December 29, 1812: The USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captured the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
—
This is also the birthday of inventor Charles Goodyear (1800–1860.)
—
The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are now available for Pre-Ordering! This year, we are also offering a limited number of them in steel keepsake tins, with keychains. Orders should start to be mailed in the third week of January. To be sure that you get yours, order soon!
—
With the exceptionally large moves in the silver market, we are posting a feature piece by JWR on silver instead of a product review by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. (His article will instead be posted on Tuesday.)
—
We still need more entries 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 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.