“Man’s constitution is so peculiar that his health is purely a negative matter. No sooner is the rage of hunger appeased than it becomes difficult to comprehend the meaning of starvation. It is only when you suffer that you really understand.” – Jules Verne
On October 20, 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara established the Tokugawa clan as Japan’s rulers (Shoguns.) — October 20, 1634: King of England Charles I levied the “Ship Money” tax on all English and Welsh counties. — October 20, 1906: Dr Lee DeForest demonstrated his electrical vacuum tube. (Soon commonly called a radio tube.) — Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. — Today is also the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born …
The following simple recipe for Chicken and Egg Sandwiches is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is one of the many bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available in February of 2026. Ingredients 1 cup cold cooked chicken Yolks of two hard-cooked eggs 1 teaspoon rich stock 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon melted butter or butter substitute Salt Pepper Bread slices Directions Pound the chicken to a paste. Add the mashed yolks of hard-cooked eggs, the stock, Iemon …
Today’s graphic: Map of Tree Canopy Cover in the United States. (Graphic courtesy of the USDA.) For the full dataset with useful variant raster maps, see: https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/rastergateway/treemap/index.php The thumbnail below is 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.
“Both free speech rights and property rights belong legally to individuals, but their real function is social, to benefit vast numbers of people who do not themselves exercise these rights.” – Thomas Sowell
October 19, 1987: Black Monday. Stock market indices around the world crashed, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which fell 508.32 points (22%). That was 4½ times the previous daily record. — October 19th also marks the anniversary of Operation Gatling; the famous “Green Leader” raid in 1978 in which Rhodesia attacked ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) in retaliation for ZIPRA shooting down a scheduled passenger flight, Rhodesia flight 825, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The Rhodesian military suffered only minor casualties in the raid, but claimed to have killed 1,500 ZIPRA personnel as well as some Cuban military …
The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Thankfully, “Fall” is Three Months Long But “Pumpkin Spice Latte” Season Only Lasts About A Month News Link: Why is there such a strong aversion towards Pumpkin Spice Lattés? 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.
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot …
October 18th 1356: The Basel Earthquake. This was the most significant historically recorded seismological event north of the Alps. It destroyed the city of Basel, Switzerland. It was rebuilt with many of the buildings that can still be seen today. — October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. — Today’s feature article is short piece by …
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 …
“And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to …
On October 17, 1814: The London Beer Flood: A burst vat at Meux & Company Brewery floods city streets with over 300,000 gallons of porter ale, killing eight, with a possible ninth death from alcohol poisoning — October 17, 1967: USAF test pilot William “Pete” Knight set a record, reaching an altitude of 102,100 feet (31.1 km) in the experimental X-15 spaceplane. — Today’s feature article is a guest post by A.C. of the Stakeholder Prepping Podcast. Since he is a SurvivalBlog advertiser, this article is not eligible for our writing contest. — We need entries for Round 121 of …
Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the end of Dollar Dominance. Precious Metals: A clear-pitched bell rang at 9:25 AM Eastern Time on Monday morning, when we saw these numbers posted: Gold: $4,111.40 Silver: $52.00 And by Thursday evening (Friday morning in Asia), we saw these even more astounding numbers, marking two more all-time highs: Gold: $4,358.20 Silver: …
“The essence of government is control, or the attempt to control.” – Benjamin Tucker
On October 16, 1846, dentist William T. G. Morton demonstrated the effectiveness of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic. — October 16, 1923: John Harwood patented the self-winding watch in Switzerland. — Mark your calendar for February 16, 2026, to order your 20th Anniversary Edition SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks. We might open pre-ordering as early as January 5th. – JWR SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their …
