You may have heard about using booze, like vodka, in a pinch as the “alcohol” component in homemade hand sanitizer. The truth is, only grain alcohol is high enough “proof” for that. A sprit’s “proof” is half of its alcohol content. So 80 proof vodka, which is the proof of most vodkas, is 40% ...

America used to be a nation of family farmers and gardeners. My grandfather took great pride and joy in his backyard food factory. The local climate supported not only staples such as corn and string beans but more exotic produce such as apricots and walnuts. Before the rise of the ...

Elmer Fudd isn’t the only guy gunning for “wascally wabbits”. Gardeners consider the fluffy furballs a major nuisance. In a single day, an entire patch of vegetables can be wiped out by Peter Rabbit and his varmint friends. City slickers may not appreciate how annoying it is to see hours ...

When it comes to preparedness and survival situations, “shelter” can have various meanings and contexts. There was a time not too long ago, when the idea of a “bomb shelter” was very common. Many decades have passed since the end of the Cold War. It is debatable given the technology of the day, ...

From the Department of an Ounce of Prevention comes this friendly reminder to have “the conversation” with your kids. No, not the one about the birds and the bees – the one about the scum and the scams. Any child old enough to hold an electronic device is old enough to learn ...

“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” We all learned that little ditty in grade school, along with how Columbus’ expeditions not only “discovered America,” but also “proved the Earth was round.” Over 400 years later, NASA provided what should have been incontrovertible proof — ...

This is part 2 of a two-part article on surviving the ordeal of buying a car. Part 1 set the stage: “Life is full of experiences that might be best described as ordeals. Swimming with dolphins may be cool but swimming with sharks? … Maybe not so much.” Plan to Swim with the Car Sharks ...

Life is full of experiences that might be best described as ordeals. Swimming with dolphins may be cool but swimming with sharks? … Maybe not so much. And yet, thousands of regular people all over this great land swim with sharks every day – car sharks, that is. Certainly, not every ...

From hijacking the nuclear codes or stealing some other military “doomsday device” as seen in dozens of 007 movies, to the simple snap of Thanos’ fingers gloved in the Infinity Gauntlet — there have been countless on-screen baddies hell-bent on destroying planet earth. But, the truth is, ...

When you rely on extreme heat to cook most of your meals, burns are bound to happen. Imagine having to rely on open fires in an emergency situation. How many people have you seen on the show Naked and Afraid get burned? It’s happens often, doesn’t it? So, it’s good to be prepared and understand ...