Preppers are those who prepare in advance for disaster, driven by motivations including practical, political, religious, and apocalyptic concerns. Their incentives include fears of natural disasters, economic instability, social unrest, personal crises, and nuclear war. Many distrust our government or public systems to provide the help needed during a crises. Critics may see preppers as paranoid or extreme but their actions reflect a deep cultural value: the instinct to endure. Can we learn anything practical from them?