Johnny Carson Once Caused a Month Long Toilet Paper Shortage

Daven January 5, 2011 11

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Johnny Carson once caused a near month long toilet paper shortage in the U.S. in December of 1973. In his show, he said, “You know what’s disappearing from the supermarket shelves? Toilet paper… There’s an acute shortage of toilet paper in the United States.” Americans promptly went out and bought up every piece of toilet paper they could find. Supermarkets tried to ration it, but to no avail. By noon the next day, pretty much all the nation’s supermarkets were sold out.

After several days of toilet paper shortages due to this hysteria, Carson went on the air to try to explain it had been a joke and apologized. But because the shelves were almost always empty of toilet paper at this time, whenever some would come in, people would buy it all and hoard it. This toilet paper shortage lasted a full three weeks.

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11 Comments »

thediciplinarian January 12, 2011 at 7:18 am -

Go Johnny go. What a laugh riot. People here are so freaking stupid. Imagine the clusterf#ck in a real crisis.
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil January 14, 2011 at 5:24 am -

I remember this. At the time, it was obvious that it was a joke. It turned out that even more people fell for it than Orson Well’s “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast.

H.L. Mencken was right when he wrote, (more or less) “No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
vesey March 25, 2011 at 9:55 pm -

Stupid people(they abound in abundance) have always listened to what tv says without checking things out or questioning the hysteria. That’s how we got obama for president. Forget seeing what he was all about, the liberal media says suck a lemon and people suck a lemon and believe me that’s what we got for a president………….
Falalalala March 29, 2011 at 8:45 am -

Vesey, you are a bloody wanker…
woah horsey April 1, 2011 at 8:46 pm -

Falalalala, you are a bloody wanker..
fgsfds April 4, 2011 at 12:59 am -

reminds me of when obama got elected… he was supposedly “anti guns” so the gun nuts flipped out and bought up all the ammunition they could find, which caused a shortage for the next 2-3 years in the same way this did.
Melayahm April 15, 2011 at 11:32 pm -

Hm, sounds like one way to stimulate the US economy…..
Alex June 21, 2011 at 9:40 pm -

Thanks for that useless piece of information
adasd October 30, 2011 at 1:11 pm -

that’s how both Bush idiots (and all their republican morons) got elected. there is no limit for stupidity in the USA