Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 18, 2025

According to Swiss lore, on November 18, 1307, William Tell of the canton of Uri was forced by Habsburg invaders to shoot an apple off his son’s head, with a crossbow. The international gun rights organization ProTell was named in his honor. — On November 18, 1865, Mark Twain published the short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” in The New York Saturday Press. — On this day in 1978, Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones led hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in a remote part of the South American nation of …


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. World War II Airplane Converted Into A Motorhome Turns Heads In Wyoming. (The photo above is from the motorhome owner’s Facebook page.) Here is more about the Wyoming airplane auction mentioned in the article: Not 2 or 3, but a Wyoming airport is auctioning 16 historic airplanes from C-119s to KC-97s and the bidding starts for the price of two Shake Shack burgers. Some OTHER Recent American Redoubt …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Gy menne, de nyn harnsch anne en hebben, gy solt achter uns beharnscheden gaen, und wyket nycht und schuwet uns und steket myt den peyken under de iseren hode.” “You men, who have no armour on you, you shall go behind our armoured [men] and will not move nor fear and you will stab with the pikes underneath the iron hats [in the faces and necks of the enemy].” – Captain Hynrick van Gemen, explaining the use of pikes, before the defense of Münster from invaders, circa 1407.


Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 17, 2025

November 17,  1774: First City Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry formed at Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia. It is one of the oldest US military units still in service. — On this day in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were submitted to the states for ratification. — Be sure to mark your calendar for February 1, 2026, to order your 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. The 2005-2025 edition will have at least 12 more bonus books.  These will include the 4-volume Audel’s Carpenters and Builders Guide as well as Horace Kephart’s classic book on Woodcraft, and the USMC’s …


Recipe of the Week:  

The following simple and largely forgotten recipe for Eggs in Brown Butter is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is just one of the dozens of bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available to order in January of 2026. Ingredients 6 eggs Salt Pepper 3 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vinegar Directions Sauté the eggs in one tablespoon butter or butter substitute until set. Season wiih salt and pepper, and place on a platter. Brown two tablespoons butter in the …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map that shows that only 33 of the world’s 195 countries are in the Southern Hemisphere. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) 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.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 16, 2025

On November 16, 534, the Second and final revision of the Justinian Code (“Codex Justinianus“) was published. This was a codified set of imperial and classical laws that initially began in 528. — November 16, 1933: Swiss physicist Fritz Zwicky published the first evidence for the existence of dark matter in his seminal article “The Redshift of Extragalactic Nebulae”. — November 16th was the birthday of Michael D. Echanis (born 1950, died September 1978), a former United States Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted man. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with “V” device as …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: An Alarming Statistic: 1 in 8 Liberal Women Will Be Diagnosed With Prostate or Testicular Cancer A Relevant Link: Cancer Screenings in the Transgender Community. 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:

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 15, 2025

On November 15, 1720, pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read (pictured in a woodcut), and Calico Jack were captured by Captain Jonathan Barnet and brought to the Spanish Town of Jamaica, for trial. — Today is birthday of David Stirling. (15 November 1915  – 4 November 1990.)  He was a Scottish officer in the British Army, mountaineer, and the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. — Today’s feature article was too short to qualify for the writing contest judging. — We need a few more articles for Round 121 of the …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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 …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. When they were …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 14, 2025

On November 14, 1908,  Albert Einstein presented his quantum theory of light. — On November 14th, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano erupted in Colombia, killing over 20,000 as nearby towns are buried in mud, ice and lava. Scientist studying the volcano believed an eruption was imminent and had recommended an evacuation of the area which was largely ignored, resulting in the high number of casualties. — 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 …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, video links, or occasional news items of interest to preppers. The map image below, showing Unemployment Rates, By County is from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, posted for unrestricted use by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. It is click-expandable. For a detailed and zoomable view, see: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?m=1wm8j       And here is some related data that explains some of the gray-shaded patches seen in the otherwise low-unemployment western states: Native American Labor Market Dashboard. — Reader T.M wrote to recommend the book The Great …