Archived Truck found filled with 18,000 pounds of stolen toilet paper (kiro7.com)
submitted ago by amenanon
Posted by: amenanon
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Archived on: 6/19/2020 10:00:00 AM
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Archived Truck found filled with 18,000 pounds of stolen toilet paper (kiro7.com)
submitted ago by amenanon
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[–] joeneesima 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
There was a TP shortage in the 70's...nothing new under the sun...will we ever learn?
Some snippets from the article:
The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 1973
For most Americans, 1973 was marred by shortages. In the year’s first few months, the stock market crashed and lost over 45% of its value -- one of the worst declines in history. In October, an Arab oil embargo sparked an ongoing crisis that saw gas rise from $3 per barrel to nearly $12 per barrel. Quietly, the U.S. spiraled into a period of economic stagnation and malaise it hadn't seen since the Great Depression (albeit, much less serious).
Gasoline, electricity, and onions were heavily reported as goods and services that were in limited supply, and Americans cultivated a “shortage psychology.” Then, right in the midst of this economic turmoil, a toilet paper scare ignited a communal panic attack. Perhaps the most memorable shortage in a decade of shortages, it involved government officials, a famous television personality, a respected congressman, droves of reporters, and industrial executives -- but it was the consumers themselves who were ultimately blamed.
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In the climate of shortages, oil scares, and economic duress, Froelich’s claim was absorbed without an iota of doubt, and the media ran wild with it. Wire services, radio hosts, and international correspondents all sensationalized the story; words like “may” and “potentially” were lost in translation, and the shortage was reported as a doomed truth. Television stations aired footage from the Scott Paper Company -- one of the ten largest producers in the U.S. -- of toilet paper rolls shooting off the production line.
The ground had been set for a consumer panic; all it needed was a spark to ignite it. When Johnny Carson cracked a joke about toilet paper on his television talk show, things got serious. “You know, we’ve got all sorts of shortages these days,” he told 20 million viewers. “But have you heard the latest? I’m not kidding. I saw it in the papers. There’s a shortage of toilet paper!”
Absolute madness ensued. Millions of Americans swarmed grocery outlets and hoarded all the toilet paper they could get their hands on. “I heard it on the news, so I brought 15 extra rolls,” one customer told The New York Times. “For my baby shower,” said another, “I told my party guests to bring toilet paper.” In the chaos, company officers and industry leaders told the public to remain calm; store owners ordered astronomical quantities of toilet paper, and set limits of two rolls per customer. Nobody seemed to play by the rules.
“If people wouldn’t hoard and get so excited about this, everything would be okay,” a supermarket executive told the St. Petersburg Times. He subsequently increased his toilet paper from 39 cents to 69 per roll, but customers still cleared his shelves each day. Merchandisers struggled to re-stock supplies, as the boxcars they relied on for shipments were in high demand by thousands of other stores.
For four long months, toilet paper was a rare commodity. It was bartered and traded, and a black market even emerged before the whole ordeal subsided in February of 1974. Slowly but surely, the American public realized that there had never been a shortage to begin with: rather, it had been artificially created by a pop culture frenzy.
https://priceonomics.com/the-great-toilet-paper-scare-of-1973/
I was pretty young at the time (ahem...) but I do remember it being on the news...which my folks watched every day on the Tee-Vee.
[–] amenanon [S] 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
Thanks for sharing that. It's probably the same people reliving the whole toilet paper panic of 1973. wow!
[–] unchainedmind 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
that is about the year we got off the gold standard and started to print the fed's monopoly money. Fascinating!!
[–] kishind ago
1971 bucked the gold standard because ww2 debts were promises of gold.
1973 was the year minimum wage had the most buying power. Marked by shortages, hmm...
[–] NewSouthernBelle ago
Interesting observation!
So maybe it's now when we go back on the gold standard.
[–] PeggyGilmour ago
When Johnny Carson, late night talk host, made a joke of it, they blamed him for causing more TP shortage since everyone went out and bought it all out.