“There are, of course, a few sociopaths in every town, I suppose, but in a rural population of two or three thousand, that number is very small indeed – probably no more than the cartridges contained in a single .45 magazine.” – Mel Tappan
March 20th is the birthday of writer Mel Tappan. (Born 1933, died 1980.) His perennially popular survivalist books Survival Guns and Tappan on Survival have a well-deserved following. I designated March 20th National Survivalism Day, in his honor. It is also apropos that National Survivalism Day falls in March–one of the months that both Northern Europeans and Native Americans refer to as The Starving Season–when stored food runs low, but before spring bounty appears. Plan ahead. Stock up. Don’t let your family starve. I’m sure that Mel Tappan would approve. — On March 20, 1854, a meeting of Whigs, anti-Nebraska …
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. — I recently ran a test with Google’s publicly available AI tool, called Gemini. I asked it: “Paint me a picture of a famous 19th-century English inventor.” It replied: “We are working to improve Gemini’s ability to generate images of people. We expect this feature to return soon and will notify you in …
“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.” – Thomas Jefferson
Wyatt Earp was born March 19, 1848, in Monmouth, Illinois. We was a central figure in the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone. Prior to his time in Tombstone, Wyatt had moved around the western boom towns, often getting into trouble, though he served as an assistant city marshal in Dodge City, Kansas. In 1881 Earp, along with his brothers Morgan and Virgil Earp and together with Doc Holliday faced off against cowboys the Clanton gang. Three of the Clanton gang were killed and Morgan, Virgil and Doc Holliday were injured. The gunfight only reached public attention in …
This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, an article on some creative genetic engineering to create game farm sheep that are a sort of Jumbo Bighorn Sheep. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Porcupine Problems: Reminder issued to pet owners after dog arrives at shelter in a ‘sticky’ situation. o o o Caught …
“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful.” – Elon Musk
On March 18, 1766, The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act of 1765 after violent protests from American colonists, including a group known as the Sons of Liberty. — March 18th is the birthday of novelist John Updike. (He was born in 1932 and died in 2009.) — We are now down to less than 160 of the waterproof SurvivalBlog 2005-2023 Archive USB sticks on hand. These will likely sell out in the next few days. This always happens when folks see that the supply is dwindling. There will not be another batch produced this year, so get your order …
The following simple recipe for Oat Macaroons is from Good HouseKeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (253 pages, copyright 1925, now in public domain). That is one of the 11 bonus books included in the 2005-2023 edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. Ingredients 2 eggs 3/4 cupful sugar 1 tablespoonful of melted shortening 2 cupfuls rolled oats 1 cupful of shredded coconut 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla 3 tablespoonfuls cornstarch1 teaspoonful baking-powder Directions Mix ingredients in the order given and drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased pan. Bake in a 350-degree F. oven for twenty …
Today’s graphic: The most expensive neighborhood in every US State. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) — 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.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell
On March 17, 1891, the British Steamer Utopia sank off Gibraltar, killing 574 passengers and crew. The ship primarily carried Italian immigrants, in cramped “steerage” bunks. Here is a description of the disaster at The Dawlish Chronicles: “On the afternoon of March 17th 1891 the SS Utopia reached Gibraltar. Captain John McKeague was familiar with this anchorage and he headed his ship towards her usual mooring in the inner harbour. Light was failing and only too late did McKeague realise that two Royal Navy Battleships, HMS Anson and HMS Rodney were already there. At this time these two ships of …
The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: The Real Joe Biden Venn Diagram 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.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, …
On March 16, 2014, in a popular referendum, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation; despite opposition from numerous countries, Russia later annexed the region. On March 14, 1926, American inventor Robert H. Goddard launched the first successful liquid-propellant rocket. Today is the anniversary of the Battle at Pound Gap Kentucky. (1862) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the …
