The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 1973

Priceonomics ^ | Zachary Crockett

[SamAdams76]

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.

Like most scares, the toilet paper fiasco all started with an unsubstantiated rumor. In November of 1973, several news agencies reported a tissue shortage in Japan. Initially, the release went unnoticed and nobody seemed to put much stock in it -- save for one Harold V. Froelich. Froelich, a 41-year-old Republican congressman, presided over a heavily-forested district in Wisconsin and had recently been receiving complaints from constituents about a reduced stream of pulp paper. On November 16th, he released his own press statement -- “The Government Printing Office is facing a serious shortage of paper” -- to little fanfare.

However, a few weeks later, Froelich uncovered a document that indicated the government’s National Buying Center had fallen far short of securing bids to provide toilet paper for its troops and bureaucrats. On December 11, he issued another, more serious press release:

“The U.S. may face a serious shortage of toilet paper within a few months...we hope we don’t have to ration toilet tissue...a toilet paper shortage is no laughing matter. It is a problem that will potentially touch every American.”

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.

In the aftermath, Johnny Carson received the brunt of the blame for propagating the shortage myth and issued a rather serious apology on his comedy talk show. “I dont want to be remembered as the man who created a false toilet paper scare,” he told viewers, directly facing the camera. “I just picked up the item from the paper and enlarged it somewhat...there is no shortage.” (Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be his last run-in with the toilet industry: in 1976, he was embroiled in a lawsuit with a porta-potty company named “Here’s Johnny.”)

As for an explanation of what induced such panic, marketing professor Steuart Britt later enumerated on a theory, which is probably more relevant than ever in today’s digital age:

“Everybody likes to be the first to know something. It’s the did-you-hear-that syndrome. In the old days, a rumor took a long time to spread -- enough time to let people discover its validity. Now all it takes is one TV personality to joke about it.”

Last year, the Venezuelan government faced a similar crisis. When reports surfaced that the government's price controls may lead to a lack of toilet paper, citizens panicked and induced a shortage. In Caracas, the country's capital, lines flowed down the streets when new shipments of rolls came in. The situation got so out of hand that President Jorge Arreaza occupied a toilet paper factory, and issued a statement eerily reminiscent of America's situation in 1973. "[We] will not allow hoarding or failures in the production and distribution of essential commodities," he said. "There is no deficiency in production."

[EvilCapitalist]

Ouch! That’ll clean Uranus.

[TXnMA]

"Driving on fumes, hoping there would be a gas station open in the next Texas town made for a memorable trip."

LOL! Folks who haven't driven here have no concept of the vast distances that exist between some Texas towns. Like driving across entire New England States... '-)

Had a young GI friend from MA stop here in East Texas on his way to SGT Major school in El Paso.

Sez he: "After I get settled in, I'll pop back over for a longer visit."

Sez I: "When you get there, give me a call, and we'll plan a 'shoot what ya brung' day on the range down back"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After graduation, he stopped by here again.

Sez I: "You never called..."

Sez he: "You sandbagged me! Hell, El Paso's closer to California than it is to here!!"

Sometimes, folks jes' have to experience Texas for themselves... '-)

~~~~~~~~~~~

And, yeah, I was driving a big-block Ford pickup+camper during both of the big oil crises. I remember the antsy feeling -- and the pain in the pocketbook -- all too well!

TXnMA
  

[Dutch Boy]

Absolutely. At work most people didn’t get that reference.

[Revel]

You can find a lot of tonight show clips on you tube. But you can’t find this one.

[Sequoyah101]

The Purel wipes by the shopping carts as you enter the door?

I expect we will see those stolen soon.

This is nucking futs.

All I remember being short of in ‘73 was money to buy fuel for my new pickup! This gave rise to my maximum that happiness is a full tank of gas and an open road. Sometimes, in my misspent youth it was a road open all night and all the way to Memphis or Amarillo to eat breakfast or lunch.

[hondact200]

I remember the Gasoline Shortage in 73 (10 years old). Parents worked two jobs each to save the family farm.

[gnickgnack2]

I have three old yellow pages books, never used, that I almost set out to recycle last week. Guess I’ll wait a bit. Thanks for the idea.

[ken in texas]

re. LOL! Folks who haven't driven here have no concept of the vast distances that exist between some Texas towns. Like driving across entire New England States... '-)

When we first moved to the north Dallas area, my folks in MA decided to visit us. Dad told me they'd booked a red-eye on Eastern, were landing in Houston around 4:00 AM, and after getting the rental car they should be at our house by 6:30 or so. He didn't believe me when I first told him how long the drive would actually take.

[norwaypinesavage]

There is, of course, a simple solution to this, and all the other “shortages”: The Law of Supply and Demand. In the short term, Supply cannot be altered. Demand can be instantly altered by allowing price to rise.

I waited in a long line yesterday at a Home Depot store buying nine ten foot treated 2x6s for my deck. There was no shortage of these. Ahead of me was a man with a large cart holding around 250 gallons of water. Most others in the line were buying water, too. I was pulled away from the line by a manager and taken to a hidden place where people were actually buying lumber. Other managers there were discussing whether or not to limit water sales.

Here was a prime opportunity to “ration” water, not by edict, but by price. By simply raising the price, it would be the buyers who would limit their purchases, not some arbitrary quantity limit. Unfortunately, government policy, not logic eliminated this option: in a “shortage”, “Price Gouging” is illegal.

It’s a stupid law. Allowing price to float would eliminate phony shortages such as these. I guarantee you that the rate of toilet paper usage has not changed at all.

[Oatka]

Go on ebay and search toilet paper. Set price and shipping at highest first.

Might be interesting, from a historical/hysterical viewpoint, to get a couple of screen shots.

[Oatka]

Folks who haven't driven here have no concept of the vast distances that exist between some Texas towns. Like driving across entire New England States.

Years ago we drove East from CA. We hit the TX border at El Paso and the miles-to-go-in-Texas sign said "801". I damned near turned around.

[sidebar] Whenever some EuroSnob sneered at us for not knowing two or more languages like they did, I replied that they HAD to learn them because of all their small countries. I told them I could drive West to East for 3,000 miles or South to North for 1,500 and still speak the same language.

[sidebar]I just watched a video about Afrika Korps prisoners being shipped to Kansas by truck. The Germans were astounded at how far they had to travel.

[xp38]

Most of Canada as well.

[dsc]

Sears catalogue in an outhouse. Yellowjackets. Spiders.

What’s the opposite of nostalgia?

[TXnMA]

"Sears catalogue in an outhouse. Yellowjackets. Spiders."

~~~~~~~~

We solved the problem of "yellowjackets" (actually yellow or red wasps -- yellowjackets nest in the ground) in the outhouse -- by knocking down their nests and taking them with us to the fishing hole. (Wasp larvae make superb fish bait...)

~~~~~~~~

? "Nostalgia" antonym? Quora says,

"Nostalgia is a noun. Most nouns do not have antonyms in English, including that one. It’s a bit like asking for an antonym for “dog”. There simply isn’t one."

In more than a single word, how about,

"The good ol' days ain't as good as they used to be..."?

TXnMA
  

[Daffynition]

This is the best thing I have seen all day! ...Patrick Kimmel/Facebook

Speakers on!

[Daffynition]

you don't know squat. Have you ever been to the Middle East?

[Ezekiel]

It's just like they say in real estate: Location Location Location.

"Low Price $8.88"

"Tic Toc" :)

[Daffynition]

Did you miss out in Pi Day?

You better practice your social distancing, Missy. or the cops will come for you.

[Ezekiel]

One of the biggest survival skills is basic math.

The true survivors know that

2 pi r because 1 pi is.

[Daffynition]

That is why cooking from scratch is so great for kiddos....they see the reason for the importance of math....and fractions...and following directions.

My grands love a rolled cookie and cookie cutters and lots of sprinkles and candies to decorate.