NatGeo Prepper Facts

Episode 11

In 2008 China became became the worlds largest exporter of goods

China owns $1.1 TRILLION in US bonds

Most people can not distinguish between classifications of gold if it is not stamped on the gold piece, nor could they distinguish between mickle, silver, sterling, white gold, or platinum

Canned dog food is not regulated by the FDA or USDA for human consumption, each can has about 300 calories and high protein **NOTE 1**

In a blind taste test of canned meats and gourmet goose liver (faux gras), less than 17% of people could identify which one was dog food

In this episode there is a shot of a stock trading board - companies shown are (in order of appearance:
• Dupont (DD)
• Disney (DIS)
• GE (GE)
• Home Depot (HD)
• HP (HPQ)
• IBM (IBM)
• intel (INTC)
• Johnson&Johnson (JJ)

1,140 = number of rounds the average gun owner buys in one year

One of the earliest recorded uses of a pipe b--b was in 1886 at a rally in Chicago

Sand tables are used by military officers to plot strategy

Sand tables go back to at least the 1st century AD when the Roman Empire used them

America is one of the largest importers of Chinese goods

Barleys have been used by the US military since 1916. They were used to defend the US border from Pancho Villa's raiders

The average American uses 20,805 sheets of toilet paper a year

According to a recent gallop poll, 47% of American adults report having a gun on their property **notes 2 & 3**

An underground bunker would maintain a constant 55F temperature all year if buried beneath the frost line

The average saving account (today) gives a yearly interest return of <1% while the value of silver has nearly tripled since 2008, going from $11/oz to $32 /oz

Preppers use PVC to make tubes to bury their valuables in so that metal detectors will not find them

Some precious metal dealers have reported customers hide their silver in plain sight by painting the bars black to use as doorstops **Note 4**

Shipping containers can cost up to $5000 each, and are water tight **Note 5**

there about 12.8 million unemployed workers in the US, more than the ENTIRE population of Greece

51% of Americans believe we might face some sort of economic meltdown within the next 25 years

in 2009 a British man using a metal detector found 11 lbs of Anglo-Saxon gold. Belonging to the British crown, it's worth $6.3 Million **Note 6**

As of gentlest 2012, there were 5,846,000 mortgages past due **NOTE 7**

M25 gas masks were developed by the military to protect tanks drivers from chemical attacks

About 12% of people suffer from claustrophobia

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**NOTE 1: remember the Eukabena dog food problems of several years ago when dogs were dying from polymer being accidentally mixed into the canned dog food? I suggest extreme CAUTION ... Animal food recalls are not always given news coverage and many go unnoticed by the general public

Note 2: here is an error on NatGeo's pop up .. It read "47% percent of American adults" ... Someone slipped it past the proof-reader and the editor (unless they're the same person of course)

Note 3: National gun sales have shown a sharp rise this year after tax return checks began to be mailed out ... and there has been a marked increase of early filets this year as well

Note 4: in an episode of "Hogans Heroes" they painted gold bars with red paint and then used them as bricks to build some steps

Note 5: actually I'm wondering if these storage containers will also act as Faraday cages since they are made of metal which would allow EMPs to be diverted from any electronics inside

Note 6: I'm betting that was one pissed off British subject! You have to wonder if an American found buried gold from the civil war, would they have to turn it over to the federal government? What if it was Confederate gold? Makes you wonder

Note 7: many people wait to pay their mortgages until the last day of their "grace period" not realizing that they are being considered "past due" and ruining their credit rating as well - so while the number given is high, it may not reflect the true number of homes in jeopardy of foreclosure

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Final Note - I found the last prepper featured rather disturbing ... There was no indication that he has had any medical training yet he is putting IVs into his wife's arm ... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME ... While most people have experienced a bruise from a needle missing or nicking a vein (such as when having blood work done or an IV if you've had a baby int he hospital), an improperly inserted IV can cause a number of life threatening health issues

That's why nurses have to go to school for things like this!

Even though she may have had some
Medical training (she work full-time in a medical lab, and she may be trained to draw blood or insert IVs, I'm guessing she is not a trainer (she even commented that she didn't think he would actually insert the needle)

You can also tell that his wife is totally stressed out by all this (during the whole episode you can see her nose is red from crying) ... She even comments to HIM that one of the prep items he wants to get is the cost of a home - $75,000 (and yes there are places where you can get a very nice home for that price but you may not have a lot of land ... Or you could get a plot of land in some rural areas for that price with or without an existing home)

Since his bug-out plan included going into an area that his family was jot comfortable in, why not take that $75,000 and fix up the area so that his family would feel more comfortable there? maybe paint the walls, put in a couple of bunks, perhaps some form of safe heating unit, maybe even something to keep the critters away that the family is afraid of ... Unless he does not own the building and is only renting it, then he would not have the authority to do so -- know your lease

I was especially shocked by some of the things this man said on camera -- from saying the kids would "drag us down" if they take the prepping seriously ("put your gas mask in and stop playing chess or I'm throwing it in the garbage" I'm guessing he was talking the chess board) to his telling the older kids that he hoped his wife wouldn't go into the bug-out shelter with them to telling the kids that their grandparents would be left behind ... WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!

I also noticed that there was no "follow up" clip at the end of this one - it may have been simply for time reasons or perhaps he declined to submit one ... Though jot unheard of in this series (not every prepper had an "after" video) ...