SurvivalBlog.com

January 27, 1939: First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane. Pictured is a P-38 at an airfield in Panama, in 1945.

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January 27, 1944:  The siege of Leningrad ended, after 880 days, and the deaths of 2 million Soviet citizens.

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Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest begins on February 1st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

On January 26, 1887, ground was broken and construction began on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.   It was completed on March 29, 1889, in time for the 1889 Paris World’s Fair. The Eiffel Tower then surpassed the Washington Monument as the world’s tallest man-made structure — a record that it held for 41 years. But it was eclipsed by the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York City, in 1930.

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And on January 26, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, was established.

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All eyes are on the Comex market this morning, after Friday’s surge to $103.91 for silver and $4,999.20 for gold. Meanwhile, it was reported that silver hit $114.70 (in US Dollar terms), in Shanghai trading, and briefly touched $126 this morning. When I checked this morning (6 AM, Pacific Time), spot silver was at $110, and gold at $5,085. Congrats to you folks who took my advice and bought circulated “junk” silver when a $1,000 face value bag could be bought for less than $24,000.  They now sell for more than $81,000 each. I recommend slowly unwinding part of your silver holdings as the price spike continues — at least enough to recoup your original investment.  Since we’ve entered Terra Incognita, it is impossible to accurately predict the height of the market top, and the timing of that top. In the weeks to come, we can expect to see very wide bid/ask spreads, with physical silver pricing all over the map. Ditto for price spreads between Western exchanges and Asian exchanges. Before you sell any of your stack, be sure to get competing bids from at least three dealers. Depending on the depth of their inventory and local demand, there will probably be quite a divergence in their offers. – JWR

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A USB Archive Stick Update: At last count, we had just three of the standard waterproof 2005-2025 SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks still available to order. And all of the sticks in the limited edition keepsake tins have sold out. The stick mailings began on January 22nd. They are going out in the same sequence that the orders were placed. We should be caught up on mailings by late February. Thanks for your patience. – JWR

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Today’s feature piece is by Tom Christianson of the SurvivalBlog staff.

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We need entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, which begins on February 1st. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

On January 25, 1840 an American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes was the first to identify Antarctica as a new continent.

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January 25, 1915:  Transcontinental telephone service officially inaugurated when Alexander Graham Bell in New York City called thomas Watson in San Francisco, California during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. 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),
2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

On January 24, 1616, Dutch mariners Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten were the first Europeans to discover Le Maire Strait, Tierra del Fuego, and then go on and round Cape Horn.

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January 24, 1890: The world’s oldest wooden sculpture, the Shigir Idol, was discovered in a peat bog near Kaltay, Middle Urals. It was later radiocarbon dated to 12,500 years old.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. 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),
2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.