Today, we live in a world governed by local, state, and federal laws. During the apocalypse, structured life will fall apart. Chaos will overwhelm the system. When that happens, government oversight will be at a minimum if it exists at all. What was illegal yesterday may just be the key to surviving the apocalypse.
You can learn some of these illegal skills and practice them legally on your own property or with legal training tools. You’ll want to check your local laws. These skills are illegal for a reason. Until the governing society collapses, you can expect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if you use them illegally.
Lock Picking
You’re out on a supply run and you’ve found the biggest supply stash yet, all locked behind a giant padlock. Try as you might, the door won’t budge. Good thing you spent the prior year honing your lock-picking skills.
You can buy clear lock-picking sets and tools online. There are plenty of helpful tutorials to walk you through it, first on the clear ones to see how to do it, then on the actual locks.
What you can legally do now:
Watch the Lock Picking Lawyer on YouTube.
Buy a practice lock pick set (not legal in all states).
Hotwire a car
You’ve seen enough action movies. You could do this in your sleep, right? Well, just in case you want to learn how to hot wire your own car, here’s a video.
Thankfully, hot-wiring a modern vehicle is much more difficult now.
If you find yourself in need of a vehicle during the apocalypse, you’ll want to find something 2-3 decades old. Want a newer ride? You’ll want to know how to bypass the newer anti-theft devices vehicles are equipped with now.
What you can legally do now:
Watch a hot-wiring tutorial.
Buy a car that can’t be easily hot-wired and have spare keys.
Hacking
While maybe not be your first thought for a post-apocalypse career, the ability to recover files, defeat encryption, and bypass security features could make you a valuable asset.
If electronics survive the apocalypse, anti-theft devices, update requirements, and software requiring logins will leave much of our current world inoperable.
Having a digital library of open source operating systems, downloaded books/manuals, tools, programs, and entertainment could just pay off. Then again, having actual books and a record player is also a good backup plan!
What you can legally do now:
Download open-source offline tools and resources.
Learn computer coding skills and ethical hacking.
Learn about electronics and how they work.+
Rainwater collection
If the government could tax the sun and the rain, they would. Until then, they will regulate it.
For example, the Colorado House Bill (16-1005 PDF) restricts rainwater collection as follows:
-Limited to two 55-gallon rain barrel
-Can only be collected from a residential building with less than four units
-Cannot be used for drinking or for indoor use (sorry indoor plants)
-Cannot be transported off the property
If society collapses, collecting clean water for drinking and farming will be a vital apocalypse skill. Rainwater is one of the freshest sources you can get.
What you can legally do now:
Read up on your state laws.
Have a 2-week supply of water. One gallon per day per person.
Buy a Sawyer water bottle & filter.
Medicinal plants
Humans have been using plants for medicinal purposes for millennia. From aloe to marijuana and the opium poppy plant, medicinal plant applications can range from homeopathic and medicinal to recreational or addictive.
Choosing to grow several of these plants could easily put you on top of the underworld, sure to arise after the apocalypse. You’ll also be a high-profile target for both gang wars and any remnants of society interested in restoring control. Alternatively, learning how to identify these plants now can help you steer clear of danger.
What you can legally do now:
Get in better shape.
Learn to identify beneficial and harmful plants.
Grow a garden and try to keep a few medicinal houseplants.
Buy a good book on recognizing and using useful plants around you.
Sutures/Stitches
Dealing with a medical emergency like a large laceration is best left to the professionals. That’s why most states have a law specifically stating that you must be a medical professional with the proper skills to suture a patient.
Unfortunately, doctors may be in short supply during the apocalypse. Thankfully, who’s going to stop you from suturing up that 4-inch laceration left by that sword-wielding alien?
You can find practice suture kits online and practice the skill on silicone pads with multiple wound shapes.
What you can legally do now:
Take a “Stop the Bleed” course.
Learn basic first aid skills by becoming an EMT.
Buy a practice suture set online and watch some YouTube.
Radio Broadcasting
The FCC has a variety of rules and regulations to make our lives run more smoothly. Transmitting on the wrong frequency, broadcasting with too much power, or just using outdated wireless microphones at your church could violate current FCC regulations, resulting in fines or criminal charges.
As society collapses, most of these signals (cellular, radio, and TV) will go with it. Amateur radio enthusiasts will broadcast through every stage of the apocalypse. They’ll know information before anyone else.
CB communication, police and EMS radios, pirated radio stations, and other forms of communication will pop up shortly after. If you know what you’re doing (or maybe if you don’t), these signals can be amplified to reach further distances.
What you can legally do now:
Become a licensed Ham radio operator.
Familiarize yourself with other forms of communication (CB, walkie-talkies, and smoke signals).
Knowing these skills or maybe avoiding people using these skills may give you an advantage in the crazy way of life that is sure to arise after an apocalyptic event.
What skills do you think will be vital for survival during the apocalypse?
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Fascinating! What a great, informative, interesting read!