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  • 2014-12-15 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Johnny Carson Cause a Toilet Paper Shortage in 1973? (en)
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  • In December 1973, Johnny Carson made a joke during his opening monologue of The Tonight Show about an upcoming toilet paper shortage. While Carson was not the first to comment on the situation, the talk show host's joke was blamed for causing a nationwide toilet paper shopping spree: Carson may have been responsible for causing the panic that created a brief toilet paper shortage, but he was not solely to blame. On 11 December 1973, Harold V. Froelich, a 41-year-old Republican congressman, put out a press release warning the public about a possible toilet paper shortage: 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. Froelich issued his statement after receiving complaints from constituents about a shortage of pulp paper. While this posed no immediate threat to America's supply of toilet paper, the Wisconsin congressman was worried about the potential problem. The story was then picked up by media outlets and eventually landed in Johnny Carson's Tonight Show monologue one evening, as he told the audience: You know, we've got all sorts of shortages these days. But have you heard the latest? I'm not kidding. I saw it in the papers. There's an acute shortage of toilet paper!: But 1973 was a time of a shortages (particularly due to the OPEC oil embargo against the U.S.), and Carson's audience found the joke more frightening than funny. In the following weeks, stores were flooded with customers looking to buy up the last remaining rolls of toilet paper. Since stores were not prepared for the sudden rush of sales, many shoppers found themselves staring at empty shelves, which reinforced the idea that America was truly running out of toilet paper. On 27 December 1973, the St. Petersburg Times reported that several stores had started rationing supplies of toilet paper: While Carson's comments became a self-fulfilling prophecy, the comedian did try to convince his viewers that America's supply of toilet paper was not in danger, observing that I don't want to be remembered as the man who created a false toilet paper scare. I just picked up the item from the paper and enlarged it somewhat ... there is no shortage. (en)
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