A version of this story ran in The Virginian-Pilot on Sept. 14, 2005. Hurricane or no, we’re in for a blow. Time to start thinking about how to secure the woodpile or lash the garbage cans to a tree.

For many of us, untangling our earbuds is the extent of our survivalist knot knowledge. Tying knots is just for sailors and mountain climbers, right? Turns out, there are a few simple knots that you ...

Knots: they attach us to ropes, connect slings to trees, substitute for dropped gear, secure tents, create belay anchors. Like the Force, knots surround us, protect us, and bind our galaxy together.