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, Hawaii’s planned dictatorial “Emergency” powers. Hawaii Plans Expansive Emergency Powers By way of the Whatfinger news aggregation site: Hawaii Bills Would Allow Gov’t To Quarantine People, Enter Property, …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 25, 2026

On February 25, 1791, the First Bank of the United States was chartered by the United States Congress for a term of 20 years. JWR’s Comment: Many economists point to this as the first in a chain of events that would lead the United States into perpetual debt and positioning bankers as the nation’s ruling elite, pulling strings  from the shadows. — February 25, 1855: Bowery Boys gang leader William “Bill the Butcher” Poole was shot in the back by the gang of archrival John Morrissey in New York City. (He died on March 8th of the same year.) — …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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. — This new video shows that the Gear Rack guys still have DRMO surplus stacked to the rafters, and more truckloads arriving regularly: We Bought 20,000 LBS of Military Surplus From the U.S. Military.  If you place an order with Gear Rack, then be sure to mention that you saw them linked at …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“I have so fixed the habit in my own mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without a moment’s asking of God’s blessing. I never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal. I never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward. I never change classes in the section room without a minute’s petition on the cadets who go out and those who come in.” – Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 24, 2026

On February 24, 1786, General Charles Cornwallis was appointed governor-general of India. — February 24, 1807 at least 17 people died and 15 were injured in a crowd crush, witnessing the triple hanging execution of Holloway, Heggerty, and Godfrey, at Newgate Prison, England.  The crowd, in narrow streets, was reportedly destabilized after being disturbed by a collapsing wooden cart. This triggered a chain of events leading to the fatal crowd crush. Many fatalities and severe injuries resulted, with newspapers reporting that at least 27 perished in the accident and one observer counting at least 34 dead. — And on February …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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. Video: They Say 170,000 Elk in Montana: The Wolves and Grizzly Bear Lie And a tokenization threat is described in this video: Foreign Countries are Using Wolves to Buy the American West A new video from a world-traveling North Idaho couple: The Race Against Winter… We Bought a 1980s House with Everything Included — Episode 12. Stolen Ambulance Doused in Gasoline Rammed into Idaho ICE Facility, Suspect Flees. …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 23, 2026

On February 23, 1903, the United States and Cuba signed an agreement by which Cuba released Guantanamo and Bahia Hondo to the US for naval stations. Pictured is a US Coast Guard patrol boat, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2003. — February 23,1958: San Francisco’s last municipal arc light at the corner of Mission and 25th Street was removed. It had been installed in 1913. — Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson. — We need more entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we …


Recipe of the Week:  

The following recipe for Pre-Spring Brussels Sprouts is from SurvivalBlog reader C.A.H.. Ingredients Brussels Sprouts – About 2 lbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 3 tbsp Fish Sauce – 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar – 1 tbsp Black Pepper – to taste Thyme – 2 sprigs Honey – 1 tbsp Directions Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Wash the Brussels Sprouts, and cut them in half. Toss them with olive oil, fish sauce, and vinegar. Season with black pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet so that the cut sides are facing down. Roast for 20 minutes and then check that …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: Firewood Supply Versus Demand. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit. Map by Casey Peterson, based on 2021 PRISM  OSU climate data.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — From the Reddit site: Heating demand is approximated using a Heating Degree Day proxy derived from PRISM 30-year mean annual temperature. The formula max(0, (18.3 – Tmean) * 365) estimates how much heating a location needs annually – 18.3°C (65°F) is the standard base temperature below which buildings require heating. Higher values mean colder climates with greater heating needs. This is a simplified annual approximation; true HDD uses daily …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — February 22, 2026

On February 22, 1889 US President Grover Cleveland (pictured) signed the bill to admit Dakotas, Montana, and Washington as states of the union. — February 22, 1857 was the birthday of  Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist who was the first to broadcast and receive radio waves and helped to invent radar technology.  He died in 1894. — On this day in 1943,  Sophie Scholl was executed by beheading for organizing the White Rose group–a student resistance to the Hitler regime.  She had been convicted of high treason, after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU) …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: AOC Arrived So Proudly But She Left in Shame When She Brought Her Prized Collection of Bugs To The Etymology Conference 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 Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said …