Unless the disaster is global, gold will always have value unless things get to the point where everyone is starving. Unfortunately it’s easier than you might think to get to that point. Industrialized countries are wholly dependent on technology (electricity + computers + satellites) for our vastly complex food…

Suggest you take that envelope to the bank and exchange those bills for brand new ones every 10 years or so. 15 years ago 100s had almost no security measures. It might not be so easy to spend those old bills now, particularly in a crisis. Yeah, I know, “this bill is tender for all debts public and private”. But try…

I had a manager who make me ask this in interviews when hiring engineering fresh-outs 20+ years ago. The rock displaces more water when it’s in the boat than when it’s in the lake, due to it being denser than water. When you toss the rock in the lake, the net loss of displacement causes the lake level to fall. Don’t…