Rules of Thumb is a great source for tricks and tips. I recently spotted this trick for winning a gunfight on the site:
If several people are advancing on you in a gunfight, shoot the one furthest away first, the closest one second, and then retreat or repeat the process.
L. Geer, San Diego, California
There was also this tip on throwing a knife:
If your knife balances more than one inch from the tang on the handle side, it is handle heavy and should be thrown from the blade. Likewise, if it balances more than one inch from the tang on the blade side, it is blade heavy and should be thrown from the handle.
Survivalist at a gun show, Lansing, New York
When dueling with firearms, always aim lower than your opponent’s vital area–to pierce the heart, aim at the knees.
Jim Barber, historian, Springfield, Missouri
This tip on preventing burglary:
The average burglar will spend only five or six minutes trying to break into a house. If you make your place look formidable, he’ll go to your neighbor’s instead.
Walter Pitkin, literary agent, Weston, Connecticut
This trick on a more secure apartment:
Avoid apartments on the top floor, especially those accessible from the roof by a fire escape. They are most likely to be burglarized.
Steven M. Keisman, New York City high school resource coordinator
This tip for spotting a bad check:
Ninety percent of bad checks carry numbers below 150, indicating a new account.
Francine Green, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
This trick on the timing of a crime:
Find out when the police change shifts in the neighborhood where you plan to commit a crime. You can count on 25 minutes with no patrols starting with the last 15 minutes of the shift that’s ending. During this time, policemen are usually writing up reports and talking to the incoming officers.
Sheridan Chaney, Cindy Latham, & Dale West, former street painters, Hereford, Texas
Shoplifters are most active on Fridays and Sundays between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Roger Griffin, retail security agency official in Parade magazine, Van Nuys, California
This trick on spotting a tail in the car:
If you think a car behind you is following you, make a right turn, and then make another right turn. And if they’re still back there after the third right turn, you’ve got a problem. Head for the cop shop.
Scott Parker
This advice on missing persons:
The elderly head for low ground. Suicides head for the highest elevation. Hunters wander uphill within a three-mile radius or downhill within a six-mile radius of where they were last seen.
Scott Parker, data specialist, Beaumont, Texas
[E]at six-legged insects and small furry animals – they are almost always good to eat.
And this trick on finding your way:
If you are lost in the woods, always travel downstream. If you are lost in the astral plane, always travel toward the light.
Pat Morningstar, anthropologist, Tallahassee, Florida
Be sure to check out Rules of Thumb, buy their book and be smart about following every piece of advice you read. What are your favorite tricks and tips? Let us know in the comments!
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