“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”

—Publishers Syndicate, attributed to Allen Saunders in 1957

We all want to be ready when disaster strikes. That’s why you’re here, after all, learning about how to work toward self-sufficiency and disaster preparedness. Of course, we all know the best-laid plans can go awry.

When you’re just a newbie prepper, it can all feel so overwhelming. You’ve may despair ever feeling like you’re prepared enough. Perhaps you even find yourself thinking there’s just no point. It’s a tough question, but I looked into it anyhow to help you become better informed.

Why is prepping pointless? There’s just no way to be ready for everything that could happen in the world. Even when you do your best, circumstances can arise that you can never predict. Frighteningly, there are also things you can’t be ready for. 

If the World Doesn’t End

Let’s start with the most obvious question. If you pay any attention to the world around you, then you know that people are in denial. Most people seem to insist that there’s just no way that their society or their planet could be in danger.

It’s even fair to say that, in many cases, generations have lived through relatively peaceful eras. In their part of the world, there wasn’t much need for concern. That changes a person’s perspective, but it doesn’t invalidate the need to be ready for likely problems. Fires, colds, rainy season flooding, mild drought, or congested traffic might be all those people had to tackle. Even then, life would not have been entirely without disasters; the problems were less, but not nonexistent.

While you can tread lightly through life and never face any real adversity, it doesn’t happen to very many people. You’re more likely to win the lottery or get hit by lightning twice. Sure, it can happen, but the likelihood of it happening to you is slim to none.

Feeling Shame

Preppers aren’t out on the street corners wearing cardboard signs with the legend “The End is Nigh,” even though people sometimes feel that way about us. Society doesn’t care if we’re capable as individuals. Instead of personal responsibility, the focus is on large interdependent group dynamics. There’s nothing wrong with that except that it means we’re losing our ability to care for ourselves.

When people treat emergency preparedness like mental illness, it’s because they lack education. However, that won’t stop you from feeling shamed when people treat you differently. I suggest you keep your preps to yourself within reason. Obviously, if you’re planning for your family, you need them on board, or the process won’t work.

There are real illnesses, like hoarding and schizophrenia, that can cause people to do things that look a little bit like what preppers do, but it’s unrelated. A warehouse does things that look a bit like prepping too, but it doesn’t matter. Don’t allow foolish people with misconceptions to keep you from trying to help your family.

What If I Really Am ‘Crazy’

Let me first say that ‘crazy’ is a relative term and not a pleasant or acceptable word to use for people who have serious problems. Americans who built nuclear bunkers in the ’30s and ’40s were called ‘crazy.’ No nukes went off here, so ultimately their preps weren’t needed, however, things could have gone very differently.

That isn’t true of Japanese people who took the same path. When Hiroshima was bombed on August 6th of 1945, anyone who had a fallout shelter in the area transitioned from ‘possibly nuts,’ to ‘smartest guy around,’ in a horrifying instant.

Is it possible that you could be prepping for the wrong reasons? Of course, it is. You can do anything for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. Let’s take a look at some real problems that use ‘preparedness’ as an outlet.

Hoarding

First of all, hoarding is a blanket term used for more than one activity. In this case, I mean hoarding as a disorder. For your collection to be a hoard, it has to meet the essential criteria. Typically a hoarder has depression and attachment issues. More importantly, there are harmful effects on your life from hoarding. True hoards are comprised of things with no real value, like dirty socks. Though some useful items are bound to be present, they aren’t used.

Having a fully stocked, well organized nuclear bunker is an extreme prep. Having a house full of empty soda cans, you refuse to throw out because you might need them for some unknown reason is a problem. Resultantly ending up with ants and cockroaches, is typical of extreme hoarding disorder. Hopefully, you can see the difference.

Five Levels of Hoarding

There are different ‘levels’ of hoarding. The problem can range from mild enough almost to go unnoticed to so bad the neighbors can smell it from down the street. According to Aftermath.com, these are the levels of hoarding:

• Hoarding Level One: Clutter is not excessive at this point. All doors and stairways are still accessible and there are no odors. The home is considered safe and sanitary.
• Hoarding Level Two: Clutter inhabits two or more rooms, light odors, overflowing garbage cans or light mildew in kitchens and bathrooms is likely to be present. At least one exit is blocked, some pet dander or pet waste puddles are common, and there’s limited evidence of housekeeping.
• Hoarding Level Three: One bedroom or bathroom is unusable, excessive dust, heavily soiled food preparation areas, and strong odors throughout the home are immediately noticeable. Often an excessive amount of pets are present, and visible clutter has spilled outdoors as well.
• Hoarding Level Four: At this stage you find sewer backup, hazardous electrical wiring, flea infestation, rotting food on counters, lice on bedding, and pet damage to the home.
• Hoarding Level Five: In this case you’ll likely see rodent infestation, kitchens, and bathrooms are unusable due to clutter. Human and animal feces is present inside the home. Plus there’s disconnected electrical or water service.

In short, hoarding is a problem that takes up your space, time, and money in ways that are not good for you. Prepping is more like stocking up instead of hoarding.

Other Mental Illnesses

If you think the world will end, but medication and therapy change your mind, then you probably have a mental illness. Sadly, feeling like you need a tinfoil hat to keep the government out of your brain does not mean that it’s a bad idea to have a secret Bug Out Location. It just means you probably don’t need so much foil in your supplies. The world will eventually end, even if it takes until the sun burns out to get there.

I know I’m making light of a serious issue here. Humor is a vital coping mechanism. If you worry that your preps might be a result of mental illness, then you need to see a doctor ASAP. Mentally ill people can be preppers too.

If you have a disorder of the brain, then getting on top of it and keeping yourself well should be priority one on your prepper checklist. It’s a lot harder to survive if you can’t distinguish reality from a terrifying fiction in your head.

When Prepping is Not Enough

You can do a whole lot to make and keep yourself and those you love safe in an emergency. Before we can go any further, you need to take a deep breath and accept that you cannot be safe from everything that could happen. There’s no defense against brain aneurysms, or being at ground zero when a nuke goes off.

Emergencies You Can’t Defend Against

While you can work to prevent most things, but the reality of unavoidable disasters and inescapable death still exists. Acknowledging that you are not all-powerful is humbling. It’s also a step in the right direction for better preparedness.

• Nuclear Winter or Permanent Flooding

You can have a watertight, radiation-proof bunker. If you’re fortunate, you can have enough warning to get yourself and your loved ones inside and seal the entrances. If nothing else goes wrong, you’ll be okay… for a while. Unless you plan to live the rest of your very uneventful life on canned goods and die alone, you have a problem. Sure, the kids could inbreed. It’s gross, and your grandchildren might have congenital disabilities, but that’s not the problem. If you’re sealed in, how do you dispose of the bodies when someone eventually dies? A corpse is not sanitary.

• MegaNukes

Unless your bunker is like Cheyenne Mountain and buried miles deep, then you might survive the radiation of a blast. The overpressure and other effects will still be an issue in the end. Radiation from a nuclear blast will eventually decay into more stable elements, but you might be buried under a few hundred tons of debris by then.

•Mutated Viruses

If you watch disaster movies, then you have probably seen a fair few that feature escaped viruses. Air scrubbers and masks can only do so much for you. A sufficiently small virus might find a way inside your protective layers. Additionally, accidents happen, and a small tear or defective part could prevent you from being protected.

• Most Supernatural Events

Preppers aren’t the only ones who enjoy thinking about and discussing their zombie survival plans. That’s cool, but what if it’s not zombies? Most of us have some basic clue about how to theoretically fight vampires, werewolves, and maybe even mummies. (Get a cat and learn to read hieroglyphics.) That’s fine if it works the way the TV and literature say it should. There are other supernatural creatures. If we had to fight the fae riding an army of kelpies and dragons while slinging spells, I doubt there’d be any survivors.

• Aliens From Space

The universe is incalculably vast and mysterious. Maybe there are war-like conqueror species out there among the stars. Then again, maybe they are just cutthroat capitalists who don’t care who gets hurt as long as they get the resources of our world. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you can’t plan to fight something you know nothing about. We could defeat them with germs like War of The Worlds. However, I doubt an advanced civilization would show up without some sort of protective armor that’s a few thousand years more advanced than anything we possess.

• Superstorms

Hurricanes and Tornadoes are bad enough, but there’s a nearby planet that shows us just how insane a storm can get. In fact, there are two. Both Neptune and Jupiter have storms on them as large as our planet, or bigger. While no earthly storm could become larger than the planet, a superstorm so large it wipes out everything on the surface of the world is theoretically possible. A bunker might not save you if the storm was bad enough to dig furrows in the planet.

• Tectonic Shifts

Earthquakes are terrifying. Small tremors can do damage on their own. Unfortunately, plates in the earth rubbing together can get a lot worse than some fallen crockery and busted picture frames. The 1960 Valvadia earthquake was around a 9.5 on the seismic scale and caused damage to hundreds of miles worth of countryside. Furthermore, it also caused Tsunamis, foreshocks, and aftershocks that did further damages. A bunker is not safe from earthquakes.

• Asteroids

Rocks from space routinely pass near the Earth. Small bits of debris from planetary formation and other universal events can come streaking to earth as falling stars. However, a larger piece can turn you, your home, and even a hemisphere of a planet into a smoldering crater.

• Spontaneous Human Combustion

This is one of the less plausible options, but there’s some evidence that spontaneous human combustion might be a real phenomenon. Like zombies and ghosts, it’s up to you whether or not you believe. However, it bears noting that, for lack of a better explanation, there are several cases in recorded history.

• Landslides & Avalanches

When large sections of mud or snow come rolling downhill, the danger is genuine. Getting caught in a mass of sliding dirt or snow can kill you. More importantly, it can bury you alive, or cover the entrance to your home, bunker, or other essential escape routes. A buried BOV isn’t going to get you to safety, and if you’re inside suffocation is a serious concern.

• Volcanoes

The core of our planet is made of molten rock. It’s a liquid so hot and dangerous that all you can do is flee. Most volcanoes do us the courtesy of smoking and putting out warning signs before they blow. Plus they aren’t too common. However, that doesn’t mean they’re impossible. Anywhere there’s a weakness in the Earth’s crust there is also an opportunity for the superheated liquid rock to come bubbling to the surface.

• Ice Age

Ice ages happen every hundred thousand years or so on our planet. Humans have survived an ice age before. It wasn’t pleasant, and we were far more accustomed to living outdoors. If you can’t hunt, build fires and perform other basic necessary functions of a cave-dwelling ancestor, then you should be aware that all the prep in the world won’t save you. Frozen, canned goods are difficult to open, and the containers often burst as the contents expand inside the cans. We know they can hit so fast and hard they freeze a mammoth mid-bite as it eats. AN ice age could wipe you out before you saw it coming.

• Organized and Overwhelming Violence

With weapons like bunker busters and automatic riffles out there, it’s pretty hard to resist an organized force if they decide you’re the target. You can try to turn your BOL into a private Alamo, but we all know how well that didn’t work out. The truth is that most times a superior force with more and better weapons and good training will probably roll right over you.

• Failed Preps

We’re going to call this user error, though so many things can go wrong it’s not always going to be the prepper’s fault. When food or water is contaminated, or other critical systems fail, there’s not always an easy fix. Given enough time and the right tools, anything can be repaired or replaced. Unfortunately, a disaster is rarely one of those cases where you have all the time in the world to fiddle around.

With so many potential weaknesses in a disaster preparedness plan, it’s easy to see how folks can get hopeless. My best advice is to simply let it go. If an asteroid falls on your head before you can survive WWIII, then your troubles are over. Maybe some other hardy and lucky people will come along and use your supplies, but you certainly won’t need them. Short of the impossible to predict, your emergency supplies will still do you plenty of good.

Final Thoughts

Being prepared for most things will still save you hassle at the least and might save your life and those you love in the end. You may not be able to plan for everything, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to plan for anticipated events. Emergencies will happen in life. You can just about guarantee it.

You can spiral into an endlessly depressing downward trend until you give up on life, or you can fight to have a life worth living. The will to survive is the most essential part of any living being. If you’re not willing to try, you’re going to fail.

So, is prepping worth it? You have to decide for yourself. No one can give you the will to live, and all I can do is give you the information to equip yourself with the right tools and skills.

Baseball is a wonderful, all-American pastime. Crackerjacks and the roar of the crowd as a runner crosses home is something everyone should experience first hand. However, anyone who’s ever been hit by a bat can tell you they’re dangerous weapons.

The upside of a bat is that they take little to no training to learn how to swing. Of course, the downside is that if you use a bat in a fight, you could end up in court. What about just having one around for defense though? I checked into the matter so you’ll have all the facts before you leave your Louisville Slugger in your trunk.

Is it illegal to carry a baseball bat in your car? A baseball bat is legal, even in your car, but what you do with the bat matters. Unfortunately, carrying a bat with the intent to hit people or private property is against the law. 

Is It A Weapon

If you can hurt someone with the item in your hand, it’s a weapon. There are whole self-defense courses based around training people to use whatever comes to hand as a weapon to defend themselves. I’d even go so far as to suggest taking a class in improvised combat. In situations where other weapons might be prohibited, and there’s a real threat to your safety, it might save your life.

The other side of that coin is that using anything as a weapon comes with consequences. When society comes crashing down around your ears, and people are rioting in the streets with no rule of law, go for it. Protect yourself with extreme prejudice and survive however you can. In any lesser scenario, I’d caution some restraint and a whole lot of research before you take that swing.

Is a Bat a Deadly Weapon

Does a bat constitute a deadly weapon when used in a fight? Absolutely and unequivocally yes. In court, defendants have been found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon for using bats. In fact, there are quite a few things with legal precedent that you might not think of as lethal weapons. You’ll find a few good examples below.

• Sports equipment, including baseball bats
• Motorized vehicles including boats
• Broken bottles
• Dogs
• Garden tools and power tools

Does that mean you should never defend yourself with a baseball bat? Unfortunately, you have to decide for yourself. Is defending your life worth the risk of losing your freedom? Where you cannot legally carry a gun, knife, or taser, you still have the right to defend yourself. Your circumstances and what risks you are willing to take are up to you. A bat, like the virtually indestructible Brooklyn Crusher by Cold Steel from Amazon, is a very effective weapon. Still, the law is pretty clear about the fact that it’s a weapon as soon as you swing it with the intent to do harm.

What Else Can I Carry In My Car

When it comes to carrying weapons in your car, the rules are pretty simple. You can carry anything you have the legal right to own and transport. The law changes when you pull something out to scare, threaten, or hurt someone else. Once you take action with an inanimate object which constitutes fighting or even implying you would harm someone, it becomes a weapon. Whether an item is considered a lethal weapon is up to the court that tries the case.

You can carry plenty of weapons and alternatives in your car to defend yourself from harm, but the truth is that anything used to do damage is a weapon. Carry what you’re comfortable with. As long as you aren’t hunting people for fun, your defensive weapon should be fine in the car. Just, don’t hold it in your hand while you’re driving, and don’t announce your intentions.

Some Suggestions

Here are a few easy alternatives that are probably legal in your area. Carrying a bat is excellent, but having a backup plan is always good too.

• Taser- Everyone knows that getting electrocuted isn’t fun. Tasers take that to another level and up the shock factor, usually enough for you to escape.
• Tactical Pen- A good tactical pen is solid metal on the outside, and still lets you sign your name if you need it. As a defensive weapon, they’re decent for stabbing, though not as good as a knife.
• Pepper Spray- Mace or pepper spray is a great way to slow down an attacker and distract them. The fog or mist variations are better than the streams unless you’re in high wind. However, not everyone reacts the same, and there’s a tiny chance that it might not stop the assailant.
• Personal Alarm- While an alarm isn’t a weapon, it does deter likely muggers by drawing a lot of attention very quickly.
• Large Flashlight- Flashlights with hard metal bodies can stun or damage a would-be attacker. Furthermore, you can also get a flashlight so bright it works to cause temporary blindness so you can escape.

Is It Self Defense

Defending your own life is a fairly reasonable action, but a lot of different factors can affect how a judge rules. An excellent baseball bat, like the Barnett BB-W Wooden Baseball Bat you can get from Amazon, is one way to protect yourself in an emergency. However, you can get arrested for self-defense. Even if you get away with it later, you have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself. 

I’m not a lawyer, police officer, or judge. However, I know that doing the least damage possible to escape will look better in court than beating someone to death after they’re down. Typically using lethal force qualifies as self-defense if it meets some basic criteria.

Ask Yourself

1. Would a reasonable person in the same situation make the same choice?
2. Does your attacker have the ability to cause you serious bodily damage or death?
3. Is the assailant close enough to do the damage you fear?
4. Are you in jeopardy? Do they intend to hurt or kill you right now?

Even when all these things are clearly the case, you can still lose in court if the judge disagrees. Get a good lawyer and make sure you provide them with all the details to show you were acting only to protect yourself. Hence, you should always strive to be well informed. Similarly, be cautious about why and how before undertaking violence. As long as you live in a place with a social structure that has laws and law enforcement, hurting people has consequences.

Learn Your Weapon

When you choose to carry a weapon, you instantly become responsible for the result of what you do with it. When you’re being attacked, any weapon is better than nothing. However, preparedness is all about planning. Looking into what works best for you and how best to use it is just part of the process. You should always practice with your weapon of choice if only to build muscle memory for the motions.

What Type of Bat is Best

There is no magical answer to the question of which bat to choose. Bats come in numerous styles, shapes, and materials for a good reason. If every hitter used the same exact bat in the same way, there would be an easy answer. Instead, you need to assess your skills and needs.

The primary factors are weight, length, and material. For example, the Louisville Slugger 2015 K100 Fungo Wood Bat I got from Amazon is made of solid ash and has a sleek design that concentrates the bulk of the wood near the tip. However, some people swear by metal bats or alloys. Still, others prefer children’s bats so they can claim they coach little league. That seems like an unnecessary stretch unless you’re a coach. 

A wooden bat is more cumbersome, but it also swings a little slower because of the weight. Composite and aluminum (metal) tend to be lighter and easier to carry. The swing is faster with a lighter bat, but you won’t have as much weight behind the swing. At the end of the day, a bat will do severe damage regardless of the type and style.

Final Thoughts

Have you ever seen a mailbox after some punk kids decided to play mailbox baseball? They aren’t a pretty sight. The destructive power of a club is brutal and effective. Since a baseball bat is essentially a club with a coat of paint and a purpose in life, it works the same. You can maim or kill someone with a bat even if you aren’t very strong.

Self-defense isn’t about doing the most damage possible; it’s about protecting your body and getting away from the fight. As long as you keep that in mind, then a bat can be your new best friend. If you’re stopped with a bat in your car, don’t worry about it. Unless that bat has evidence of a murder on it, or someone has been bashing mailboxes in your area recently, it’s not going to matter. You have the right to remain silent on the issue of your sporting goods.

Baseball bats are legal to own and transport. A bat is a piece of wood or metal. It’s not a weapon until you use it to do damage.

Should we all be saving our change for the end of the world? I was a little surprised to learn about this trend for hoarding nickels. Naturally, I had to learn more since anything useful, that might help people survive is worth knowing about. It seems like an oddball item to keep around even if you’ve seen the Resident Evil series too many times and have stacks of quarters saved for your shotgun.

Why do preppers hoard nickles? Whether it’s for melting down into copper and nickel later or for straight barter, nickels have value. Sadly, it’s not enough to make them worth holding on to unless you’re buying in bulk and sorting out the occasional rare coin now. 

What’s In a Nickel

Nickels, unless you happen to find a silver nickel, are made of twenty-five percent copper and seventy-five percent nickel. They weigh five grams. The substance is a composite called cupro-nickel, so you won’t find a copper core if you cut into the coin. Most coins in the US are copper, nickel, and zinc. However, nickels don’t use zinc.

Copper

Copper has always been highly prized, though not quite as much as silver and gold. Coins have been made from this element virtually since coins were invented sometime around the 5th or 6th century BCE.

Because of it’s electrical and thermal conductivity copper is used in many everyday items. You’ll find it in everything from wires for your earbuds to pots and pans. As of the time I wrote this copper is worth about $2.82 per pound, but the value varies up and down depending on supply and demand.

Had you sold off a stash of melted copper back in 2010, you’d have made as much as $4.50 a pound for your hoarded investment. Alternately, in January of 1961, it was at an incredible low of just twenty-seven cents a pound. You could have built a giant copper statue for only a few dollars.

Nickel

Nickel is also an element. In fact, it’s the fifth most commonly occurring element on earth. The crust of our planet is about 80ppm nickel. Furthermore, asteroids often have a high concentration of nickel. It’s physical and chemical properties are outstanding.

• Corrosion Resistant
• Fully Recyclable
• Highly Ductile (It makes excellent thin wire)
• Capable of Electroplating
• Catalytic Properties
• Magnetic at Room Temperature
• High Melting Point (1453°C)
• Alloys Readily

Cupro-nickel is one of the many alloys we make from nickel. The sheer versatility and availability of Nickel mean hundreds of thousands of products contain this element. As useful as nickel is, it’s also not too hard to find, which makes it ideal for making coins.

Rare Nickels

Silver nickels are the rare-coin variant that most people are familiar with. From 1942-1945 the US minted silver nickels. These are commonly called Wartime Nickels. The silver Wartime nickels aren’t the only ones with higher than average value.

Along with the Wartime Nickels, lots of misprinted and uncommon nickels are worth more than five cents. It’s not unusual to find coins worth five to twenty dollars if you’re looking out for them. Buffalo Nickels, if they’re in good shape are typically worth around ten cents.

Coins deemed “fine, extremely fine or uncirculated,” can net you a bit more. For example, the 1936 and 37 buffalo nickels are only worth about fifty to sixty cents in good condition, but uncirculated and blemish-free you could get anywhere from nineteen to thirty-three dollars.

Most Valuable Nickels

According to The Spruce Crafts, these ten nickels could make you a staggering amount of cash if you find them. Should you be so lucky, any of the top ten rarest nickels will all net you over a hundred thousand dollars.

1. 1913 Liberty Nickel – The Olsen Specimen: $3,737,500
2. 1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel – Doubled Die Obverse: $350,750
3. 1926-S Buffalo Nickel: $322,000
4. 1916 Buffalo Nickel – Doubled Die Obverse: $281,750
5. 1913-D Buffalo Nickel – Type 2: $143,750
6. 1917-S Buffalo Nickel: $138,000
7. 1920-D Buffalo Nickel: $138,000
8. 1867 Shield Nickel – Proof with Rays: $132,250
9. 1918-S Buffalo Nickel: $125,350
10. 1927-S Buffalo Nickel: $125,350

That’s a hefty chunk of change as it were. The chances of finding one of these incredibly uncommon coins are extremely low, but for some, it’s worth the time and effort to try. I certainly wouldn’t blame you for checking your couch cushions and scrutinizing your pocket change more closely from now on.

Indeed, some nickels are worth hoarding for a rainy day, but keep in mind that once society collapses, you probably won’t be able to find a collector who will buy them. Moreover, if you do, make sure they don’t pay cash.

Face Value Vs. Melt Value

For those who might not know the term, he “Face Value” of a nickel is five cents. That hasn’t changed since the founding fathers minted the first modern nickels in 1865. There were earlier five-cent pieces called “Half Disme” which may have originated from George and Martha Washingtons own silverware, but that’s a whole different article.

The relative value of nickel has changed a great deal over the intervening years. Furthermore, there have been several iterations like the Buffalo Nickel, but the concept and intention have stayed the same. A nickel is one-twentieth of a dollar, regardless of what that dollar can buy.

The Other Side of the Coin

The Melt Value refers to how much the actual copper and nickel in a nickel coin is worth at current market prices. Melting down coins may be a bit labor-intensive, but is it worth the time? It could be. Last year some experts were claiming the value of copper might go as high as ten dollars a pound.

If you do some quick math, a pound of nickels is worth about $4.50 at face value. It would take four pounds to get a pound of copper, but you’d also have the nickel left over to sell. In 2014 Nickel topped out around $9 per pound, and you’d have three pounds of it out of every four pounds you melted and separated. If the copper were worth ten dollars, then you’d make around thirty-seven dollars for every eighteen dollars worth of nickels you had. That’s more than double your money

Melting Coins

There are two big questions when it comes to physically melting your coins down. First, is it legal? After all, no one wants to go to jail over five cents. Second, should you melt coins? Because it will cost you in time and materials, you should factor that in when estimating the profit.

Illegal Melting

Let me assure you that, to the best of my knowledge, you will not go to jail just for melting US coins. While many countries do have laws against defacing their coinage in such a manner, the US is not currently one of them.

According to the Legal Information Institute, US Code 18, Section 331 says the following:

“Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or

Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”

In short, you can melt coins as long as you don’t use them to make fake coins or commit fraud.

Should I Melt Nickels

Okay, let’s be honest here. If the melt value is above the face value and you have sufficient equipment to melt and separate the metals, then it’s probably worth melting your nickels. However, while the government is still standing, you are holding a “hedge against deflation.”

To make a long explanation short, barring a second Great Depression, the value of a nickel will always equal five cents at the bank. Leaving them in this form means you can cash them in for five cents worth of anything you need regardless of what the metal is worth. That means when the value of nickel and copper is less than five cents, a nickel stays the same value.

Sure, you could melt them all down, but if you’re going to hoard them, you should leave them in their current form until and unless the metals are sufficiently valuable to justify the time, materials, and labor are worth less than that chunk of melted nickel. It could be worth it at some point, but there are more straightforward ways to make money. Spend those nickels on learning a skill you can trade instead. Just make sure you check for any rare coins before you spend the rest.

Final Thoughts

There are easier and less bulky items to hoard if you’re trying to get the most bang for your buck where prepping is concerned. However, there’s some evidence that hoarding nickels could be useful. It’s probably more helpful to spend more of your focus on acquiring skills and developing them to the point where you can trade yourself even if you lose everything.

Checking your change for especially valuable coins isn’t a terrible waste of time, but keeping nickels long term is iffy. You’ll have to come to your own conclusions.

If you watched the news recently, you probably saw some natural disaster happening somewhere in the world. It doesn’t matter what year it is, natural disasters are increasing in number every year. A hurricane, an earthquake, or whatever else happens has the power to shut the power down and leave you to your own luck and survival skills.

With natural disaster becoming ever more common and stronger than before, it’s becoming more popular to prepare yourself for doomsday. People are concerned about the future, which is making them store food and other resources to make sure they’ll be able to survive, and maybe, thrive in this apocalyptic world.

So, that got me thinking, what should I eat during the apocalypse? During the apocalypse, you should eat food that’ll give the necessary energy for body functions and keep you hydrated. If you don’t want to go wrong, you should have canned food and bottled water.

The reason is simple. Your body won’t go more than 3 days without water and 30 days without food. So, you should give priority to food that will give you the minimum caloric intake you need in the least number of portions. For instance, food that is made to last a long time usually has a high concentration of good fats and protein. This is the best option because it makes you full.

Another thing that you must consider, and it’s just as important as the caloric intake, is the expiration date of the food. Since you don’t know for how long human-race will go without producing more food, you should have enough to last you for a long time.

Give priority to foods that are non-perishable or the ones that last a long time like 1-2 years. So, without further ado, take a long at the things that you should eat during the apocalypse. They may not necessarily be the tastiest, but they’re going to get you through it.

Canned Food Is A Must

Canned food is a symbol of the prepping lifestyle. It’s easy to store, great for your caloric intake, and they can last forever. This is why it’s the best option for things to eat during the apocalypse when you consider everything. When SHTF all you’re going to wish is for food that fills you up and gives you energy throughout your day.

Another great thing about canned food is that it’s really easy to store it. Since you can pile it up the cans, it doesn’t take too much space and you can put it in a small room. Not only that but canned food is a great source of energy and it doesn’t expire.

So, all you have to do is to get as much as you can and get started on your prepping strategy. If you learn how to store food, you’re halfway there. Just remember to calculate how much food you’re going to need. Canned beans check every prepping box, so you should consider it as a great option. The 365 Everyday Value black beans are the best. Check them out here.

Bottled Water

Another essential item to get you through the apocalypse is bottled water. First of all, it’s important that you understand that you won’t get by more than 3 days without it. Second of all, it’s important to have clean water available for other things such as cooking. When you put those things into perspective, you understand that you’ll need it more than most things.

Now, to store water isn’t as easy. Water can, in a way, expire. If it isn’t properly stored, bottled water can be the ideal condition for algae to proliferate. We’re talking about a microscopic organism that will cause you problems such as diarrhea. Obviously, you don’t want this, especially during the apocalypse.

So, make sure that you do get bottled water, otherwise, you won’t survive, and that you store it properly so it lasts a long time. After all, you don’t know how long you’ll be unable to leave the house and get more.

Also, make sure to calculate how much water you’ll need for at least 30 days. Start with packs like the Qure Alkaline Water 24-pack. Take a sip here.

Energy Bars

The ideal food to eat during the apocalypse is anything that has lots of protein or other energy sources and is easy to store. This is the main reason energy bars are such a great option. They’re really small, considering how much energy they provide you with. Due to their size, it’s easier for you to store them anywhere that you want as long as it has the right temperature conditions for it.

Still, before you go ahead and buy a bunch of energy bars, it’s important to keep in mind that you have to choose the best brands, otherwise you’ll be eating pure, unhealthy sugar. Also, it’s a good idea to vary between sweet and salty flavors.

You can use the energy bars as a sort of dessert or as your main meal when other energy sources are not available. You can even conduct an experiment to find out how many bars you need to get satiated. The best bar has the nutritional value that’ll keep you healthy like Kate’s Real Food Granola Bars. Get a taste here.

Fruit Juice Can Last A Long Time

Fruit juice is another drink that you should definitely consider to have during the apocalypse. The reason goes beyond your love for sweet beverages. Fruit juices like orange and black cherry can last a long time. If properly stored, there’s no reason for them to expire fast.

Now, fruit juice will not help you as much with your hydration game the way water will, but it can help you with other things. Besides drinking, fruit juice can help you maintain your sugar levels in the right conditions.

To store the juice correctly, you need to take care of humidity, sunlight, and make sure everything is sealed the way it’s supposed to and come in a high-quality bottle like the POMONA Pure Black Cherry Juice. Get your drink here.

Cereal Crops

Cereal crops like rice and corn are a great addition to your prepping strategy. They should be in your list of things to eat during the apocalypse. First of all, they’re great sources of carbs and will give you the energy to resist the toughest days of an apocalyptical world.

Cereal crops can also be used to store water and other purposes that farmers use. Still, the main point is that they’re heavy carbs in the sense that they make you full pretty easily. You also have to consider that you’ll need water to cook it, which is another thing to consider about the quantity that you’ll need to have.

So, as you can see, cereal crops, especially rice and corn, are the perfect choice of food to eat during the apocalypse. They’ll be great to fulfill your caloric intake and give you the necessaire energy for your body to function well. Check the Libby’s Whole Kernel Corn. Get your corn here.

Peanut Butter Doesn’t Need Refrigeration

Another great option of food to have during the apocalypse is peanut butter. First of all, it doesn’t need refrigeration, which makes it that much easier for you to store it. This also makes it more difficult to spoil or expire. So, you’re left with food that lasts a long time, doesn’t need maintenance when storing, and is a great source of fat and sugar.

The fat and sugar in the peanut butter are good ones. This will give you lots of energy and will fulfill your caloric intake. You won’t have to worry about storing it as much as you’d have with other types of food.

Make sure to put it in a place with ventilation and that doesn’t get too hot. Try to find out how much you’d need for the time that you’re prepping for. Also, make sure to pick high-quality peanut butter to ensure durability. The Crazy Richard’s All-Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter is just like that. Try it out here.

Dried Fruits

Finally, you should also consider having dried fruits as part of your strategy. They’re really hard to get spoiled and are a great source of glucose. The best way to incorporate them into your strategy is to have them as snacks or dessert. They’ll give a boost in your insulin levels, which is great in times of scarcity.

Another great thing is that they’re small. This makes them ideal to store anywhere. Especially if you have not much space in your house, this will come in handy for you. Just make sure to store them properly so you don’t have problems in storing them.

So, make sure to get as much as you can since this will be a great addition to your strategy. Eat them as a snack or dessert. They’re really healthy and will help you keep the energy throughout your day. Check the tastiest dried fruit here.

Final Thoughts

These are what you should eat during the apocalypse. As much as you may feel tempted to get ice cream or any other junk food, they’re not the best option if you’re thinking long-term. They’ll only take up space in your pantry and you’ll be left with nothing fast when SHTF.

So, make sure to take the expiration day, if it has any, the size of the unit, how much you’re going to need it, and the caloric intake before you choose the food that you’re going to get. be on your list of things to eat during the apocalypse. First of all, they’re great sources of carbs and will give you the energy to resist the toughest days of an apocalyptical world.

During the hardest of times, like in natural disasters and plane crashes, people go to extremes to survive. We’ve all heard stories of people eating all sorts of things like even human flesh to get by a few more days and try to survive what can only be called an impossible situation. When the brain gets into survival mode all it can think of is methods to extend its lifespan a little more even if it’s just a few more minutes.

Now, the most important thing to survive is to have water sources available. Even more than food since you’d die faster without water. Your body would collapse in about 3 days without water. That’s why it would so important for you to worry about having enough water if you ever find yourself stranded somewhere for a long time. People have gone as far as drinking urine or animal blood.

All those possibilities got me thinking, can drinking animal blood hydrate you? Drinking animal blood can hydrate you, but the risks outweigh the benefits. Still, if you’re in a situation that you desperately need to hydrate your body and needs that extra push to have the energy to find real water sources, drinking blood can be a viable idea.

Still, you have to think about all the variables that would involve in doing something like that. After all, you have to consider what animal it’d be, mammal, reptile, or birds. You also have to consider what type of place you’re in and what happened.

So, if you read this article ‘til the end, you’ll find out everything you need to know before you do something like this. This will ensure that you don’t put your health in jeopardy while making sure that you survive.

The Risks Outweigh The Benefits

When you drink another animal’s blood, you put yourself into a very dangerous situation. There a lot of pathogens and parasites that can harm your body. A lot of viruses, bacteria, and parasites are transmittable through an animal’s blood. This is the main risk you’d expose yourself to, and it might not be worth it.

Now, let’s say that you’re lost in the woods for days or at the top of a mountain not knowing when rescue will come. Then, drinking an animal’s blood with the chance of contracting a disease may still be better than imminent death. Especially, if you’re in SHTF situation where you need to buy yourself some time.

So, the animal blood will help you gain a few extra hours or day. In this scenario, you still have to be aware that you’re putting yourself in great danger, but it might be worth since it’ll help get by.

It Can Hydrate You

So, yes you will get exposed to possible pathogens. Now, the good thing is that drinking the animal’s blood will hydrate your body. Your body does have the capacity to break down the blood and extract the water that is in it. This is great because it then turns the blood in a source of water for you.

If you can be certain that the animal is healthy, you know that you won’t get any diseases. Still, there might be other problems that you can read below. The point is that the blood will hydrate your body, unlike salty water that will actually make you die faster if you’re in the middle of the ocean or on an island.

Now, it’s important to understand that the blood should not be a long-term or even medium-term solution. This would be the kind of extreme situation where you don’t have another choice. Then, it might be a viable option to find a way to hydrate your body and keep crucial functions of your organs working.

Breaking Fast Is Dangerous

Now, it’s important to understand that if you’re without eating and drinking something for days, breaking fast is dangerous. When you’re body goes on forced fasting, your organs don’t work the way they should. This means that your kidney and other organs are retaining things that they should be releasing.

So, when you break the fasting, you release those toxins. This can poison you. This would take you to your imminent death. This happens a lot to soldiers and war survivals. They walk for days and break the fasting too quickly.

This is important to remember that you should be careful about this. You could potentially drink the blood but do so while being careful to not break the fast too rapidly. This way the toxins wouldn’t kill you. Of course, the best way to make sure that nothing of this happens is when you have access to a hospital and doctors to help you out.

If There’s Life, There Might Be Water

Before you decide that drinking an animal’s blood is a great choice for you, you could also think that this animal is a form of life. As a form of life, it needs water to survive. This means that there might be a water source around. It could potentially be near you. Obviously, the animal might have traveled a long distance.

This would mean that the water source is far away. Now, it’s not likely that the water source is that far away even if it’s a tree. So, you should consider if you can walk more to find the water source. You can also drink the blood just to have the strength to find the water source.

So, make sure to consider that there could be a water source nearby. This would eliminate the need to drink the blood in the first place. Still, if you don’t have the strength to walk more to find the water source, you can drink the blood to help you with that.

Beware Of Iron Poisoning

Drinking blood could potentially lead you to iron poisoning. This means that if you drink too much blood, it could increase the iron levels in your system and make it collapse. This would be more likely to happen if you drank blood for a long time. Now, as much as it isn’t likely to happen in the first time, it could still happen since your body would already be weak.

The main thing that iron poisoning would have to be considered. It’d be a real possibility that you could end up with something worse than you already had. The point is that drinking blood could lead to something like this that could be worse the dehydration.

So, as you can see, drinking animal’s blood should be the last option thing. It’s too dangerous considering the diseases and the poisoning that could happen from this.

Meat Can Be A Water Source

Now, this is a great thing to talk about. Meat can be a great water source for you. You likely think about water and liquid as a way to stay hydrated, but meat also has water in it.

This means that you could hydrate your body by eating meat. There would be enough in it to keep you alive for a few more days. In certain known stories, people have survived by eating fish due to the water in the meat as well.

So, you should consider that if you have access to edible meat, you could have access to a water source until you find the next best thing. The important thing is that you look for other non-obvious sources of water for you.

Final Thoughts

This is it. You can drink animal blood, but you must be aware that the chances of you contracting a disease are real. The animal could be carrying pathogens that could lead you to your death. Now, depending on your situation, it might be a risk worth taking. Just make sure that you do look for other water sources before you decide what to do.

 

Imagine that you’re in the middle of a snowstorm, and you see yourself stuck in your house. You need to use your truck, but you know that you ran out of diesel. The next gas station that you can have access to diesel gallons may be too far away. Walking by yourself all the way there may not be safe or even possible.

This is why knowing other alternatives that you can use in this situation is so important. For instance, you can consider other kinds of fuel that you use. It’s important to know your options, especially because this can save your life. After all, snowstorms are quite dangerous and should be taken seriously.

Thinking about solutions to replace diesel, I wondered, can you use kerosene in a diesel engine? You can use kerosene in a diesel engine for emergencies that the engine will work perfectly. Now, there may be problems due to certain characteristics that kerosene has, but that can be solved with the addition of lubricants.

Anyway, the important thing that you should keep in mind is that in case of emergencies you can use the kerosene with no problem. Still, there are a few red flags that you should consider, and that’s what you’re going to find out below.

The important thing is that you learn how and when you can make this sort of replacement. The kerosene is similar to the diesel but isn’t the same thing, so you will have to consider that.

Diesel Is Pure Fuel

The main reason that you should be able to use kerosene in a diesel engine is that kerosene is pure fuel. In other words, it’s a purer version of diesel. It burns really well, although you should expect to lose some power in your engine if you make use of it.

Now, you shouldn’t worry about giving any sort of problems to the engine due to the continuous use of kerosene. The pipes should work accordingly and not suffer any damage from it. All you should keep in mind is that it’s better to make this an exception and not a rule.

So, you can use the kerosene since it’s pure fuel. The engine will be able to work with it normally, but it’s also important to make it clear that it’s not the ideal situation. You should use diesel as much as you can. You just have to make sure that the kerosene is of good quality and that you don’t use it all the time.

Add Lubricant

Since kerosene is pure fuel, you should remember that it may cause the engine to burn drier. The only way to fix this is to add lubricant to make sure that things run smoother. Of course, you should look for lubricants that are good to be added in this specific situation. They’ll work better with diesel engines and with the kerosene.

The reason you should worry about all this is that the kerosene has little lubricity. This can cause damage to the engine in the long run. Also, it can damage the fuel pumps due to this loss in lubricity compared to the diesel fuel. That’s why a smart, fast solution would be to add a lubricant.

So, if you want to make sure that your engine and your fuel pumps won’t have any problem due to the use of kerosene as fuel, you should consider adding a few drops of automatic transmission fluid to the kerosene. The Royal Purple 06320-6PK Max is the best transmission fluid for kerosene use. Take a look here.

Benefits Of Using Kerosene

The main benefit of using kerosene over diesel is that kerosene doesn’t gel as easily during the winter. Kerosene burns cooler than diesel. This is a great solution to truck owners that have to drive during harsh, cold winters for long periods. It’s a great way to protect the engine and save some money. There’s some debate if putting some additive to diesel wouldn’t be a better solution, but kerosene is also great.

Now, it’s important to point out that using kerosene would make your engine lose some power and efficiency. This, in turn, may not be worth using kerosene, depending on what you want to do. Obviously, you should understand that you have to consider that you still have lots of advantages of using it during cold weather periods.

So, as much as there’s the major benefit of using kerosene during winter, you should consider that you’re going to lose power and efficiency. This is why the best solution may be to put additive to the diesel instead of using kerosene. The Archoil AR6200 is a great option to use for this. Check it out here.

Store Them In Different Colored Cans

One more tip is to store the diesel and the kerosene in different colored cans. The reason is simple. You do not want to mix them up or confuse yourself that you’re getting one instead of the other. This is a popular method to make sure that you don’t get things mixed and use the wrong one.

You can also store them in different places, but chances are that you have one garage where you store your fuel. This is why it’s important that you have this sort of organization to make sure that you don’t get the fuel confused. After all, if you do, it might give you trouble with your engine.

So, just make sure that you don’t get them confused. The best way to do this is to store them in different colored cans. It’s a simple method that will ensure that you don’t do anything that would damage your engine at any point.

You’ll Lose Some Power And Efficiency

As stated above, the main downside of using kerosene instead of diesel in your diesel engine is that you lose power and efficiency. Kerosene does burn cooler, which is great for the quantity of fuel that is going to consume. It also doesn’t gel as easily as diesel would, but you get the loss of power and efficiency of the engine.

This may not be a problem at first, but if we’re talking about months of continuous use, there might be an economic disadvantage of using kerosene instead of diesel. The best that you can do is to test it out for yourself and see what works better in this case.

So, make sure to see what would work better for you. For instance, if you intend to use kerosene during the whole winter, it might not be worth losing power and efficiency. If we’re talking about doing it for a few days, it might be a completely different conversation.

Diesel Should Be The Rule and Kerosene The Exception

The reason that you shouldn’t make kerosene use your rule is that is arguably bad for your engine. Long-term use may damage your engine. Of course, this doesn’t take into account the use of lubricant along with the kerosene. Also, if you’re going to do the use by season, it may change the whole perspective.

What you should keep in mind is that diesel may be the best for your engine on the long-term. You should try to use it as much as you can. Unless you do a test using kerosene and find it that it works better for you than using diesel.

As long as you test it out and see it for yourself, you’re good to go. Try to change both options a few times and see how the engine behaves.

Final Thoughts

So, you can use the kerosene in a diesel engine even though is not always recommended. Remember to either add lubricant to the kerosene or transmission fluid to the diesel. These will make sure that your engine works better and that it lasts longer.