The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 7, 2024

Despite some expected cloud cover over much of the path of totality, there is great anticipation for tomorrow’s total solar eclipse. Be careful to protect your eyes, and be careful on the roads. Carry extra fuel and a Get Home Bag. It is also wise to travel well-armed where it is legal, also carrying body armor and trauma first aid gear. Long queues of cars stuck in traffic might be an inviting target for some sort of terrorist attack. Be prepared to shoot back!  Mark my words: I have no doubt that there are sleeper cells of foreign terrorists in …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Watching The Eclipse Will Be Easy Driving Back Home Will Be Much More Difficult News Links: 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 of the Day:

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 6, 2024

April 6, 1652: Cape Colony, the first European settlement in South Africa, was established by Dutch East India Company under Jan van Riebeeck. Today is the birthday of novelist Vince Flynn. (Born April 6, 1966, died June 19, 2013.) His death at age 47 was a loss to the literary world. This is also the birthday of famous American author and newsreel/radio journalist Lowell Thomas. On April 6, 1199, Mortally wounded in battle, Richard I (“the Lionheart”) died at Châlus in the Duchy of Aquitaine. On April 6, 1980, 3M began selling Post-it Notes in U.S. stores; the small pieces …



Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 5, 2024

April 5th, 1588 was the birthday of English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes, best known for his publications on individual security and the social contract. Today is also the birthday of Baron Arisaka Nariakira (April 5, 1852 – January 12, 1915) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. The inventor of the Arisaka Rifle, he is regarded as one of the leading arms designers in Japanese history, alongside Kijiro Nambu. On this day in 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe which ensured peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several year — I see that …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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, another look at the effects of inflation. (See the Inflation/Deflation Watch section.) Precious Metals: The precious metals rally is continuing. As of Friday, April 5th, 2024 (AM): Gold: $2,340.30, up $37.50 for the day.  (Another all-time high.) Silver: $27.60, up $0.24 for the day. Published on Wednesday: Gold Prices Have Surged 23.3% in the Last …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 4, 2024

On April 4, 1841, after serving for only one month, William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office; he was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler. — Today is the 99th birthday of famed Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams. — On April 4, 1960, the biblical epic Ben-Hur became the first film to win 11 Academy Awards; it notably received Oscars for best picture, director (William Wyler), and lead actor (Charlton Heston). — On the 4th of April 1291, the siege of Acre started. It opposed a 220,000 men strong Mamluk Muslim army to 15.000 knights …


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, we look at the upcoming release of the A24 Productions near-future film Civil War. Civil War — Coming Soon The release date for the much anticipated (and dreaded) …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 3, 2024

While adjusting a picture on the wall of his home in St. Joseph, Missouri, American outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford (pictured) on April 3, 1882. — Several readers wrote to mention this sad news: Last USS Arizona Sailor Who Survived Pearl Harbor Attack Passes Away at 102. — This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US …


Writing Contest Judging Results (Round 111)

We’ve completed the judging for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize goes to E.R., for his two-part article A Water System Adventure. It ran February 15-16, 2024, 2024.  (See Part 1 and Part 2.) His prizes will include: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — From blog reader C.B: Marines Ditch 100-Year-Old Marksmanship Standards. o  o  o The WEF agenda could be Banned from Louisiana.  Here is the key wording from the  bill: “The World Health Organization, United Nations and the World Economic Forum shall have no jurisdiction or power within the state of Louisiana. No rule, …