Jackdaw Posts

Welcome to the Soviet Union of the 1980s, where toilet paper was worth its weight in gold and plastic bags were the ultimate status symbol. We’ll start with the economy, where the government’s control over production and distribution led to shortages of basic goods. And we’re not talking about fancy designer toilet paper; we’re talking about the bare necessities here.    Image is courtesy of Unsplash.com       In the Land of Shortages: Toilet Paper Tales and Plastic Bag Prestige Interestingly, the Soviet Union’s first toilet paper factory wasn’t built until 1969, but it took many more years for the country to be fully stocked with this essential commodity. So, what did the Soviet people do before 1969, you ask? They improvised, of course, using everything from old Soviet newspapers to the phone book (hey, we’ve all been there, right?). But it wasn’t just toilet paper that was in short supply—even hair dye was a luxury. Imagine trying to change your hair color wi...

Tokyo: The city that never sleeps—unless, of course, you count the locals suffering from neon-induced migraines. There was a time when Tokyo glowed so fiercely you could spot its electric veins from the heavens—or at least from the top of Mount Fuji. But those days are fading. The neon signs, once kings of the night, are flickering out, replaced by colder, cleaner LEDs. But where did all this neon madness begin? And why does it feel like we’re watching the final act of its shimmering spectacle?   Tokyo: A City Aflame with Light Neon’s First Flicker: A Frenchman’s Bright Idea In the early 1900s, a French engineer named Georges Claude had a thought: What if I take a gas, zap it with electricity, and make it shine like a radioactive jellyfish? And just like that, neon lights were born. Claude’s invention wasn’t just a party trick—it was revolutionary. By the 1920s, Paris, London, and New York were aglow with neon signs, luring customers like moths to a burning advertisement. Tokyo, a...