“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned…A man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company.” – Samuel Johnson, as quoted In James Boswell’s ‘The Life of Samuel Johnson’ (1791) Vol. 1, p. 348.
On May 24, 1764, Samuel Adams wrote instructions for the Boston Town Meeting opposing the Sugar Act. This laid the groundwork for colonial resistance to taxation without representation. — May 24, 1962: US astronaut Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7 (Mercury-Atlas 7) orbits the Earth three times in a flight just under five hours. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. …
The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: I Used To Think Of My Life As Something Straight Out Of “The Young And The Restless” But Now That I’m Getting Older, I Seemed To Have Changed Channels To “General Hospital” 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.
“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. And these things give …
On May 23, 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was created out of the American, British and French occupation zones. Pictured above is East German steam locomotive 03 2155-4 in the West Germany city of Cologne. (A public domain photo by wwwuppertal, taken in 2013.) — May 23 is the birthday of George Lars Kellgren (born 1943 in Borås, Sweden), the founder and chief engineer of Kel-Tec. He designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden. He moved to the US in 1979 and his original US designs were for Intratec and Grendel brand …
“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you? Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and …
On May 22, 334 BC, the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeated the army of Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. — May 22, 1807: Former US Vice President Aaron Burr is tried for treason in Richmond, Virginia. He was acquitted. — And on May 22, 1842, farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discovered Howe Caverns in New York state when they stumbled upon a large gaping hole in the ground. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of …
In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. The photo above was taken in 2022, during another fuel price spike. Economics & Investing Links of Interest Gas surges past $4 a gallon while tomato and beef prices notch new records. A look at rising costs amid the Iran war. Video (sorry, this one is partly AI-generated): What a Dollar Bought You in 1955. JWR’s Comments: The video illustrates that we have been robbed by inflation and currency debasement. By the way, we compensate for inflation …
“There was nothing dishonourable in not being blown about by every little modern wind. Better to have worth, to entrench, to be an oak of one’s own generation.” – John le Carré (David John Moore Cornwell), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
On May 21, 1840 Captain William Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over New Zealand; the North Island by treaty and the South Island by discovery. Pictured above are the Humboldt Mountains of South Island. — May 21st is the birthday of weapons designer John Douglas Pedersen. (Born 1881, died 1951.) His name is almost synonymous with the short-lived Pedersen Device — a conversion kit that turned a Model 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle into a semi-automatic “trench broom.” — Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received will be considered guest articles and not eligible as …
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, the Billionaires’ Plan B. Five Billionaires Making Doomsday Plans You might want to skip forward to the 6-minute mark on this one: The Leaked Billionaire Doomsday Plan Interview …
“I know many have been taught to think that moderation, in a case like this, is a sort of treason.” – Edmund Burke, from ‘Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol on the Affairs of America’ (1777)
On May 20, 1875 the International Bureau of Weights & Measures was formed by the signing of the Metre Convention treaty by 17 nations, in Paris. The prototypes of the meter and the kilogram were selected. — May 20, 1916: Codell, Kansas was hit by a tornado. (Quite oddly, it was hit again on the same day in 1917 and then again in 1918.) — May 20th is also the birthday of my lifelong friend Brad C. I wish him a happy 65th birthday! – JWR — Take Note: Our editorial calendar is now filled for May. Any articles received …
A lot of mundane people have workshops, and a lot of preparedness-minded people have workshops, but not all of those preppers have a workshop that is properly prepared for many of the scenarios that they are concerned about. Perhaps this is because they do not see the role a workshop plays in preparedness. What distinguishes the prepared workshop from others is that the owner has: Learned key skills Acquired apropos tools, and has, Stocked hardware on a “just in case” footing. This approach differs from the ordinary workshop that is inadequately prepared and hopefully will never going to be needed …
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. — Chris in Kentucky was the first of several blog readers to send us the link to this anti-gun slanted reporting: Muskets like those from 1776 are mostly exempt from today’s gun laws. I’m fairly certain if that hoplophobic journalist saw the pre-1899 guns that I sell with no paperwork at Elk Creek …
