
The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 1973 - pif
http://priceonomics.com/the-great-toilet-paper-scare-of-1973/
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stretchwithme
Price controls caused many of the shortages. The US went off the gold standard
and inflation was the result.

The government instituted price controls and shortages were the result. We
even had shortages of natural gas, which, at the time, came entirely from with
the US.

In this environment, such a rumor was not hard to believe.

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copperx
Not even this caused Americans to start using bidets. The thought of using
toilet paper to wipe one's behind is savage.

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TeMPOraL
Still remembering a sugar bubble in my country few years ago, when the price
of a kilogram basically tripled within few weeks, this article reminds me that
a lot of problems are caused just by people being idiots. That is, following
their short-sighted interests.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
> _this article reminds me that a lot of problems are caused just by people
> being idiots_ //

Actually I think in these situations the problem is that individually the
people _are_ acting rationally. The only way to be more rational is to act as
a group, which requires reliable information, and/or requires government (or
other similar bodies/structures) that you trust with your basic needs.

When the gov say there isn't a petrol shortage you know that in the past
they've said this because there is and they're trying to avoid panic. Unless
you've got better info "panic" buying seems quite rational to me.

If it only costs a small amount to buy lots of toilet paper but not having any
would be a major inconvenience then any suggestion that might pan out to be
true is worth following - you're down a few dollars that you would have
eventually spent any way.

Isn't it precisely that people aren't being idiotic that makes such runs on
resources [or banks] so difficult to handle: you go on TV and say "don't panic
buy or we really will run out" \- well that just tells everyone to make sure
they buy it first, because everyone else is buying and so "we really will run
out". Your best bet is to have trustworthy news reporters that can show date
verified information contradicting the shortage - eg warehouses packed with
toilet paper that the experts say is enough to last x months of normal usage.

Not looking after your short term interests leads to privations.

