butter. Stir …


The Editors’ Quote:

“Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practised at spare moments; it is a whole-time job.” – W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), from ‘Cakes and Ale’ (1930)


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 17, 2026

On May 17, 1792, twenty-four merchants formed the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street. — May 17, 1877: Edwin T. Holmes installed the first telephone switchboard burglar alarm. — And on May 17, 1920: First flight by Dutch airline KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij), a joint venture with British Aerial Transport. A de Havilland double-decker plane from London landed at Schiphol in Amsterdam. — Just one day left! We are running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion revolvers at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sale will end at midnight on Monday, May 18th, 2026. Please …


JWR’s Meme of the Week:

The latest meme created by JWR. (This was based on an idea suggested by my brother, Bruce. He is the inveterate punster of our family.) Meme Text: To Simplify Things, I’ve Changed All of My Account Passwords to “Kenny” So All of My Logins Are Now Kenny Logins 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.


The Editors’ Quote:

“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 16, 2026

On May 16th, 1903, George Adams Wyman began the first transcontinental motorcycle ride, in San Francisco. Riding a 1.25-horsespower (90 cc) “California” motorcycle designed by Roy Marks, he arrived in New York on July 6th. — May 16, 1943: No. 617 Squadron of the British RAF began the famous Dambusters Raid, (Operation “Chastise”), bombing the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr Valley with bouncing bombs. — May 16, 1997: Zaire’s president, Mobutu Sese Seko, ended 32 years of dictatorial rule, giving control of the country to rebel forces. — Just two days left! We are running a two-week-long sale …


The Editors’ Quote:

“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 15, 2026

On May 15, 1896 a tornado — now estimated as a F5 — killed 78 people in and near Sherman, Texas.  This was part of a multi-week tornado outbreak in the South and Midwest.  Pictured above is the first-ever photograph of a tornado, taken in 1884. — May 15, 1911: The U.S. Supreme Court dissolved Standard Oil and upheld the Sherman Antitrust Act. — And on May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. The main concern behind the rationing scheme was conserving scarce imported rubber, …


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. Today, a map showing the world’s trillion dollar  economies. The thumbnail below is click-expandable. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Economics & Investing News and Links of Interest Spot silver jumped almost 7.09% on Monday (May 11, 2026) to an after-hours high of $86.88 USD per Troy ounce. By Wednesday, it was up to $88.27. Profit-taking took silver down to around $84.27 on Thursday afternoon. But, obviously, this bull is not finished with his quest to trample the residents …


The Editors’ Quote:

“We must distinguish between a man of polite learning and a mere scholar: the first is a gentleman and what a gentleman should be; the last is a mere book-case, a bundle of letters, a head stuffed with the jargon of languages, a man that understands every body but is understood by no body.” – Daniel Defoe ‘The Complete English Gentleman’ (written in 1728.)


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 14, 2026

On May 14, 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution of the United States. — May 14th, 1686 was the birthday of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who invented the thermometer. — We are running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion revolvers at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, May 18th, 2026. Please note that there are cartridge conversion cylinders 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 …


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: Even more Agentic AI risks. An Agentic AI Destroyed a Company’s Database and Backups The Telegraph reports: AI ‘agents of chaos’ run riot inside companies. Could Claude Mythos …