The late afternoon light is shining through your window and the scene outside is quiet, just the way you like it. You are about a month into a serious collapse and thus far your preps have held up. Power has been out for 2 weeks; you don’t plan on ever having power again. You prepared for that.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon you hear one of the most terrifying sounds of all: A knock on the door!

Your family finds their places and weapons, you leave from the backdoor and flank whoever might be on your porch. To your surprise it is your cousin! You haven’t seen him in years, but he is here. He looks rough and he has his disheveled family of three along with him.  He also doesn’t seem to have any food or supplies with him.

This is one of the prepper scenarios we all have thought about. However, it might not be as bad as you think!

Today I’d like to share with you a “3-second survival hack” you can use to skyrocket your chances of protecting your loved ones during ANY crisis.

This technique is so powerful it can give you almost superhuman powers during the ugliest nightmares imaginable….

From natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes…

To explosive situations like mass shootings or even nationwide martial law.

And It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape…

Or have no equipment…

Or even if you’re disabled living in a wheelchair.

This technique has been tested and proven by elite soldiers and real world “miracle” survivors from around the world.

People Are Power

So, what do you do when someone unexpected comes knocking? Now, that is an interesting word to use in conjunction with preppers. UNEXPECTED. The whole point of prepping is to consider the unexpected.

In a true SHTF situation people bring you power. Your community should be like a hive. Hardly worth the trouble of any small group that might wish to steal or worse. You must be able to sustain them or have them sustain themselves but there will be tremendous power in numbers. Big jobs become easier, you can make an area more secure with more people, and you have more brains to put towards a problem.

Of course, its not heaven. With people come people issues like fights, jealousy, and the like. However, good leadership and preparedness can give you the upper hand on things like that.

You must first make an honest list of “survival dependents” or people who will come to depend on you when everything goes to hell!

Trust me, your list is bigger than you think.

Survival Dependents

While it is nice to imagine that the calamity will never cross your threshold, the reality is that many more people depend on you than you think. Chances are, even if people don’t know you’re a prepper, you are the type of person who has it together. You are likely the person people go to for answers.

No matter how strong your OPSEC protocols are if you are a good and solid person, than people will look to you in times of crisis. These might be people you love or just people you know.

Now is the time to sit down and create a real list. You must take off the blinders and truly consider all the people who will depend on you in an SHTF situation. It would be perfect if your list consisted of 4 people but when you break it down you have groups of people to consider.

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Friends
• Co Workers

Your group of survival dependents could include people from each of these categories. How they depend on you may vary but this list will help you understand that there are more people than just your immediate family who will turn to you in times of calamity.

Can You Support People?

Of course, the question that comes to mind after you create a list like this is: Do I have enough?

For most people, the answer is no. It can be over burdensome to assume that you can prep for all the people who might be on your list of survival dependents. When these people show up asking for food, though, you need to have something!

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

Unless you subscribe to the idea that you are going to turn everyone away who comes to your door. If that is your game plan than you better also prepare for some serious backlash. How many fathers with kids can you turn away before one of them says, “No, we are coming in.”

What happens next cannot be good, with lots of harmful outcomes.

This doesn’t mean you should be a pushover and let any old person into your home and feed them.

Tip: When people approach you to ask for something, if they come to your door or see you outside, simply ask them for something first! Open the door and ask for food and medicine: “Oh, I hope you brought some food, we haven’t eaten in a week!”

Put Them to Work Immediately

From that list of survival dependents, you will likely choose people who you will bring into the fold. However, don’t let them in free of charge. The best way to handle someone who comes asking for help is to immediately give them some form of work to be done.

This is also a great gauge of the depth of that person. Those who are outraged by the work that needs to be done at “their new home” are people that you can easily weed out. Just make it truly clear up front that there is plenty to do and if they cannot do what is asked, they cannot stay.

By the way, there will be plenty to do! If you manage a household of four and all the sudden it jumps to ten you will have lots of extra work. It is not so much about room but about dishes, laundry, food production, security detail in the neighborhood, general cleaning.

In an off-grid situation, it might be about things like water procurement and sanitizing, renewable energy system maintenance, gardening, canning and everything in between.

There will be a serious list of chores to be done and the last thing you want is a house full of freeloaders laying around all day while you are red in the face.

Using a basic Excel spreadsheet, you will be able to create chore lists TODAY for issues that might come tomorrow. Print a stack of them and save them. They can be filled out by hand when the time comes or if you know the system you could print them with the duties listed.

It’s high time we stop looking at neighbors and friends as threats in the downfall. Many people can see something resembling collapse just on the horizon. Its hard not to look around and wonder how the unprepared will react to a future of scarcity, uncertainty, with up close and personal violence.

If America is facing balkanization or civil war it will be particularly important that you have a secure neighborhood with plenty of able-bodied individuals. Many neighbors will leave for a safer environment and you must be aware of that. However, that might free up homes and living areas for more of your survival dependents.

Your survival dependents are not the burden you once thought. Believe me. While you know the flaws of the people around you, they have two ears, two eyes and a heart that wants to survive. If you can find it in you to lead these people they will provide you with a true survival group that will keep you and yours from being acted upon by anyone with a group larger and better trained than you and your spouse!

You might be living in one of America’s deathzones and not have a clue about it
What if that were you? What would YOU do?

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the U.S. Nuclear Target map, where you’ll find out if you’re living in one of America’s Deathzones.

Cold exposure can kill you, or leave you miserable all winter long. So why don’t you just turn up the heat? Well, heating your home home can be expensive, or take up all you time. I will be presenting some ideas that will save you time and effort this winter. Along with cutting down on your heating bill.

The approach is to look at how nature deals with cold, then apply the lessons in pursuit of the following objectives:

• Preserve the heat you have.
• Keep the cold out.
• Minimize the heating needed.
• Create winter comfort

Adding Small Gains

My goal with this article is to keep your money in the bank, while keeping you warm and snug. There isn’t a single solution. Like “ONE BIG THING” you can do that will make all the difference.

That is why my approach is to suggest 10 small things that you can do without too much effort. When added together, the 10 small things will make a big difference.

The First Method

#1 – Cold sinks. The idea of a cold sink is inspired by Igloo’s. The floor inside an Igloo is never flat, but has three levels.

The highest level for sleeping and living. The middle level for cooking. The lowest level is called the cold sink. The coldest air will come to rest in the cold sink.

Since you can’t “dig” a cold sink in your house, you will need to “rise” above the cold.

You can use platform’s and bricks to achieve this. E.g. Raise your work desk and chair. This can be done by placing bricks under the desk legs and raising a small platform for the chair.

You can do platforms in your kitchen, your bathroom, anywhere you will be spending a lot of time.

Principle: Coldest air accumulates in the cold sink.

The Second Way

Snow and compacted snow both have insulating properties. This is due to thousands of super tiny air pockets trapped inside the snow.

The aim is to apply the principle of air trapped in pockets by using bubble wrap and egg trays.

#2 – Use bubble wrap too insulate windows. You can tape it directly to the glass.

#3 – Apply bubble wrap and egg trays to boards of Masonite or plywood. You can then use the boards to increase insulation where cold is seeping in.

Principle: Large exposed surfaces, even double insulated windows, still allow convection, whereas air pockets don’t.

Another Thing To Consider 

Fireplaces are great for heating rooms, but a lot of heat is lost through the chimney. The objective is to maximize your heat harvest from you fire.

#4 – Place rocks on a grid above the fire. Once they are heated, you can transfer them into a steel bucket and place inside a room.

The stones will radiate their heat, warming the room in the process.

Principle: Maximizing heat harvest from fire through capturing heat in rocks and releasing the heat into rooms where there is no fireplace.

Limiting Movement

The more time you open and close your refrigerator door on a hot summers day, the longer the cooling system will need to run.

Letting cold air into a warm room has the same effect. You want to minimize the number of time’s you need to open doors.

#5 – Bring as many supplies in form outside as possible. Every time you go outside, your house looses heat.

#6 – Store the items in the rooms where they are to be used. Don’t store anything in rooms you are sealing off for the winter.

#7 – Hang a waited tarp in front of all outside doors. When entering or exiting your home, make sure at least one is closed before opening the other.

Principle: Limit movement and transfer of heat from warm rooms to cold one’s.

Another Effective Idea

#8 – Black, dark grey or navy blue surfaces absorb more heat from the sun than light colored surfaces. Painting surfaces that receive sunlight in the winter, can help heating your house.

Painting your roof black or even dark brown, will heat up the air above your sealing and help keep your house warm.

Principle: Dark colors absorb energy.

Protect Against Low Temperatures

#9 – Painting exterior walls black could be a bit much, but other dark colors could increase the energy absorption potential. Particularly for walls that will receive sunlight. Try dark greys, dark earthy colors like clay or putty.

#10 – You can wrap water pipes and tree stems or trunks in a few layers of bubble wrap to protect against very low temperatures. Once you have applied the bubble wrap, you can apply a final layer of black plastic, or simply spray paint the bubble wrap black, ensuring maximum heat absorption during sunlight hours.

Reducing Air Volume

Reducing the air volume inside a room will reduce the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of the room.

#11 – Move a double bed, a desk and closet out of a room you’re sealing up for the winter, into a room where you will be living. Cover them with a sheet. This can reduce a room’s volume by up to 8 Square meters or 280 cubic feet.

Another way to reduce air volume is by changing the shape of a room. Igloo’s get narrower toward the top. This means less air to heat than in a square room.

#12 – Run a rope across your room, from above your bed to where the radiator or heat enters your room. Drape a large section of canvas or cotton or the over the rope, creating a triangular tent shaped tunnel. This will keep the heat trapped around you bed area, while you sleep snugly.

Principle: Reduce the volume of air that has to be heated.

Each of the ideas I have touched on, represents one small action. The intent is to accumulate the impact of many small actions.

Let’s take the example of moving furniture into a room to decrease air volume.

• The items moved into the room (in #8) decreased the air volume by 280 cubic feet.
• If you assume the average room volume at 1000 cubic feet, you are reducing air volume by between 20% and 25%.
• This can easily result in a 5% – 10% reduction in the heating cost of that particular room.

Accumulating many such small gains, will create one big financial saving. How many dollar bills would go back into your pocket if you save 20% off your heating bill?

So there you have it folks. Between the money you save and the heat you gain, you could be headed for your most comfortable winter yet.

Get prepping!

Major cities may still only take up a small portion of the land mass in the United States, but they are nevertheless home to over 80% of the population. With this being the case, the odds of being caught in the concrete jungle when disaster strikes are quite high.

Of course, the survival skills necessary to navigate a city during a disaster – whether it’s a major disaster such as a foreign attack or a personal disaster such as a robbery – are quite different from the skills many preppers may be accustomed to.

If you would like to ensure that you can take whatever the concrete jungle has to throw at you, here are nine skills you need to have.

1. Lockpicking

The trademark of big cities is lots of buildings, and lots of buildings means lots of locks. In normal circumstances, these locks may be an afterthought. However, in a disaster scenario, being able to get past them could mean the difference between life and death.

Brush up on your lockpicking skills and invest in a good, portable lockpicking kit. In the right situation, these things could prove incredibly valuable. To learn more, check out these 3 ways to open locked doors.

2. Blending In

How do you hide in a place where there are thousands if not millions of eyes everywhere you turn? The answer is that you hide in plain sight. The art of blending in is one that is really underappreciated, however, in an urban area it is often the best way to ensure you are not the target of whatever catastrophe is taking place.

Martial law officials, foreign invaders, desperate scavengers, and more are all more likely to target someone who catches their attention for any reason at all. In these scenarios, it’s best to be just another indistinguishable face in the crowd.

3. Self-Defense

If you don’t intend to carry a weapon on you during your visit to the city, it’s a great idea to have a few self-defense skills that you can rely on. Of course, in the vein of blending in, physical confrontations should be avoided if at all possible.

If you do have to defend yourself, though – for whatever reason – you need to make sure that you have what it takes to come out on top.

4. Scavenging

One great thing about urban areas is that there is no shortage of materials and supplies available if you know where to look and you have an eye for making use of the unordinary. Scavenging is more of a mindset than it is a skill that is taught.

You just need to keep your eyes open and develop a bit of creative talent for repurposing what you find into something useful. Here are some places to scavenge for supplies after the SHTF.

5. Situational Awareness

When you’re surrounded by people, there’s often a lot to take in and process. This is especially true in hectic situations such as after a disaster. With that said, developing an acute situational awareness and the ability to quickly take in everything going on around you is one of the best ways to ensure your survival in an urban area.

This starts with really tuning in your focus to your surroundings and trusting your instincts above all else. In many cases, this type of situational awareness can help you escape dangerous situations before they ever develop.

6. Navigation

Too many people are completely reliant on their GPS when it comes to navigating an urban area. However, if those GPSs ever stop working, there are going to be a lot of people who are lost and in trouble.

To avoid being one of them, take the time to learn the area you are visiting and get comfortable with the idea of navigating it without any technological aid.

Buy a map that you can bring with you and memorize a few escape routes just in case you lose it. If things go south, these navigation skills could be the difference between getting out quickly and getting caught wandering around a maze of concrete and steel.

7. Escaping a Riot

The middle of a major riot in an urban area is not a place you want to be under any circumstance. Just think back to the LA riots for an example of how dangerous these riots can become and how quickly they can spiral out of control.

Of course, escaping a riot isn’t nearly as simple as walking away. If it were, there would be far fewer innocent bystanders who died in the chaos.

Before you visit a major city, take the time to research the best way to escape a riot in case you are caught up in one. There’s a lot of great information out there about this designed to help you get out of the middle of a riot as quickly as possible.

8. Communication Skills

Urban areas mean lots of people, and knowing how to deal with people when necessary is an important survival skill. If you can develop a knack for communicating with people, talking them down from violent situations, and reading their intentions based on what they do and say, you’ll have a much easier time navigating the often complex and sometimes dangerous human interactions that take place after a disaster has struck.

9. Driving

If you think driving through a big city under normal circumstances is a nightmare, imagine what it would be like to drive through one during or immediately after a major disaster. Of course, many times driving anywhere in these scenarios won’t be a possibility; in a situation where everyone is trying to get out, traffic jams can quickly shut the entire road system in the city down.

However, if you get out early enough or if there’s been time for the dust to settle, you may be able to effectively escape the city via your vehicle – assuming of course that you have the driving skills necessary to navigate a major city during heavy traffic congestion and highly stressful situations.

It’s certainly no easy feat but, like anything else, it can be learned. By the way, make sure you have a good vehicle.

These days, it has become all too common for people to reach for a pill bottle or call the doctor anytime something goes wrong, or even for the smallest scrape. The simple, wacky home remedies of our grandparents, those weird concoctions formed from everyday household goods, are often mocked by today’s medical establishment. But surprisingly, the truth is that our grandparents actually knew a lot more about the world than we give them credit for, and many of these old-fashioned folk remedies actually work. Not just that, but many of them work better than the synthetic pharmaceuticals that so many people stuff their bodies with today.

Here are 40 weird, wacky, but shockingly effective home remedies that still work today, and would make grandma proud.

1. Use Garlic and Olive Oil for Athlete’s Foot

Everyone knows about the many health benefits of garlic, but did you know that it can fix your athlete’s foot problem in a jiffy? Just mince some garlic cloves, mix them with natural olive oil, and then use bit of cotton to rub this mixture onto the affected area between the toes.

2. Potato Slices for Headaches

Headaches and/or migraines can ruin even the best day, but there is a weird natural solution that works: potato slices. Just cut a few slices from a raw potato, soak them in a very thin cloth, and apply them to your forehead or directly to the temples.

3. Ease Cuticle Infections with Vinegar

Done too much manicuring? Cuticles all torn up and infected? Make a glass of vinegar and warm water, then put your fingers in it for about 15 minutes. Repeat this procedure once a day or so until the infection fades away.

(Here are 21 wild edibles you can find in urban areas.)

4. Use Vinegar to Cure Swimmer’s Ear

There’s nothing that ruins a good day at the beach like coming home with swimmer’s ear. But when your grandparents told you to drop some vinegar in your ears, they weren’t kidding. The acidic properties of vinegar can kill off that awful swimmer’s ear bacteria, leaving you feeling like yourself again. Just take out some white vinegar, dilute it with distilled water, and put three drops into the problematic ear, three times a day, until the problem fades.

5. Olive Oil for Eczema

Feeling itchy already? Eczema can make anyone grow crazy. But olive oil, which is full of antioxidants and often used as an ingredient in professional skin creams, isn’t just good for athlete’s foot: it can ease the symptoms of eczema as well. Simply rub some olive oil onto the eczema-affected areas of your skin, and it should help quite a bit.

6. Fix Hiccups with a Spoonful of Sugar

Yes, seriously. The legends are true. Don’t get too overzealous with it, because diabetes isn’t something to mess around with, but this old-fashioned trick will halt the hiccups in their tracks. The reason why is because the behavior we call “hiccups” are actually just spasms of your diaphragm, so having a spoon of dry sugar will throw off the nerve muscles and cure their agitation.

7. Get rid of warts with duct tape

It sounds crazy, but it works. Instead of going to all the work to get your warts frozen off, just covered them with duct tape. After cleaning a wart off, just apply a strip of the tape to the affected area, and then keep it there for three days. After that, remove, rub the wart area with a pumice stone, and then apply new tape.  Continue this process every three days until the wart goes the way of the dinosaurs.

8. Treat Acne with Coconut Oil

Coconut oil might seem like the cool new kid on the block, but it’s actually an old-timer that’s been around since the 1800s. In addition to many other uses, coconut oil is an effective treatment for acne, since its antibiotic properties prevent further breakouts. Just apply coconut oil to the skin, maybe mixing it with a little raw honey.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

9. Have a Little Yogurt for That Bad Breath

Bad breath, officially known as halitosis, is a terrible thing to live with. But the cure for it is right there in your fridge: yogurt. At least two servings a day of this probiotic wonder, ideally a plain brand with no sugar, changes the landscape of your tongue so that it won’t breed any more the bad bacteria that produces that distinctive stink.

Here are 23 survival uses for honey that you didn’t knowabout.

10. Deal with bug bites by using toothpaste

Well, not technically the toothpaste itself, but rather, the peppermint oil inside the toothpaste: if you have the pure peppermint oil itself, that’s even more effective. Either way, applying peppermint oil to a bug bite—even if it’s just through dabbing on a little toothpaste – will immediately reduce the raw itchiness we all know too well.

11. Use Licorice to Eliminate Corns

Yes, licorice, everyone’s least favorite candy. But the one thing worse than licorice is having a corn on your toe. If you soak some licorice with oil, apply it all to the affected area, then wrap it tight under plastic wrap (and maybe a sock) for 6-8 hours—for instance, overnight—this will cause the licorice to soften the corn.

12. Ease Your Hangover with Apple Cider Vinegar

Drinking might be fun, but hangovers aren’t fun for anyone. But when you used to see grandpa downing a shot of apple cider vinegar after a night with his buddies, he knew what he was doing. Apple cider vinegar balances the pH levels in your stomach after a little too much alcohol throws it off. Just gulp down a teaspoon of this vinegar, or a small shot-glass. If you can’t take it straight, dilute it with some water.

13. Constipation with beets

The human body needs to eliminate waste, and when it gets all bunched up, major discomfort ensues. One home solution you may have heard from your grandparents was to eat some fresh-steamed beets, then drink the water they were steamed in. This should clear out your colon like magic. Just be warned that when you do go, your stools or urine may be bright red: nothing to worry about, just the natural dye of the beets.

14. Vodka for stinky feet

Having trouble with foot odor? Get some vodka. No, we’re not suggesting that you get drunk and avoid the problem. The key is that alcoholic is an antiseptic, which means it eliminates the fungus that causes foot odor, and dries your feet out. Just soak a thin cloth in some vodka, swipe your foot down, and feel the smell go away.

15. Mix Cumin, Honey, Cinnamon and Ginger for Diarrhea

A bad case of the runs can keep you up all night. Instead of taking drugs that will simply constipate you, thereby causing more stomach pains, a better natural remedy is to combine a teaspoon of cumin, and the same portion of honey, cinnamon, and ginger into a paste that you can drink.

16. Lemons for an Earache

Pain in the ears can be soothed by the application of freshly-squeezed lemons. Just squeeze a lemon onto a Q-tip, and delicately rub this just inside the ear to restore pH balance.

17. Stinging Nettle for Hair Loss

You can’t force hair to regrow once it’s already gone, but you can slow down the rate of hair loss through the use of stinging nettle, an herb often used for tea. Drinking stinging nettle tea a few times a day should help, and you can also massage stinging nettle itself in your scalp.

18. Cure Nausea with Olives

Whether it’s from motion sickness or an unpleasant sight, the familiar (but unpleasant) side effects associated with nausea can be cured by eating olives, due to the tannin inside them.

19. Potatoes for Spider Bites

If a spider managed to sink its teeth into you, ease the itching and swelling by shredding a potato, wrapping the pieces in cloth, and applying to the bite area. Note, this is a treatment for symptoms of a regular, non-deadly bite: if the bite comes from a more deadly spider, such as a black widow, seek immediate medical attention.

20. Raw Honey for Chapped Lips

Don’t ever waste your money on Chapstick again. Much has been said about the healing properties of raw, organic honey, but if your lips are chapped, you can simply apply honey to the affected area—rub it on, just as you would Chapstick—and it will do the job nicely, and taste better to boot. Just make sure the honey is both raw and organic.

21. Garlic for Allergies

For a more natural antihistamine when your nasal allergies act up, eat lots of garlic, whether it’s straight bulbs or slices on crackers. Garlic contains a lot of the antioxidant quercetin, which eases allergy symptoms. If there’s no garlic in the pantry, onions work as well.

22. Buttermilk and Ginger for Diarrhea

If you don’t have cumin on hand, another weird-but-effective home remedy for diarrhea is to mix half of a teaspoon of dry ginger into a cup of buttermilk, and drink it.

23. Treat Styes with Potatoes

If you haven’t noticed, potatoes are a lot more powerful than people realize. If you get a stye on your eye, just grate a potato, wrap the gratings in a cloth, and press to the affected area to ease inflammation.

24. Avoid Mosquitoes with Garlic

If you don’t want to get eaten alive with mosquitoes, enjoy a garlic-rich diet, because mosquitoes are totally repelled by garlic. For further protection, rub garlic oil on your skin. If it’s already too late, you can also ease the stinging of the bites with garlic as well.

25. Yams for Menopause

To up your dosage of vitamin A, lower your cholesterol, and add more antioxidants to your diet, start incorporating yams—real yams, not sweet potatoes—into your regular daily diet. This will help with common menopause symptoms.

26. Apples Help the Bowels

Apples are high in pectin, a naturally occurring fiber that both bulks up and softens stools. This means that apples are an effective treatment for both diarrhea and constipation. Just make sure to eat the skin too, which contains valuable ursolic acid.

27. Banana Peel for Poison Ivy

While bananas won’t prevent you from getting the allergic rash that 85% of the population contracts from touching poison ivy, they can help. Rub the inside of a banana peel against poison ivy rash for relief from the pain and itchiness.

28. Honey for Acid Reflux

As soon as the symptoms of acid reflux begin affecting you, swallow three spoons of honey, and it should help you achieve better digestion.

29. Blackstrap molasses for Constipation

If you suffer from frequent constipation, try injecting a little blackstrap molasses into your diet, whether as a coffee additive or an extra ingredient in cookies. This molasses should ease constipation, but be careful not to over-indulge, because too much molasses will increase constipation.

30. Pine Syrup for Sore Throats

You know what helps a sore throat? Pine needles. Yes, really. To make pine syrup, collect a cup of freshly-washed pine needles, and thoroughly blend them. Meanwhile, boil water, corn syrup, and a bit of salt, mix this with the needles, then steep for a few hours. Keep this syrup in the refrigerator for at least a month, then keep it on hand forever to treat sore throats.

31. DIY Cough Syrup

If you want to make a good cough syrup from the ingredients of your pantry, mix together ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of honey, and a few spoons of water. Mix it all together, and have 1-3 teaspoons to ease coughing symptoms.

32. Garlic for toothache

Nothing will keep you up at night like a bad cavity or an exposed nerve. While garlic won’t cure the underlying issue, chewing on garlic at night, particularly chewing whole cloves in the affected area, will ease pain tremendously.

33. Put on Wet Socks to Treat a Cold

Hear us out for a minute. To treat the symptoms of a common cold, begin by soaking your feet in hot water for at least three minutes – or just taking a bath. Meanwhile, soak a pair of your socks in ice water. Put the socks on your feet, cover them up with a pair of wool socks, and then go to bed. As you sleep with these horribly cold feet, the blood vessels will constrict, pushing nutrients up into your body to push out the infection.

34. Fix Dry Skin

To soften dry skin, break down two bananas and mix them with a bit of honey. Apply this paste to the skin, let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then wash it off, and your skin should feel softer.

35. Teabags for Burns

Get a cool-temperature, wet teabag, of any tea, and place it directly on the burned area. This won’t fix the burn, but it will relieve the pain almost immediately.

36. Oil Pulling

This might have become a trend recently, but it’s actually an old practice that our grandparents learned from their grandparents. Basically, enhance your dental routine by taking a spoonful of coconut oil – though other oils work as well – and swishing it in your mouth for five minutes a day, specifically pulling it through the teeth, and then spit it out into the toilet. The oil will “pull” all of the toxins out of the mouth, allowing you to spit them out in one go. When used in addition to standard brushing and flossing, oil pulling will help digestion, reduce gingivitis, prevent receding gums, get rid of bad breath, strengthen teeth, and much, much more.

37. Help Eczema with an Oatmeal Bath

If the horrendous itchiness of eczema still has you down, you can hugely reduce the itchiness by following your grandmother’s old advice taking a bath of oatmeal. There’s a reason that so many lotions and pharmaceutical eczema treatments contain oatmeal as an ingredient: it really works! For a home solution, just make a bath for yourself, fill it with colloidal oatmeal, and then soak for a while.

38. Stop Your Snoring

Is your snoring annoying your wife or husband? Try drinking a glass of warm milk with a teaspoon of turmeric powder added to it before bed, and hear your partner’s relief.

39. Basil Leaves and Ginger for Fever

Fevers are the body’s way of pushing out an infection, but when it’s time to cut back on the heat, here’s a home solution. Crush some ginger and basil leaves together into  paste, then add a teaspoon of honey. Squeeze out the liquid, and then take a drink ever four hours or so.

40. Soak Golden Raisins in Gin for Arthritis

If there’s one thing that afflicted so many of our grandparents, it was the terrible swelling pains of arthritis. But they had a home remedy that still works today. Get some golden raisins, soak them in gin, and let it sit overnight until all of the gin has been soaked up. After this is done, eat about ten raisins a day. While this won’t fix the underlying problems of arthritis, it will greatly ease the symptoms.

First, let me give you a little background.

I am a retired Army Senior NCO, Retired Master Peace Officer, drug interdiction officer and for the last 4 years, a military-contracted counter explosive canine handler in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My job depended on finding things people did not what found. I have literally searched, and taken apart thousands of vehicles in my career.

This article is about where to hide your stuff in the vehicle. Since carrying a weapon in your vehicle is legal in most of the USA, this article is geared more to hiding your weapons from those uninvited looters and scavengers who are inevitably going to come around in a social/government breakdown situation. Yes, I’m talking about the proverbial SHTF times.

So, let us set some ground rules. We are going to talk about two types of vehicles, handguns and long guns, as well as ammo. These are no concealment techniques that let you get to your firearms at a moment’s notice. This is about hidden storage that others, unless very skilled, will not find. This is for storage.

Imagine the following scenario: your vehicle is broken down and you have to leave it for a period of time as you need to find, tools, parts, or fuel. You can’t reasonably carry everything, so you are counting on your hidden cache of weapons to still be there upon your return. Or, your vehicle is parked outside, the looters and scavengers come through the area and ransack every vehicle on the block taking what they can easily steal. You don’t want them to find your stuff that was hidden. This is what this article is about. That being said, let’s get to it.

Sedan

The modern sedan has plenty of places to hide weapons. I will start with the accessible places inside the vehicle.

Under the center console. The center console is held to the floor in most sedans by a series of plastic clips or a few Phillip’s screws. Remove those and the console lifts up exposing a compartment that will house a rather large pistol and a couple boxes of ammo.

Seat Backs. The modern car has bucket seats. The back of the seats has a cover that simply snaps onto the seat and covers the springs. This area will conceal a pistol, ammo, and a short barrel long gun like an MP5 or Uzi.  Snap the seat back in place and no one will know it is there. This is also very fast to access if needed.  No tools required.

Under seats. I’m not talking about just on the floor under the seat. What we are talking about here is attached to the underside of the seat by tape, zip ties or something else. This keeps it out of sight if someone looks under the seat but it is still there if you just know where to look.

Other examples:

Inside door panels. You can hide a shotgun with a folding stock or a short rifle here. Clips and a couple of screws hold the door panels in place. You could remove the screws and leave them out but a sharp eye will notice something is amiss. My advice is to always put everything back the way it was so there will be no “giveaways” that there could be something behind the panel that is worth hiding.

Behind the radio. The radio will have four holes in the corners. Look at yours and you will see them. Most folks don’t realize all you have to do is insert metal rods, about the size of a wire coat hanger in these holes and the entire stereo slides out, leaving a very large cavity to hide weapons and ammo behind.

Now for the outside of the vehicle

Outside. The bumpers, front and rear have cavities under them that will hold a shotgun or rifle. Duct tape is a wonderful thing and you will be using it.

Open the hood. Inside the fender wells, you will see several places to hide your firearms. Inside the air cleaner box is a good place for a pistol.

In the trunk. I don’t really suggest this area as it is very easy to detect but in a pinch, it may do. Pull the carpet away from the sides of the trunk. It will be attached to a cardboard backing. Place your weapons behind this, in the cavity that is in the lower part of the rear fender, and replace the trunk lining. If you have done this carefully, it will be undetectable to the untrained eye. I also suggest throwing some old rags or a little dirt in the area to make it look as if it has not been disturbed.

Other examples:

SUV or Truck

You have many more places to work with here. Count all of the same places mentioned for the inside of the sedan above. Those hiding places are common to just about all vehicles.

Starting at the front

The Front Bumper. Under the front bumper is a very large area to store weapons.  Tape them in a secure place. You can hide a lot of stuff here.

Front Fenders. From under the hood you have access to a very large area to place a rifle bag full of goodies.  It will fit in behind the fender well and be very hard to see without knowing it is there.

Air Box System. This is a common place for pistols and ammo. Placing a weapon here will not affect the operation of the vehicle.

Under the vehicle. The modern SUV/Truck frame is an I Beam type structure. This is a natural shelf for all sorts of things.  A few large black Zip Ties will hold a rifle, shotgun, and a lot more. These will not be visible from just bending down and looking under the vehicle. A person would have to get under the vehicle and really look for them to find your hidden arsenal.

Roof. The roof of all modern SUVs and Trucks is actually hollow. Remove the third stop light that is at the top and rear of the cab. Pull that out and you will see a vast area to hide magazines, ammo, and other items. The way to do this is to tape a string to each item with duct tape and string them together.  Replace the stop light after you have hidden your items in the roof section. Make sure you tape the end of the string to the back of the light or to an area that is concealed but you can reach again. Then to retrieve, all you do is take out the light, pull the string and the items come out one after another.

Tailgate. This is hollow. The inside can be accessed through the latch assembly OR by splitting the tailgate by removing the screws and bolts that hold it together. I have seen tailgates that were split and then resealed with silicone. To open you just cut the silicone with a razor-blade and pull the two halves apart. Not all tailgates are the same, so you may have to adapt to your situation.

Rear Bumper. Like the front of the truck, there is a vast amount of storage space.

Spare Tires. Placing something inside a tire is a real pain in the rear, but hiding an item on top of the tire is easy. Lower the spare tire; most are cranked down to the ground with the jack handle. Once on the ground you can place your items inside the rim and crank the tire back into place. This is a simple and readily available storage area.

Depending on your ingenuity, time you want to spend, if you want to modify the vehicle or not, it is not hard to make your vehicle a rolling arsenal and no one would ever suspect was holding weapons and ammo in every corner.

End thoughts

If you really feel this may be something that you have to deal with, I suggest throwing your roving horde of scavengers off the trail. If you have to abandon your vehicle and you are pretty sure it will get at least looked at, give them something to go after. Leave a useless (as in not functioning) pistol or something in plain sight. Let them take that and stop searching. Basically, throw them a bone. The whole point about concealing your weapons so that the looters won’t find them is just that: concealment. Make sure you leave no signs, no pointers that say “Hey, Look Here!”. Do this and when you return to your vehicle from something as simple as a walk into the woods to take care of bodily functions, you can rest assure when you get back your stuff with be safe and secure.

If you were to ask me what would be the most important things for a survival situation, my first answer would not be a stockpile of food, water, shelter, and other supplies. Although such items may be crucial a reliable method of communication in a grid-down situation is of more importance.

Many preppers would not want to agree with me, but the truth be told. What would be the need to for stockpiles of food in a disastrous situation if emergency crews cannot learn of your case?

If you can reach your loved ones or the emergency crew, you can easily find the other supplies such as food, shelter, water, and fire making items among others from them.

Furthermore, establishing a reliable communication method in a grid-down situation can provide you with numerous other benefits. You can listen to and monitor the official communication channels to gather news on the emergency.

A suitable communication method is also vital is the emergency separated you from your loved ones. It offers the only way for you to confirm their status and to know how the crisis has affected them. The piece of mind you get you from knowing your loved ones are okay help boost your resolve to survive.

Available Off-Grid Communications Systems

In natural calamity or terrorist attack, the first thing that suffers is electricity supply. Depending on the disaster, restoring power can take several weeks, months and even years.

Anything powered by electricity will die. Therefore, you must devise ingenious ways to establish communication. Here are a few off-grid communications systems at your disposal.

Cell Phones

In an emergency, your cell-phone might still have power, or you may have a backup power bank. Unfortunately, your cell phone may not work because the disaster could have destroyed to cell tower close to you. Even so, some cell towers have backup generators designed to kick in f the grid goes down.

This does not mean you cannot try to establish communication using your cell phone. You might get lucky. A cell-phone should be your priority. It is affordable, portable, convenient, easy to use and can reach any geographical location in the world. Even text messages can go through if calls cannot work.

Land Lines

The old corded landlines may be out of fashion in our homes but not in emergencies. They are vital in an off-grid situation. If you do not know it, landlines get the power they need from the phone lines. This means they can function even of the main electric grid is disrupted.

Reserving a landline phone for off-grid communication is peppers’ golden goose. Unlike cell phones that need cell towers, landline phones use a less complex mechanism. Even more beautiful is the fact that such systems are not prone to congestion as cell phone networks. VOIP phones may look like landline phones, but they cannot work without electricity.

Satellite Phones

An extremely reliable communication system for off-grid is the satellite phones. These unique phones do not use cell towers. Instead of connecting to the terrestrial cell types, satellite phones connect to the orbiting satellites. Although advanced, these phones still provide similar functionality as regular cell phones. You can send SMS, make calls and even access the internet.

So long as the sky is clear or partially cloudy, satphones can reach anywhere in the earth or just specific regions.  These devices operate on a subscription-based model. Therefore, they are most commonly ideal for expeditions to remote locations or professional outdoor guiding.

Nevertheless, some modern models are engineered for more casual use. They let you pay a modest monthly or single-time fee and send SMS out via the satellite. These devices may be expensive but incredibly great for a backup communications system.

Special Off-Grid Communication Devices

The current advancement in technology has led to the production of a few communication devices made with preppers in mind. Here are four such advanced gadgets for off-grid communication:

goTenna Mesh

This device turns terrestrial cell-phones paired with it into a self-sufficient mesh network that can operate free from the bottlenecks of network resources, mobile reception, and power. It offers complete privacy. goTenna Mesh was developed in 2012 following Hurricane Sandy.

Beartooth Smart Walkie Talkie

Another fantastic off-grid communication device is the Beartooth Smart Walkie Talkie. The tool lets you speak with another other people using your cell phone without the need for a signal.

The technology is similar to that of Bluetooth.  As for the range, voice calls can only reach people who are 5 miles away. Text messages have a range of up to 10 miles.

Gotoky Secure Off-Grid Communication Device

Gotoky is another modern off-grid communication device that can prove helpful in a survival situation. The tool allows you to pair your Smartphone with it so that you can send text and voice messages, create a mesh network, group text-based and voice-based messaging.

It also allows for emergency location beacon activation, real-time tracking, and navigation, recording routes as well as sharing GPS locations.  All the messages are entirely encrypted.

Fogo Adventure Off-Grid Device

The Fogo off-grid device allows you to communicate with others without an active signal. You can use it with your Smartphone, but it also comes with a number of great features that make it ideal for off-grid communication.

The most important of these features is the 1200 lumens LED flashlight, a 6800 mAh USB backup battery, a motion sensor, a fitness tracker, a waypoint navigation system, a crash detection system, bike computer, and Bluetooth speaker for communication purposes.

The recent protests and accompanying riots have raised some very real concerns, both in law-enforcement and the citizenry. Countless millions of dollars worth of damage have been done in the last few months, in many cases, destroying businesses owned by members of their own community. In many cases, the home and business owners were unable to do a thing to protect their property.

This is nowhere clearer than in the case of the McCloskeys, the couple in St. Louis, who have become infamous for standing in front of their mansion, armed, to protect themselves from a protest. While Missouri state law includes the Castle Doctrine, allowing people to defend their homes, the local DA has decided to charge them with the felony offense of “unlawful use of a weapon” for “brandishing guns” during that protest.

These situations can be very tricky to deal with, both for the police and for citizens. While the law allows for the use of deadly force when you are in imminent danger of life and limb, the courts have to rule, after the fact, that the use was in self-defense. Some of these situations aren’t all that clear-cut, meaning that using lethal force to defend yourself can have some very serious ramifications.

That doesn’t just apply to individual citizens, it applies to police as well, who are being confronted with having to make such decisions with much more frequency. As long as protests continue, other groups will continue using those protests as camouflage to hide their own nefarious activities, causing riots, looting and destroying property.

One solution that police are adopting is sonic weapons.

The LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Hailing Device), while not yet widely in use, has been used successfully to dissipate crowds, sometimes even before things turned violent.

While there are some questions about its constitutionality, it is a great option when a less than lethal solution is desired.

The idea of acoustic weapons originated with the need to provide ships with protection from pirates. While we tend to think of piracy as a crime that belonged in the age of sail, there are still pirates operating around the world. Ships equipped with sonic weapons have a means of protecting themselves from such potential attacks. The same technology has been used effectively by whaling ships, protecting themselves from harassment by environmental activists.

What Exactly is a Sonic Weapon?

Sonic weapons are devices which produces a very loud sound, somewhere between 130 and 160 dB. This produces intense discomfort and even nausea.

As such, they provide a non-lethal method of dealing with large crowds of people. That doesn’t mean that they’ll all turn and run, with their hands clamped over their ears; but that is a possible result. A lot depends on just how loud the sound is.

Theoretically, sonic weapons can be made as lethal; although it doesn’t appear that there are any currently being manufactured that way.

For them to be lethal, the sound produced would have to be louder than any currently being produced, as well as being at an extremely low frequency, lower than what current speaker technology can reach. Such frequencies resonate with the human body, and can cause catastrophic damage.

In order to make sonic weapons effective, the sound that they produce is aimed. Typical speakers produce a cone of sound that is roughly 120 degrees. The LARS system narrows that down to roughly 60 degrees, with a 40 dB difference between the area covered by the focused sound and areas adjacent to it.

Although the LARS system is a sonic weapon, it is actually not marketed as one. Rather, it is marketed as a long-range hailing device, intended for voice communications with people at a long distance. To use it as a non-lethal weapon, a warbling tone, such as one that might be used for a burglar alarm or as a siren on an emergency vehicle, is put through it, rather than voice. Such tones are easily downloaded from the internet.

Are Sonic Weapons Legal?

As of right now, there don’t appear to be any laws on the books which make sonic weapons illegal in any of the 50 states.

However, at a ticket price of $100,000 to $190,000, the price pretty much limits it to use by law enforcement agencies, military and commercial; ocean-going ships.

There are a few smaller sonic weapons which are made for the civilian market and available for prices ranging from $39.95 to $1,000.

How effective these might be is another question entirely. Little real information, in the form of specifications, is provided by companies selling this equipment. So it’s hard to determine just how effective these devices are.

Making Your Own Sonic Weapon

The basic difference between the LARS system and a public address system is that they have succeeded in narrowing the cone of sound coming out of the speaker. This can be done, even without spending $100,000.

To make your own such system, you need to start out with an amplifier and speaker capable of producing at least 160 decibels. While most home stereos don’t do this, some of the high-end systems can reach this level. Even easier, some of the amplifiers used for car audio systems can produce more than 780 dB of sound. Yes, all those annoying cars whose drivers go by with their sound cranked up enough to shake your car are actually using a sonic weapon against you.

With a good enough sound system to start with, all you need is a means of focusing the sound. I’ve never managed to get the opportunity to take a LARS system apart, I know one very effective way of doing that. It’s not as compact as theirs, but it will work.

All you need to do is create a bundle of tubes, which is larger in diameter than your speaker (not necessarily the speaker cabinet) and mount it to the front of your speaker. The individual tubes need to be two to three feet long (the longer the better) and made of a hard substance which will reflect sound, such as acrylic plastic tubing. PVC will work as well, but not as well as acrylic, because it is softer.

What this bundle of tubing will do, is to reflect the sound waves back and forth, until they come out the end. While this will not totally eliminate the sound that is radiated towards the sides, it will reduce it considerably, sending that sound downrange instead.

In addition to the tubes, it would be helpful to insulate the speaker cabinet, so as to absorb sound and lower the amount of sound pressure going out to the sides and back. In most cases, you can open a speaker cabinet fairly easily, by removing the speaker itself, which is held in with screws. Then just loosely stuff the inside of the cabinet with fiberglass home insulation, making sure to leave room for the speaker you just took out. Once filled, reinstall the speaker.

The whole thing can be mounted on a tripod, allowing you to aim it where you will. Find the balance point for the entire unit and mount it there, creating a custom bracket to mount the speaker. This will allow you to aim the unit the easily, without having to support the weight of the unit with your hands, while you are using it.

If you’re going to use this unit to defend your home from rioters, you’ll want to set it up somewhere where you have a good vantage point and can point it at the rioters from a distance, while at the same time keeping them from getting to you. A second-floor balcony would be a great choice, as would putting it on the roof, if you have a roof where the pitch isn’t so steep as to make it dangerous.

Keep in mind that this is not a foolproof weapon. While it will discourage rioters and might even drive them away, all that they need to do, to slightly protect themselves from it, is to put on noise cancelling headphones, which totally enclose the ear, or at least cover their ears with their hands. That will allow the most daring of them to approach you. So you will want to be sure to have some other sort of weapon available to yourself, should the situation escalate like that and you find yourself needing to protect yourself.

For the Americans, the time of Great Depression is unforgettable. It was the nation’s most serious economic tragedy during the time of modern history. The biggest misfortune was the fact that the nation’s working class had the full burden of it squarely on their shoulders due to which they wrestled badly for their survival during this most difficult period. The following great depression foods helped them survive when nothing else was available.

Indeed but sadly, many could not survive while all suffered. Each American life was shaken up completely by this tragedy in different ways. The Great Depression forced the affluent empire to bend on its knees. Not only money and industries but also the food resources waned almost overnight. This marked the worst time for all Americans.

Will This Worst Time Strike Back?

In reality, the likelihood of such a tragedy shaking the country again is certainly not as low as you may forecast or envision. Certainly, there are new poises and checks acting as safety measures to prevent the nation’s stock market from crashing quickly. However, no one can deny the fact that the economy was badly shaken in 2008 and was sinking again through what was termed as the Great Recession.

The next economic decline can either match or surpass that of The Great Depression. It is a fact that history usually repeats itself. This is where the famous quote of Edmond Burke should be recalled, which says that those who are unfamiliar with the history are destined to repeat it.

So, How Do We Prepare for Survival if Such Period Turns Up in Future?

It is actually simple! All you need to do is learn from the survivalists or survival techniques of the past to become a smart prepper. The most reliable way to keep the past suffering at bay is to learn from the experiences and mistakes of our ancestors and hone them to prepare ourselves for a more challenging time, which is yet to come.

It is hard to believe that the big authorities did not actually learn from the past. The lessons of the past were somehow ignored. Well, the good news is that each American still has time to become a better prepper.

One of the most challenging but must-have skills of such a prepper is to arrange for food. It is truly a challenge to ask your kids to eat a dandelion salad, bizarre grass soup, or a stew of some less favorite veggies. However, if you know what our forebears did to make their family members survive, it certainly makes the same challenge easier for us. Thus, the key here is only to know the ‘where’ and ‘how’ aspects of the food arrangements or preparations during this depressive period.

What Our ForeBears Did to Survive During The Great Depression?

This was the time of scarcity-instilled invention, where families had no other option for survival except for to use whatever they get. They had to manage without several household staples and utilize their ingenuity to plan for alternatives, which were based on readily available products.

Right from using dandelion in salads to mending shoes with a cardboard, the people of those days used whatever they get to make up for scarcity of practically each good and food. Initially, desperation took over ingenuity in the average kitchens.

Urged by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who cheered families to save as many resources as possible by practicing savvier home finance management, there were some seriously disgusting food combinations that the Americans followed during the Great Depression. However, even this is true that not the recipes of this time were transient. Big companies such as Kraft used the modern norms and preferences to turn those recipes, such as mac ‘n’ cheese, into a modern household staple.

Many recipes of that time are not for a weak stomach or a faint heart. They tend to reflect the true national spirit of resiliency and adaptive creativity. For countless families, preparing a meal without using any processed or ready-made foods was no longer meant only for a weekend party. It became a skill for people to learn and master how to make those great depression foods.

People who survived and recalled what was it like to have meals during this economic disaster talked about frugality, growing produce on their own and sharing with others, and coping with what they had. It was the time when leftovers were precious.

Anything that could be grown was on priority. Unbelievable pot pies, salads, soups, stews, dumplings, and margarine wrappers all found their way to be in kitchens for several days. Well, these recipes today are unlikely to be seen in kitchens. However, in the 1930s, those recipes were a part of kitchen art, refined by inevitability.

Recalling Top 10 Great Depression Foods

Many Americans did not learn to prepare food as they grew up. This is the reason why they are dependent on packaged food. However, the food preparation experience was totally different at the time of economic depression in the late 1920s. Here are the top 10 Great Depression foods to learn and remember for being a better prepper.

Mock Apple Pie

This was perhaps the most common recipe of that time! You may be thinking how come apples would be available? Well, the most interesting aspect of this recipe is that it was made without apples. It is a fact that apples were not so readily available during that tough time. Nevertheless, this could not force the Americans to live without their treasured apple pie.

This recipe replaced apples with crushed crackers, cinnamon, and a flavored syrup, all of which were baked to form a crispy crust. There are many versions of this recipe but the most famous ones were published on the rear of the 1934’s Ritz cracker box.

The Ritz Mock Apple Pie was perhaps the most famous deceitful treat. It contained sugar, butter, cinnamon, lemon juice, and Ritz crackers to feature a distinct texture and a creamy taste for gratifying your senses.

Prune Pudding

This recipe may sound quite logical, as prunes were widely available. In fact, they are easy to store, and were more affordable than other fruits. Further, they have all the nutrients for being a Great Depression diet, ranging from fiber and 1/3^rd of daily needs of Vitamin K.

This recipe got popularity as a simple dessert during that time when Eleanor Roosevelt convinced her consort who was the President to serve it to the White House’s guests. The honorable lady was simply not going to sit back and allow the bad time to bring down the prestige of her nation down.

She was an early patron of the movement called, the home economics, and she sincerely followed what she advised. Well, the food served in the President’s house was notably the most boring one in the history. The poor guests had to eat those eggs in a tomato sauce and crushed potatoes with prune pudding.

Mulligan Stew

This was the name of many stews that the homeless people made at the time of the Great Depression. The recipe varied as per the ingredients or food items on hand. Nevertheless, you can imagine it to be the result of tossing in the pot all that the maker has to feed the belly.

The stew is certainly not an ordinary dish of the tough time! It is a traveler food, which is usually also made using stolen onions, potatoes, corn, mixed scavenged greens, and some navy beans stored in pocket or wallet for months.

Here are two more secret ingredients in it that you cannot imagine. A bit of lint and Bull Durham tobacco for making the broth interesting.

Dandelion Salad

Okay, the dandelion is believed to be an annoying weed. However, at the same time, it has a long history of acting as a therapeutic herb for healing swelling, upset stomach, skin issues, eye issues, diarrhea, and heartburn. It is also a richer source of Vitamins A and C than spinach and tomatoes, respectively. Moreover, they are full of Vitamins B and D, potassium, calcium, and iron.

This is perhaps why it got an esteemed place in the Great Depression diet. The dandelion salad was the favorite of preppers and wild experts. It was a nutritious option that includes simple greens sought from any neighborhood, vinegar if available for taste, pepper, and salt. It was also a tasty dish to add to the daily menu without spending any money.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Onions

Well, this name may appear surreal to you, as both the items in the name have nothing to do with each other. They are also nowhere correlated with each other. However, this bizarre blend of baked onions and peanut butter was common during the Great Depression.

The Bureau of Home Economics made it for the first time and since then, it was popular just for its strange taste. Onions were baked and scoops of peanut butter were filled inside them, resulting in a highly disliked recipe. The maker itself urged the housewives to serve this recipe to all family members and become budgeteers.

Vinegar Cobbler

Both the name and taste sounded weird! Well, this is a dessert that replaced a huge amount of vinegar for costlier fruits and contained sugar, water, butter, nutmeg, flour, and vanilla on the baking plate. Rather than the pieces of apples, the apple cider vinegar was used to forge the real taste for all budgeteers.

Interestingly, Chris Shepherd, an award-winning chef is serving this recipe at his Houston restaurant. Its flavor is much like a custard of vinegar chips and salt that triggers a tingling sensation in the roof of your mouth.

Spaghetti and Carrot Casserole

Casseroles were madly famous during this tough period. The recipes involved mixing all types of leftovers to form a single dish. This is how families were able to get a variety in their daily menu without looking for difficult-to-find ingredients.

While meat was an unaffordable indulgence, spaghetti casserole was commonly made. The hard workign moms were using boiled carrots covered in a white sauce made up of butter, salt, flour, and milk. The First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was the pioneer of this item. She promoted some truly dull dishes for supporting the savvy home economics.

Meatless Loaves

Meatloaves, as dietary staples, were no longer available when the food scarcity commenced during the Great Depression. Thus, a meatloaf was twisted as per the available ingredients. It then became a meatless loaf made using any item that was available ranging right from raisins to peanuts. People used their ingenuity to make this item their weekly favorite.

Potato Pancakes

Potato is one such food that is widely available even during the tough times. It is also among the most affordable foods, whether it is a good or a bad time. Thus, it was no wonder why potatoes were widely used during the period of Great Depression.

Depression-era chefs highly relied on potatoes as alternatives in their different dishes. One of the commonly cooked dishes was a potato pancake. This was a simple recipe, in which grated potatoes were fried or cooked in a pan. Mostly, all meals had this dish. It is one of the most common great depression foods that people still remember.

Milkorno

In Cornell University, a few scientists came up with a dish called milkorno in 1933. It is a blend of cornmeal, powdered skim milk, and salt, a recipe that was made for families to fulfill their nutritional needs without increasing their budget. Upon boiling, all ingredients of Milkorno become a part of a porridge. The recipe promised a fulfilling experience for the family of five members for $5 per week.

Again, this recipe of combining corn and milk was what that guests of Eleanor Roosevelt probably ate and made. Another two variations of this recipe were Milkoato and Milkwheato, of which the latter gave scope for big business for which dystopian dust was purchased by the government for use in the recipe.

Conclusion

For the younger generation the foods described here are most likely uneapeling. They cannot imagine eating something like that even during a crisis. Our generation is no longer familar with the outcomes of a widespred famine. The time of distressing economic uncertainty has taught some great cooking skills to Americans. It is up to us how sincerely we master it and how dedicatedly we improve or learn it! Remember, future is uncertain and the economy can become volatile at any point in time. So, readiness to face it is indispensable!

Riots and Looting are Nothing New, but This Time May Be Different.

In the midst of a global pandemic, riots and looting have returned to the streets of the United States. In some areas, they’re becoming the norm. Once again, the trigger for the civil unrest was racially driven, but other factors simmering beneath the surface come into play.

Currently, the presidential election is probably the biggest factor. America often becomes very tense in election years, but this election is unprecedented. We’re in a situation where both sides view a loss as the end of democracy as we know it. People on the left think Trump will become a full-fledged dictator if he’s reelected, and people on the right think the deep state or radical left will take over the government if he isn’t reelected.

But on top of that, we have a situation where Trump could look like the clear winner on election night, but as the mail-in ballots are counted in the following days, it could look like Biden is the actual winner. They’re calling it a red mirage, and it could happen because there will be far more mail-in voting than usual due to the pandemic, and Democrats are more likely to use mail-in ballots.

But can the mail-in ballots be trusted? Will there be widespread voter fraud? Both sides are worried about these issues and suspicious of the other side. If Democrats or Republicans feel like the election is being stolen from them, the powderkeg that is America could ignite.

So how likely are we to see riots and violence in the coming months? In order to understand the current situation, we need to look at what sorts of things have caused riots in the past.

If society collapses, you can bet that the foods the pioneers ate will become dietary staples

The Lost Ways prepares you to deal with worst-case scenarios with the minimum amount of resources just like our forefathers lived their lives, totally independent from electricity, cars, or modern technology.

So pay chose attention because this video will change your life forever for the good!

Five Factors That Have Led To Riots In The Past

In a number of studies, the underlying factors that move peaceful protests to the violence of a riot have come to light.

1. Economic Factors

In the past, poverty and unemployment contributed to many instances of civil unrest. This simmering anger driven by economic disparity is what has made looting a part of most riots. People living in poverty are often desperate, and when groups take to the streets to protest, they join because they’re filled with anger and resentment at a society that seems to have left them behind.

The second great blackout hit New York City in 1977 when the grid went down. The first blackout to hit the east coast was peaceful. The second led to a night of arson and looting resulting in 4,500 arrests and $300 million in damage.

2. Political Factors

Extremists on both sides of the political spectrum often take advantage of civil unrest to further promote their agendas. In these instances, the motivation for the civil unrest is immaterial and the unrest simply provides a backdrop to demonstrate extreme and unrelated ideas and feelings.

The Seattle riots of 1999 were the result of anti-globalization activists protesting the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. It resulted in 157 people arrests and $20 million in property damage.

3. Criminal Factors

Where there’s chaos, there’s money to be made, and criminals take full advantage of times when police are overwhelmed. When that happens, the rule of law seems to break down.

Looting is the primary activity, but crimes generally rise during times of civil unrest for the simple reason that there are fewer police officers available to respond. Just look at what happened when the police in Montreal went on strike.

4. Radical Factors

Anarchists step into periods of civil unrest and often aggravate the situation to further their agenda of disruption. Arson is often the result, as well as an escalation of violence.

It’s believed by some that a fake hand grenade thrown at National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio in 1970 is what triggered the Ohio National Guard to open fire.

5. The Mob Mentality

Even everyday people behave differently in a mob. The actions of a mob are erratic and unpredictable. Anonymity allows people to engage in activities they would normally never pursue. Leadership within mobs shifts quickly and to the loudest voice.

Here again, deep-seated resentments, long-term frustrations, and long-standing disappointment galvanize some to lash out and immerse themselves in the rage of the growing mob.

Danger Ahead

As you can see, all of these factors are playing a part in the current riots and protests. It’s creating a situation where peaceful protests could quickly turn violent. And these aren’t even the only factors at play.

Four New Factors That Could Lead To Riots

1. The COVID-19 Economic Depression

The official unemployment rate as a result of the pandemic is about 8.4 percent as of September 2020. However, many people believe that the real unemployment rate is even higher than it was during The Great Depression at about 28%.

People out of work have nothing else to do and are free to join protests or riots. Unemployment and economic disparity have been a hallmark of past periods of civil unrest. The current economic downturn is unprecedented, and the question is to what degree further civil disturbances will result.

2. The New Anonymity

“Everyone must wear a mask.” It’s ironic, but the masks that have become so common to prevent transmission of COVID-19 are the traditional mark of a rioter around the world.

In the past, someone with a mask was looked upon with fear and suspicion. The new normal of wearing masks in public makes it easy for anyone to feel anonymous and has no doubt motivated some of the looting and violence in recent months.

3. Increased Stress

The pandemic lockdowns and the threat of coronavirus have created a new type of stress that is affecting almost everyone. It has led many to behave irrationally in a variety of ways.

The choice to become a part of a demonstration or even a potential riot can be motivated by high stress levels. Worse, high stress affecting a mob can motivate it to take actions that are increasingly confrontational.

You might be living in one of America’s deathzones and not have a clue about it
What if that were you? What would YOU do?

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the U.S. Nuclear Target map, where you’ll find out if you’re living in one of America’s Deathzones.

4. The Presidential Election

I already covered the election in the intro, but something I didn’t mention is the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Since Republicans refused Obama his final Supreme Court pick, Democrats feel it’s only fair to deny Trump his (potentially) final Supreme Court pick.

I’m not taking sides here. I’m just pointing out that no matter what happens, one side is going to feel cheated, and some of them are going to take action. You don’t want to be around when that happens.

The Perfect Storm

With a total of nine factors that could lead to civil unrest, we really are in the perfect storm. At this point, I would be surprised if there wasn’t violence and civil unrest. So now, let’s talk more about what to expect and how to prepare.

How Long Do Riots Last?

Past precedents indicate that most riots last a day or two, although some extend to a week. A lot depends on the motivation for the riot.

Many riots have been motivated by (of all things) sports. From Vancouver to San Francisco to Denver, when sports teams win or lose a major championship, riots often result. All of these riots proved to be one-night occurrences and things soon returned to normal the following day.

Riots motivated by injustice similar to the situation surrounding the death of George Floyd have usually lasted for longer durations.

• The Cincinnati riots of 2001 lasted 4 days.
• The Detroit riots of 1967 lasted 5 days.
• The Watts riots of 1965 lasted 6 days.
• The Los Angels riots of 1992 lasted 6 days.

In most instances, the appearance of the National Guard finally quelled the riots.

Will This Time Be Different?

The National Guard has already been called up in 23 states this year, including Washington D.C. The question is whether the coming riots will subside after a short period of time or continue for weeks or even months.

Hopefully, the presence of the National Guard will eventually quell any civil unrest, but time will tell. In the meantime, you need to think about how to keep yourself and your family safe given the pattern of current events.

7 Ways to Prepare for Civil Unrest

Some of the steps we’ll outline below are common sense. Others are a bit extreme—like bugging out—but a lot depends on where you live. People living in a large metropolitan area are most at risk while suburban and especially rural locations are typically far removed from the threat of riots and looting.

These recommendations assume a worst-case scenario for someone living or working in a city where rioting, arson, and looting can potentially occur.

1. Stay Home

Again, the irony of the lockdowns for the Coronavirus pandemic makes this a fact of life in many parts of the country. However, as the country reopens and people return to work, many may find themselves confronted by a demonstration that devolves into a riot.

If you live in an area where demonstrations or riots are taking place, you should only leave home when absolutely necessary. This is already the pattern for many people due to pandemic precautions, but the potential to walk or drive into a violent situation should give you added pause.

2. Stay Informed

Local news broadcasts on TV, radio, and the Internet give daily updates not only on the circumstances surrounding rioting but on the locations.

As hard as it is to listen or watch the news these days, it’s important to know what’s going on in your area. If any demonstration or protest is planned for your immediate vicinity, lockdown and don’t go out.

3. Stock Up

Many are already doing this, but the addition of civil unrest to a pandemic makes it all the more important to reduce your need to travel to any destination for groceries, medical supplies, or other necessary items.

Order online as much as possible and, when you do go out to make purchases, try to think long-term. There are limits on many items these days, but if your neighborhood is a hot spot, buy the maximum allowed of any items you need to reduce your overall travel.

4. Lock Up

It’s one thing to lock up at night, but if you live in an apartment or neighborhood in close proximity to potential demonstrations or protests, keep your doors and windows locked at all times. Most rioters and looters tend to focus on businesses rather than individual homes or apartments, but as civil unrest grows, the direct threat can increase overall.

Some people choose to re-enforce their doors and windows and even go so far as to put up barricades on all entrances. That depends on the situation and the individual. If you have to resort to that level of security, don’t forget to make sure you can make a quick exit in the event that arson causes a fire to reach your location.

5. Keep a Low Profile

That’s easy to do if you stay home, but think twice about any signs in your front lawn expounding a political belief or opinion, and maybe it’s time to get rid of those bumper stickers spouting similar sentiments. It also helps to keep your opinions to yourself. At a time of high stress and violence in the streets, some people are looking for trouble. Don’t give them a reason to find it with you.

The same is true when walking through an area of demonstrations, protests, and especially civil unrest. Don’t take sides because there’s a good chance that both sides will be in the vicinity and you rarely know who you’ll encounter.

If confronted by someone asking you whose side you’re on, tell them you’re on their side and slip away as calmly and quickly as possible. You may also want to think twice about any clothing that makes specific or polarizing statements about controversial ideas or positions. Here again, the best way to stay out of trouble is to not ask for it. If you do, you may as well join the protest, but this is about preparing for and avoiding a riot—not starting one.

6. Don’t Get Caught in the Middle

If you find yourself in an unfolding situation of violence or civil unrest, calmly walk away and out of the situation. Keep a low profile. Don’t intervene with looters or take direct exception to what someone is saying or doing. Find a way to get out of the area and away from the violence.

And don’t give the police or the National Guard any reason to see you as a threat. They are not there to protect you. They are there to disperse the crowd and break up the riot. If they see you as part of the problem, they will act accordingly. Don’t run but move quickly.

If you’re driving and find yourself in a riot, stop if you must. Drive slowly and carefully. Don’t say or demonstrate aggressive or provocative behavior. If you must, lock and abandon your car. You want to blend in and not stand out from the crowd while you get out.

7. Have a Plan

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s worth discussing the overall situation with your immediate family. How should you individually and collectively respond to a variety of possibilities? It’s probably best to not include small children in all of these conversations, but they should be aware of the fact that you may have to act quickly.

• What do we do if we hear gunshots?
• What do we do if there’s a knock at the door and who should answer it and how?
• What do we do if the neighbor’s house or the apartment building we live in catches on fire due to arson?
• Should we tell any friends or neighbors about our plans and emergency supplies?
• What other things are you worried about and what else should we discuss and plan for?

Having a plan for events will give you some degree of peace-of-mind, and the last thing you want to do is panic at the moment something unexpected occurs. Take the time to stop, think, and anticipate so you can form a plan for events.

Bug Out?

This is always easier said than done. If you’re one of the few who have an established bug out location like a vacation home or farm in a rural area, your biggest challenge is getting to your location safely.

If you don’t have an established bug out location and the situation in your area becomes so desperate that you feel compelled to leave, you still have a few options.

• Consider staying with a relative or friend who lives in an area safe from civil unrest.
• Consider an extended stay motel or hotel. People are hesitant to occupy a motel or hotel space during the pandemic, but if you stay put and sanitize the rooms, it will be safer than staying in a hot spot of civil unrest.
• Go camping. If the weather and location permits, you can always set up camp in a remote area and hope the duration of any civil unrest winds down.
• Other options for bug out locations include national forests, mines, ghost towns, and abandoned factories.

Before you bug out, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Don’t tell anyone you are bugging out and try to make your house or apartment appear to be occupied. A house or apartment that is obviously deserted at a time of civil unrest is a quick target for looters and vandalism.
• Lock up and barricade your house as much as possible and take any items of value to your bug out location. The rule in that regard is simple. If you don’t want to lose it, then take it or hide it.
• Don’t assume your bug out location is an automatic safe haven. Continue to practice due diligence and anticipate events that could occur there.

What About Weapons?

At home, arming yourself to defend yourself and your family is a good idea. In your car, that depends on where you’re going. If you’re bugging out, definitely. There are two in particular you should take with you.

On your person? That’s a really big question. Even if you have an open-carry permit or live in an open-carry state, you may want to think twice about displaying a weapon in any way. The police and especially the National Guard will not see you as a wise and prepared person acting to simply defend yourself in an emergency. There’s a good possibility they will see you as a threat and at times of civil unrest, they rarely stop to ask any questions.

Wearing a pistol on your belt can be provocative, and while it may give you a sense of confidence, if shots ring out anywhere in your vicinity, it won’t take much for law enforcement to assume you may have been the shooter. The last thing you want is to become the reason for the next round of riots.

Final Thoughts

I wish I had some inspirational words or reasons for optimism, but I don’t. This is a dark time in American history. My only hope is that when it’s all over, we’ll find a way to become the United States again. In the meantime, take care of yourself and your family.

Today I’d like to share with you a “3-second survival hack” you can use to skyrocket your chances of protecting your loved ones during ANY crisis.

This technique is so powerful it can give you almost superhuman powers during the ugliest nightmares imaginable….

From natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes…

To explosive situations like mass shootings or even nationwide martial law.

And It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape…

Or have no equipment…

Or even if you’re disabled living in a wheelchair.

This technique has been tested and proven by elite soldiers and real world “miracle” survivors from around the world.

The late afternoon light is shining through your window and the scene outside is quiet, just the way you like it. You are about a month into a serious collapse and thus far your preps have held up. Power has been out for 2 weeks; you don’t plan on ever having power again. You prepared for that.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon you hear one of the most terrifying sounds of all: A knock on the door!

Your family finds their places and weapons, you leave from the backdoor and flank whoever might be on your porch. To your surprise it is your cousin! You haven’t seen him in years, but he is here. He looks rough and he has his disheveled family of three along with him.  He also doesn’t seem to have any food or supplies with him.

This is one of the prepper scenarios we all have thought about. However, it might not be as bad as you think!

Today I’d like to share with you a “3-second survival hack” you can use to skyrocket your chances of protecting your loved ones during ANY crisis.

This technique is so powerful it can give you almost superhuman powers during the ugliest nightmares imaginable….

From natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes…

To explosive situations like mass shootings or even nationwide martial law.

And It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape…

Or have no equipment…

Or even if you’re disabled living in a wheelchair.

This technique has been tested and proven by elite soldiers and real world “miracle” survivors from around the world.

People Are Power

So, what do you do when someone unexpected comes knocking? Now, that is an interesting word to use in conjunction with preppers. UNEXPECTED. The whole point of prepping is to consider the unexpected.

In a true SHTF situation people bring you power. Your community should be like a hive. Hardly worth the trouble of any small group that might wish to steal or worse. You must be able to sustain them or have them sustain themselves but there will be tremendous power in numbers. Big jobs become easier, you can make an area more secure with more people, and you have more brains to put towards a problem.

Of course, its not heaven. With people come people issues like fights, jealousy, and the like. However, good leadership and preparedness can give you the upper hand on things like that.

You must first make an honest list of “survival dependents” or people who will come to depend on you when everything goes to hell!

Trust me, your list is bigger than you think.

Survival Dependents

While it is nice to imagine that the calamity will never cross your threshold, the reality is that many more people depend on you than you think. Chances are, even if people don’t know you’re a prepper, you are the type of person who has it together. You are likely the person people go to for answers.

No matter how strong your OPSEC protocols are if you are a good and solid person, than people will look to you in times of crisis. These might be people you love or just people you know.

Now is the time to sit down and create a real list. You must take off the blinders and truly consider all the people who will depend on you in an SHTF situation. It would be perfect if your list consisted of 4 people but when you break it down you have groups of people to consider.

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Friends
• Co Workers

Your group of survival dependents could include people from each of these categories. How they depend on you may vary but this list will help you understand that there are more people than just your immediate family who will turn to you in times of calamity.

Can You Support People?

Of course, the question that comes to mind after you create a list like this is: Do I have enough?

For most people, the answer is no. It can be over burdensome to assume that you can prep for all the people who might be on your list of survival dependents. When these people show up asking for food, though, you need to have something!

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

Unless you subscribe to the idea that you are going to turn everyone away who comes to your door. If that is your game plan than you better also prepare for some serious backlash. How many fathers with kids can you turn away before one of them says, “No, we are coming in.”

What happens next cannot be good, with lots of harmful outcomes.

This doesn’t mean you should be a pushover and let any old person into your home and feed them.

Tip: When people approach you to ask for something, if they come to your door or see you outside, simply ask them for something first! Open the door and ask for food and medicine: “Oh, I hope you brought some food, we haven’t eaten in a week!”

Put Them to Work Immediately

From that list of survival dependents, you will likely choose people who you will bring into the fold. However, don’t let them in free of charge. The best way to handle someone who comes asking for help is to immediately give them some form of work to be done.

This is also a great gauge of the depth of that person. Those who are outraged by the work that needs to be done at “their new home” are people that you can easily weed out. Just make it truly clear up front that there is plenty to do and if they cannot do what is asked, they cannot stay.

By the way, there will be plenty to do! If you manage a household of four and all the sudden it jumps to ten you will have lots of extra work. It is not so much about room but about dishes, laundry, food production, security detail in the neighborhood, general cleaning.

In an off-grid situation, it might be about things like water procurement and sanitizing, renewable energy system maintenance, gardening, canning and everything in between.

There will be a serious list of chores to be done and the last thing you want is a house full of freeloaders laying around all day while you are red in the face.

Using a basic Excel spreadsheet, you will be able to create chore lists TODAY for issues that might come tomorrow. Print a stack of them and save them. They can be filled out by hand when the time comes or if you know the system you could print them with the duties listed.

It’s high time we stop looking at neighbors and friends as threats in the downfall. Many people can see something resembling collapse just on the horizon. Its hard not to look around and wonder how the unprepared will react to a future of scarcity, uncertainty, with up close and personal violence.

If America is facing balkanization or civil war it will be particularly important that you have a secure neighborhood with plenty of able-bodied individuals. Many neighbors will leave for a safer environment and you must be aware of that. However, that might free up homes and living areas for more of your survival dependents.

Your survival dependents are not the burden you once thought. Believe me. While you know the flaws of the people around you, they have two ears, two eyes and a heart that wants to survive. If you can find it in you to lead these people they will provide you with a true survival group that will keep you and yours from being acted upon by anyone with a group larger and better trained than you and your spouse!

You might be living in one of America’s deathzones and not have a clue about it
What if that were you? What would YOU do?

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the U.S. Nuclear Target map, where you’ll find out if you’re living in one of America’s Deathzones.