From Ukraine to Gaza
In the 1500s, firewood was very high up on the list of essentials for any English home. No other heating system had come about yet, and the English winters could be long and brutal. Unfortunately, forest conservation had also not quite caught on yet, and as industry hurdled forward the English forests were eventually almost entirely depleted.
The absence of firewood surely caused many to perish during the long English winters. Some historians also credit the great English firewood shortage with pushing many of the earliest colonists out of Britain and across the Atlantic to the Americas, in hope that the forests there would be able to sustain them through the winters.
One seldom-considered and much-delayed effect was the Christmas tree shortage of 2017. Ten years before, in the midst of the recession, many farmers chose to drastically scale back their operations. Ten years later, when those trees began reaching prime Christmas height, the shortage was felt nation-wide and prices skyrocketed.
Norwegians found this out the hard way in 2011, when most of Northern Europe experienced incredibly high amounts of rainfall during the summer, which resulted in less and lower-quality grazing time for their dairy cows. This in turn had a damaging effect on their milk output, and butter became a rare and valuable commodity for the rest of the year.
Just one year later, however, Hostess was bought out by private equity firms. Twinkies, HoHos, Sno Balls, and all the other beloved snacks of the Hostess canon returned to shelves by the summer of 2013.
Two residents of Edinburgh, William Burke and William Hare, saw an opportunity in this shortage. The pair went on a killing spree, suffocating at least 16 victims in total, and sold them to medical departments across the country for anywhere from seven to 10 English pounds each.
The South Korean government took steps to lessen the blow of the cabbage shortage by temporarily suspending import duties from China, another major grower of Napa cabbages. The prices became so exorbitant that locals started calling kimchi “geum-chi”, substituting the prefix “kim” for the Korean word for gold.
In 19th-century Scotland, medical schools were only allowed to dissect the bodies of criminals who were put to death. Once hangings and executions stopped being such an everyday occurrence, the medical field’s supply of cadavers quickly began to run dry.
This burden was put on the backs of the Australian Air Force’s No. 38 Squadron, and they were sent across the sea to China, tasked with bringing back 25 tons (23 tonnes) of pig bristles, an essential material for the production of paintbrushes. The military mission was aptly code named Operation Pig Bristle.
Partially sparked by popular talk show host Johnny Carson telling a few jokes about an “acute shortage of toilet paper,” and also caused by a general misunderstanding of the difference between “commercial” toilet paper and “consumer” toilet paper, citizens across the country rushed to their local stores to buy every last roll on the shelf.
The main and most important use for helium in the 1950s was as a coolant in rocket fuel, and all available helium was used for this purpose when the shortage hit, leaving many balloons deflated. The shortage was perhaps most obvious to the public during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, when giant floats in the likenesses of Pinocchio and Mickey Mouse were filled with normal air and carried through the streets suspended by cranes.
At the time, the global standard for videotape was Sony’s HDCAM-SR, widely used across the world, Hollywood included. When the earthquake hit, the tape was produced at just one single facility, which happened to be in the coastal town of Miyagi. News of the earthquake caused astronomical price inflation in the market, and before long there was no tape left. The situation remained that way for a while.
KFC was able to calm most of the understandably confused public through a clever ad campaign, complete with full page spreads in a number of magazines apologizing for the company’s blunder.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was one of many reasons that the American colonies chose to fight for their independence. The price of paper was already prohibitively high, and the crown’s decree that all official documents must be stamped just added insult to injury.
Once the War of Independence began 10 years later, the paper shortage was still raging on. In an attempt to curb its effects, paper mill owners and workers were exempt from military duty to make sure enough paper was being produced as possible.
One unexpected shortage that affected England in particular was their banana shortage. It wasn’t that their usual banana supply was being redirected to the war front, but that the fleets of ships that were normally used to transport bananas from the warmer climates where they grew were all busy supporting the war effort.
The world has seen a number of other helium shortages since the 1950s, as recently as 2022. There are only 14 liquid helium refineries in the world, the largest of which is in the United States and owned by the US government. This site, in Amarillo, Texas, has seen a decline in production in recent years, causing prices to rise steadily.
Nylon stockings were being sold on the black market during wartime, and when rationing finally came to an end, the people took to the streets demanding that nylon stockings become readily available at once.
Sources: (The Atlantic) (CNN) (The Guardian)
Hundreds of thousands of parents in the US were scrambling to find formula for their babies in 2022. The nationwide shortage of formula began with pandemic-related labor and supply-chain disruptions, but it was kicked into overdrive when Abbott Nutrition voluntarily recalled several widely sold baby formula brands, which knocked out a huge part of domestic supply. The shortage is proving to be an example of the problems that arise when few large suppliers and their exclusive contracts have a monopoly on the industry.
President Biden had to invoked the Defense Production Act to boost production of baby formula, and authorized the Defense Department to help fly formula in from overseas. The first of those shipments—over 70,000 lbs of Nestle hypoallergenic formulas—arrived from Europe in Indianapolis on May 22 2022.
Shortages of food and supplies are becoming more and more common, even in an era where the world has never been more connected. War, the impending climate disaster, and wealth inequality are all to blame for these shortages. While the world works to overcome these struggles and find ways to avoid or circumnavigate these issues, it's important to remember these problems aren't exactly new. Numerous times throughout history different items have run in short supply for different reasons, but they're not always the items you think, or for the reasons you think.
Let's look back on some notable shortages from history, and the events that caused them.
Unexpected shortages throughout history
Emergency baby formula shipment arrives in US via military plane
LIFESTYLE Deficit
Shortages of food and supplies are becoming more and more common, even in an era where the world has never been more connected. War, the impending climate disaster, and wealth inequality are all to blame for these shortages. While the world works to overcome these struggles and find ways to avoid or circumnavigate these issues, it's important to remember these problems aren't exactly new. Numerous times throughout history different items have run in short supply for different reasons, but they're not always the items you think, or for the reasons you think.
Let's look back on some notable shortages from history, and the events that caused them.