Rationing in WWII (British Homefront)

At the start of the war, German U-boats began to destroy merchant ships in the Atlantic and the British Government needed to take action to ensure the nation could survive in such times of shortages so that its armed forces and civilian population could continue to be fed.
It therefore introduced - Rationing.
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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner
Narrator:
Chris Kane
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Music Credit:
Search And Destory by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
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Americana - Aspiring by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
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Sources:
Jose Harris, ‘War and Social History: Britain and the Home Front during the Second World War’, Contemporary European History, Vol. 1, No. 1 (March 1999), pp. 17-35.
Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska, Austerity in Britain: Rationing, Controls, and Consumption, 1939-1955 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)

[@branden3118]

Essentials: Tea *Laughs in British*

[@dapperfield595]

AnotherHoly Templar damn it! Was about to comment that one ;(

[@seththomas3418]

Essentials: Bullets Laughs in American.

[@cf1925]

Essentials: Meatballs *Laughs in Swedish*

[@aslamnurfikri7640]

Essentials: Vodka *Laughs in Russian*

[@Fred_the_1996]

DON'T DISRESPECT THE HOLY EARL GREY

[@wheneggsdrop1701]

Preserve essentials. Normal people: water British people: TEA

[@bryankentcartujano5484]

Russian :vodkas

[@battlesheep2552]

French: white flags

[@bullabuck7535]

weeb: wifi hotspot

[@thatonepriest69]

Canadians:maple syrup

[@doom7ish]

Tea is important.

[@Bottomprem]

My great grandma is still alive at 98 and she still remembers knitting in the underground during the blitz.

[@depressedkid9760]

I love Britain

[@chargingnoisesintensify6335]

Your gran is a chadette

[@archivistpercy]

ZoeQuinnIsAMurderer wtf

[@lucasevans7201]

Long live ur nan 😊

[@joseluisnegerede9496]

Balls of steel

[@djsalad5752]

Britain: Store essentials only Everyone: Wait tea is essential right

[@3.2187_Kilometres]

It is to us Brits.

[@bigbrotheriswatching1190]

Most british thing I've heard in a while.

[@erinandcory7812]

Well yea doesn’t expire so it’s a good choice.

[@ultrablueslime8216]

don't forget the milk. this isn't a joke, forget the milk and we're not letting you into the bomb shelter.

[@engineergaming6631]

@@3.2187_Kilometres I may be bullied for saying this just like one time before when I understood a joke, but I'm American and tea is actually pretty gud

[@stevenaudet]

1939: Ministry of Food needed 2020: Ministry of Toilet Paper needed

[@sussekind9717]

What we really need is, a ministry that's responsible for protecting the people from disease outbreaks. I don't know, like some sort of Center for Disease Control or something. It would be really nice to have something like that up and running right now.

[@europe_ablaze]

Bruh that’s the CDC @Susse Kimd

[@europe_ablaze]

Susse Kind Are you dumb?

[@USrifles]

@@europe_ablaze r/wooosh

[@UgandanAirForce]

federal bureau of toilet paper, or FBTP

[@door-to-doorhentaisalesman2978]

1942: Psst you want spam? 2010s: Psst you want crack? 2020: Psst you want toilet paper?

[@cOOLray13]

2020: psst you want a mask?

[@ballsquid4135]

@patrick howard aight grandma killer

[@frizzy9919]

psst you want a rapid test?

[@blankblank5409]

Yer Nan cause the pandemic is 20s

[@hectorleon465]

2020: Psst you want a Nintendo Switch??

[@silakkalaatikko]

Peacetime: Green Eggs and Ham Wartime: Powdered Eggs and Spam

[@donaldboughton8686]

I have never seen a green egg in my 71 years in the UK. I would suggest such a thing would be toxic or that it might be a duck egg.

[@Shadow-sq2yj]

@@donaldboughton8686 yes, I am also confused on what a green egg is

[@cannoneer6680]

Ahem the netflix show green eggs and hamm

[@cannoneer6680]

I just discovered it on netflix just curios

[@wiselychosenname2867]

Ahem Nice name op

[@rasdread0989]

Food inspector: this is a fine meal Also food inspector: now that, was a FINED meal Restaurant manager who wasn't told earlier: *LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SH--*

[@nomos_lol]

Right? He ate it and everything.

[@zeferinoresendiz1698]

That was FINED huh

[@Boypogikami132]

That we not a food inspector, that was a police officer

[@Boypogikami132]

Was*

[@thefatjapanesepufferfish1906]

@@zeferinoresendiz1698 Hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@thecrippledpancake9455]

My grandma has a good rationing story. Her and her older sister were out shopping and the store had a policy of 1 bag of sugar per family. When they got to the checkout the clerk asked if they were sisters. She looks her dead in the eye and cooly says, “Never seen her before in my life.” The clerk believed her and they bought two sugars.

[@attiepollard7847]

Lol omg that's funny and smart.

[@MyShiroyuki]

I remember dealing with that so much back during the early days of the recent pandemic. People thinking they could trick me by saying they weren’t together when they were buying more than what was allowed. I wasn’t paid enough to care so unless they were buying way too much toilet paper, I didn’t care.

[@emmiesevillana459]

Perfect plan

[@FortyJester]

That sums up siblings perfectly

[@charakaamayantha_ca9784]

Thanx for sharing the story ♥️

[@jewishspacelaseroperator5410]

My grandfather grew up in Scotland during the war, he says the candy ration for children is the only reason he still has his teeth

[@attiepollard7847]

He must really love candy back then

[@ChristianVBlue3]

LUMBAGO THE FROG Couldn’t people in the countryside grow their own food rather than ration

[@benn454]

@@ChristianVBlue3 People in the countryside already grow everyone's food in peacetime.

[@photoisca7386]

@@ChristianVBlue3 Yes they did and people still rent small pieces of land in cities called allotments to grow food as a hobby.

[@whocares269]

@@ChristianVBlue3 scotland isnt the countryside, its a whole country 🙄

[@ezioleonardo17]

British people: Oh no we can't get French cheese 🧀 Soviets: You guys get food?

[@wolfen8619]

Not funny didn't laugh

[@Mechabang]

Very funny, laughed hard.

[@folderboy]

Wolfen stfu

[@heinz7117]

Unfunny have heard it 3764746737392 times

[@KoitTamme]

Yea, stalin was evil

[@todortodorov940]

Fun fact: While WW2 rationing limited people to 1 fresh egg a week it also limited Churchill to 1 bottle of premium Cognac/Brandy a day, somewhat below his daily consumption target.

[@simonh6371]

In fact when Churchill was shown the weekly ration for one person laid out on a table - the 1 egg, 4 rashers of bacon, 2 oz butter, however many oz meat - he said ''you could make a reasonable meal from that''.

[@SaifSheikh445]

WW2: People Rationed food. Soviet Union: Rationed you. 2020: People Ration Toilet Paper.

[@ethanvaughn9386]

Saif Sheikh lmao

[@discountpotato5680]

Use water stupid

[@gazzaalfarisyi873]

*laughs in bidets*

[@adobotravels]

discount potato correct term is use tabo + water

[@dahaproject3498]

south asia : we need only water

[@samueleveleigh2767]

Fun fact Due to rationing in the war many britons actually got healthier and more fit for war since they were no longer on a highly fat-sugar diet

[@alek488]

Mr Miner Obviously because they were eating less and not as much sugar

[@alek488]

Mr Miner Obviously because they were eating less and not as much sugar

[@attiepollard7847]

Just like during prohibition in the 1920s a lot of alcohol consumption did go down.

[@ganjaman4755]

@OCD Stig still not the fattest country anymore

[@benn454]

@OCD Stig Only those who don't serve in combat.

[@wesleywebb5554]

The distaste for spam after having to eat so much of it during the war eventually led to many survivors of the war swearing never to eat it. This led to in 1970 when the surrealist comedy group Monty Python created a skit in which spam was a part of practically every dish in a restaurant which an old couple complained about. Over the course of two minutes the word spam would be said 132 times, including with vikings chanting it. Then during the days of usenet and later the early internet junk email would be sent to email. People started calling it spam because it was repetitive and undesired much like the singing of the vikings in the Monty Python skit. And that is how war time rationing made the name of a salted meat product from the US to also be the name of unwanted emails. The public consciousness works in strange ways.

[@KathleenKennedy183]

It was only the wife that was complaining, the husband wanted her Spam. Wife: Can I just have the egg beans and Spam without the Spam. Husband: can I have her Spam! Vikings: Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spamty Spam Spamy Spam!!

[@f4fphantomii468]

Meanwhile in the USSR: We don't need no food men! We are powered by the will of the workers!

[@theoilandgasresourceportal2132]

And cannibalism

[@jimboonie9885]

@@clashoclan3371 STALIN NOT GOOD EVERYONE AFTER HIM BETTER

[@jimboonie9885]

@@theoilandgasresourceportal2132 IM FUCKING TRIGGRRRRRREDDD

[@thes.k.eletonhunter7951]

And vodka...

[@engineergaming6631]

Us seeing that there is no description of one singular being in the comment: WE ALLOW IT COMRADE

[@samuel88andrews]

My grandma told me that during the war her father bought her a bicycle on the black market. It was a racing bicycle which was the only one available so she took a wrench and flipped the handlebars upside down so it would be more comfy to hold onto the handlebars.

[@dylanleamananderson7811]

Right on

[@Fred_the_1996]

Mekanik 100

[@collinhennessy3190]

Did she make the seat vertical?

[@Juber777]

@@collinhennessy3190 .....

[@magicman9218]

The handlebars on racing bikes are already upside down

[@cannonball666]

"I can't walk down the street without dogs licking my legs" "Maybe you should stop wearing gravy stockings."

[@sliverbullet7973]

b ray ?

[@TheTux]

I heard it was actually shoe polish that women used to darken their legs, not gravy, that's ridiculous.

[@ludo9234]

Me and my dog are doing just fine.but having a broken arm things are a bit awkward at the mo.

[@michaelsorenson3887]

"But what would the neighbors think of it?!"

[@bcubed72]

@@TheTux Actually, gravy legs would improve dating...

[@gonzalezag]

The waiter: your bill sir The cop: *pulls out uno reverse card*

[@definitelynotjames]

*your* bill sir

[@chickensoup5225]

Ngl this comment is pretty funny

[@roninski3638]

Plot twist: The waiter shoots the cop for resisting.

[@dhruvmaslekar]

7:00 Commentators in early 1940s be like: "It's Manchester United vs Liverpool in the most important game of the year, We will find out who harvests more carrot in 90 minutes"

[@afailureofaanimator6744]

The rivalry between those two just never dies eh?

[@piotrekszczepanski5125]

It's amazing how the British got used to the Blitz so quickly; In fact by the end of the Blitz many were able to sleep through it.

[@p4m209]

My great grandma slept through a bombing in her street

[@thecoolguy7403]

I sleep at night during coronacation

[@stuartward1755]

Kids: "mum what's that noise outside?" Mum: "it's just a bombing raid kids. Go back to bed"

[@Capthrax1]

me how... the concussion, the noise, I imagine all the windows were broken by then but the house musta shaken, I mean god damn I wake up when my dog is snoring weird cause he is sleeping funny

[@armergamer2179]

Cause we are humans, we adapt and evolve

[@loganshelby9007]

Watch this get demonetized because of "current events"...

[@oshervaruk4762]

every history video gets demonetized

[@TheAirportAviation]

lmao so true

[@nuklearra1581]

lmao KZbin be like: AN EVENT THAT HAPPENED 8 DECADES AGO???!!!!!! DEMONITIZED!!!!!!1!1!1!1!1

[@CR-ef4op]

e e exactly 😂😂

[@clevermcgenericname891]

They also showed the dreaded swastika

[@piobmhor8529]

In Canada we had rationing as well, albeit it not nearly as limiting as in the UK. My parents both grew up during that time and the lessons learned weren’t lost on them. I remember my mother baking “War Cake” decades after the war was over. It was a recipe using maple syrup, flour, margarine and one egg. It was a dense, chewy square that actually tasted pretty good. I guess people got pretty innovative back then.

[@Labyrinth6000]

You have the recipe? How much of each other than the egg and how long to bake?

[@piobmhor8529]

@@Labyrinth6000 I’ll have to ask. It may have been one of those recipes my mother never wrote down (like most of her recipes) and she’s beginning to get a little forgetful lately so I can’t promise anything.

[@tetraxis3011]

That war cake sound tasty.

[@Astrocat-od5cy]

​@Labyrinth6000 it seems that the recipe can be found online (or at least one of the iterations that people call war cake)

[@tommyfox854]

Hmm, "War Cake" aye? Is there anything else you can say about it or no, you have my intention with it. =)

[@OregonDX]

I can remember my great grandma. She survived the Great Depression as well as the war. Anytime we went out everyone had to finish their meal or else you’d hear about it from her lol. She would reuse anything she could. Including washing and reusing straws, and plastic silverware, and plastic microwave trays. Events in the lives of people from those years changed them forever!

[@frederickoftheartic2209]

the 12 people who disliked were the people who weren't given rations

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

Probably British colonies.

[@raddactcontent]

MUSIC LOVER but they most likely didn’t need it as much as the U.K.

[@miguelmendoza4513]

Pinoy !!!

[@vexus6444]

Jews?

[@jadenyuki3138]

Theres 39 now

[@IntrepidMilo]

I have had the chance to speak with a gentleman who served in the home-guard his name was Jack. When Jack moved from England to Canada in 1950's he said that England was still rationing food, clothes and other goods. He crossed on a Cunard liner and he said that there was so much food that he could hardly believe it.

[@amxelcbis4464]

Seems like he crossed on Queen Mary.

[@aaron8169]

Oof

[@iriscollins7583]

Rationing didn't completely end until 1954

[@billijomaynard8924]

Makes sense, Canada had a smaller population during ww2 then Britain and far more arable land to grow crops. Today Canada has a little over half the population then Britain, 38 million for Canada compared to 70 million for Britain.

[@BedsitBob]

The Home Guard was initially called the LDV, which stood for the Local Defence Volunteers. It was jokingly referred to as "Look, Duck and Vanish". 😊

[@SBragg88]

In a similar light, the BEF due to so many WWII evacuations was called "Back Every Fortnight" lol

[@xeanderman6688]

​@@SBragg88no way, Fortnite irl???!?!?

[@coolspider295]

​@@xeanderman6688Yes, it was exactly like Fortnite

[@ianfinrir8724]

"You want some clothing coupons?" "No" "Petrol coupons?" "I don't have a car" "Ah, I can help you there"

[@edgelord8337]

British soldier: these rations aren't great but at least it's food. Soviet solider: *wait you guys get food?*

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

@Lucas The F22 Jetfighter India:- yeah. Cute.

[@garmenlin5990]

Stupid joke. If Soviet soldier didn't get food, how did they get all the way to Berlin?

[@firedskull5015]

@@DESIBOY-fe7nm might come as a surprise but India can feed it's 1.3b people by itself, that's mainly because 60% of those people are engaged in agriculture. Food is rationed monthly. The only time India had a famine was during the British rule which you can probably guess why it happened.

[@stanleysmith7551]

* In Soviet Russia, food eats you. *

[@pritsingh9766]

Soviet union didn't stole food from colonies and starved million to win the war .Still Russia is far superior than your tiny island. UK navy can't even dare to take it's ship from a small county like Iran hahahahahahah .

[@SakorskySP]

it's really nice to watch Simple History during Quarantine Edit: finally, i found this comment

[@Simplehistory]

We have many episodes to watch through during lockdown!

[@tylerj2887]

True

[@SakorskySP]

@@Simplehistory yep i'm watching all of them

[@lincolnsmith7067]

Agreed

[@davidsi5376]

It's amazing what we are going though right now. I hope we get through this quickly.

[@newhorizon1355]

At 6:15 gotta love that guy. He consumed the fish & steak, then fined them. 7 dollars says he didn't even pay his bill.

[@stonebay2111]

Turned some friends on to an old pbs show called the victory garden. Used to watch it with my great grandmother born in 1904...she would tell stories of ww2 and what it was like growing and canning vegetables and raising cattle, hogs and chickens to trade food for other food among neighbors. She was a wealth of information, living through ww1, the dust bowl, great depression, and ww2. Her knowledge was a gift that still gives today. I once received a gingerbread cake baked, sealed and preserved in a 1qt Mason jar and sent all the way to FOB Cobra Iraq on my 23rd birthday.

[@LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit]

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Front: Stalin: Yeah, we need more food. Tell Ukraine to screw off and give everything to us for the war effort. Adviser: But comrade Premier, won't that cause a massive nation-wide famine leading to thousands of casualties, and eternal resentment for your rule? Stalin: You have implied that I stuttered. Off to gulag.

[@residentevil4freek]

Based anime profile picture

[@MechWarrior894]

*GREAT PURGE INTENSIFIES *

[@lc9245]

This is misleading. Ukraine fall under Nazis controls within 3 months of the invasion, with Kiev fall in September. There is scorched earth carried out by the Soviets, but were limited due to the quick advance of the Wehrmacht. Meanwhile it is the Wehrmacht whose scorched earth reduce many Soviets cities into rubbers, including Novgorod being razed. Collectivisation is another problem. The entire Soviets were under ration since Lenin’s death. Economic activities were restricted in order for Stalin to rapidly industrialised the Soviet Union. This is 2 very different matters, not to mention the Ukrainian were not the specific target of collectivisation, many other members of the Union suffered under collectivisation and many of whom are Russian, not Ukrainian. Ukrainian and Union members who lived in cities are largely unaffected by collectivisation.

[@randomnerd9088]

@@lc9245 Not questioning the validity of anything you said, but it is also well documented that much of the grain produced in the Soviet Union was intentionally withheld from citizens despite it being very much available.

[@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122]

@@lc9245 Rationing, socialism and communism are evil.

[@Jack-je8zu]

20 years after Coronavirus *Simple History: COVID-19, The toilet paper crisis*

[@Menaceblue3]

Child: "Daddy, what did you wipe your butt with when the Corona virus hit the world?" Father: "I had to make sacrifices..."

[@genghiskhan5701]

Me with a toilet bidet:Sorry is this a peasant joke I am too rich to understand

[@1appa914]

Well if we survive the virus that vid woulf exist

[@dahaproject3498]

you can use water to wash....

[@korbuy1564]

Jack not funny

[@1buddahead]

Spam has come a long way. I can remember when the tin need one of those keys to be opened.

[@donaldboughton8686]

Now use ring pulls. I have had a ring pull Spam can with fungus on the meat. Threw it away. Never happened with Spam cans and a key. The can seals were way better. I have stopped buying canned Spam.

[@retrograde7156]

3:57 ahh, I mean surely everyone would be respectful of other people needing food, surely no one would hoard insane of food which probably would never be consumed. I mean it’s not like it’s happening right now.

[@donaldboughton8686]

One can play spot the idiot in the Supermarket. These were the ones stocking up on frozen food and fresh food for a lock down forgetting that they are dependent on an electricity supply to keep the freezer running. If one persists in wishing to stock up one should buy canned or dried food. Also take note of the best by dates, milk puddings go brown after a few months, some stuff lasts for years. Also remember to use in the order the food was purchased as the contents of the cans may be in edible when one gets to them if one does not. I did not bother to stock up for the lock down and never went hungry.

[@engineergaming6631]

@@donaldboughton8686 yes

[@locutus155]

No, they were buying up all the bog roll!

[@footballman271]

the only thing we’re rationing these days are medical supplies and toilet paper for some reason

[@ykewl1372]

And hand sanitizer

[@MsZen21]

In Australia everything is rationed right now. Just stupidly. Can't buy more than 2 jugs milk or 1kg meat or 1 packet of toilet paper... Almost everything has a limit... No more than 2 spam. 1 bag of rice.... Single Bachelor or family of 6 has the same rationing. :/

[@SaifSheikh445]

And food

[@johnrandolph1989]

What's not being rationed? 1. Lube/vaseline 2. Condoms 3. Brownie mix 4. Powdered corn starch 5. Preparation H Everything for after a good time.

[@jeffbrooks5580]

Dayton Ohio USA same thing we can't get to much of one thing

[@noahboat580]

Ian from forgotten weapons did a good rationing "simulation" where he ate a weeks worth of rations throughout the week, eating potato leek soup and whatever. Its a good food week, probably the only food week i watch

[@ErickSatoh]

Thanks for the tip, going to look the videos, take care with the corona

[@thegoodwin]

@zoopnoop , kzbin.info/aero/PLj9u4Ts2NpEtHrO1NLjk_n9ebj12102sb

[@DangerasTM]

I second this. You actually got quite a lot of food, and tasty too. Home Made Bread, Soup and meat.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Try watching the BBC Wartime Farm series as well.

[@cyberleaderandy1]

My parents were kids during the war but because they lived in the country had access to "illegal" eggs, chickens, pigs hidden by farmers away from farms, extra milk, butter and all sorts of produce that many never had beyond the ration amounts. They even got thrown sweets and gum by American troops they say, yelling the obligatory "got any gum chum?".

[@Lucky-be3oq]

Brits in the 1940s: *T E A* Brits/All of humanity: *T O I L E TP A P E R*

[@kenzozo34]

Asian i dont have such weakness

[@thestupidgamerz5352]

What to do during quarantine: Eat Sleep Watch Simple History

[@Simplehistory]

🥫😷📺

[@spongebobbies]

The Stupid GamerZ don’t forget about TERRORIZING DEMONS

[@Tydorstus]

And video games

[@Sophiebryson510]

You forgot overthink

[@TU-mf2ut]

And rationing Toilet Paper.

[@demoncore4467]

“when a nation that’s never known hunger or desperation descends into madness, we’ll be ready”

[@JaKingScomez]

Who

[@royalteluis623]

Not the tea drinkers 🇬🇧

[@demoncore4467]

Ordian Syah My maaaaaaans you caught it

[@vincivedivicilextalionas4036]

Just take it from India, just in case. *winks in Imperialism

[@LucaTheDevilCat]

"We will cull the herd, we will do what needs to be done" ONLY YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[@jonnylee7053]

"essentials like tea" I love my country

[@3.2187_Kilometres]

So do I mate.

[@frizzy9919]

*Walks to british in scottland*

[@3.2187_Kilometres]

@Death Metal Mate nearly every country has killed more people than Hitler.

[@3.2187_Kilometres]

@Death Metal Highly debatable, as what do we count as this "country kills" obviously we count wars and deaths by colonization, but do we count every death that ever happened in Britain. Besides it's impossible to pin down which country has indeed killed the most because lack of evidence and another thing why are you blaming us modern Brits? It's not like we were the ones who did all the horrific deaths so bringing up the "your country killed more than Hitler" is kinda pointless.

[@jonnylee7053]

My country is the only reason that hitler isnt in control of all of europe

[@ashtoncunningham6981]

I was doing a job painting deck just yesterday and guy 97 year old told how all the kids learnt to garden and older people helped teach him during the war as victory garden ..... he had one of most beautiful gardens I've ever seen

[@Simplehistory]

Any one like Spam? 🥫🥚🧀🥓☕🧈😋

[@haydendenden9076]

Simple History me PS. Simple history, I love your channel

[@MrLGJ11]

Great on grilled cheese or as a breakfast meat!

[@smort3547]

I do!

[@lachlanrose4348]

Yes

[@eco2312]

Yes

[@Simplehistory]

Hope you are all staying safe during these times!

[@smort3547]

You too, simple history.

[@atrociousbean4096]

Okay.

[@Sergeant_D]

Can you make a video on the bombing of Darwin please?

[@thedoomslayer7854]

Simple History thanks my guy

[@arachnoslayer]

Simple History Hope you are as well! I love your videos!

[@darrenphillips1845]

This channel makes a great substitute for The History Channel now that it's no longer The History Channel.

[@Jay-hb2xf]

In Taiwan we have rations for masks now. Everyone can get 2 masks with less than 1USD over the government website or from a pharmacy with his National Health card every week.

[@woopyinator021]

CCP

[@Jay-hb2xf]

@@woopyinator021 Taiwan has nothing to do with evil CCP. You need to study for more knowledge.

[@woopyinator021]

@@Jay-hb2xf Republic of China

[@xanrhind9350]

glory to the ccp 🇨🇳🇨🇳

[@Slavtron]

Taiwan is screwed

[@MattMontana-jk4ro]

Y’all think I came here to learn about history... naw I’m over here taken notes bruh

[@puppylovera]

makes sence

[@davidsi5376]

Fo sho

[@thecoolguy7403]

but this sounds a bit commie to me

[@user-gn6wz9fe1c]

@@thecoolguy7403 it was brought in by conservatives, if you dont have rationing and the poor starve, Then you really will really have a revolution, better to bring in a few soc-dem interventionist policies in crisis than get shot in the streets (Trump is even bringing in universal basic income, which is too commie even for Scandinavia rn lmao )

[@masonsilvers6789]

@@user-gn6wz9fe1c did you not realise that was probably a joke?

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

Britain:- plans to stockpile food. Colonies:- *confused screaming.*

[@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122]

Rationing and socialism are evil.

[@scumf6862]

@@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122 Not all socialism is Marxian socialism, you have the mentality of a baby boomer

[@adept151]

@@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122 ok boomer.

[@GurpreetSingh-es1cn]

From where do you think british got there food supply they killed million of people from India you just chose to ignore that part of history

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

@@GurpreetSingh-es1cn mai bhi Indian hi hu. In Angrezo ne Apna desh to luta hi. Mgr Africa, Southeast Asia or kai sare desh lute hai. Bharat bhi colony hi thi.

[@archiegoddard2714]

Just re watching this and noticed at 0:38 , the ‘home guard’ depicted are the dads army characters.

[@dakotaraptor5918]

2:42 “was”? Last I checked we still are 😂

[@blankblank5409]

☕️

[@jimboonie9885]

☕️

[@farahahmedkarim377]

Don't whoooosh me but he said "as"

[@neoandroid4203]

1940s: staying vigilant, and not being discourage even if their homes are being destroyed 2020 italy: During covid 19 staying vigilant by pumping music from their balconys Staying strong can be different

[@kurros1270]

Italy during Covid-19: *plays Evangelion theme on the flute.*

[@Gamer88334]

2020 USA: panicking (because some people seriously need to practice controlling their emotions. If ya don’t control your emotions, they’ll control you) and hoarding stuff, which is only going to make the outbreak last longer than it should. Remember to think about the long term results of your actions instead of just the short term results.

[@MadamePianissima]

@@Gamer88334 >implying that's exclusive to America How goes the looting in italy and the uk?

[@joeboom0697]

@@MadamePianissima it isn't happening

[@SaintSC05]

@@joeboom0697 www.thesun.co.uk/news/11135177/italy-coronavirus-lockdown-panic-buying-looting/ www.thelocal.it/20200329/we-have-to-eat-sicilian-police-crackdown-on-locals-looting-supermarkets www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/coronavirus-italy-lockdown-doomed-fail-21666512

[@Kyle-jc8no]

"And Essential Rations, which included Flour, TEA, and Sugar." Why Tea?

[@jakobmorris1483]

To drink mate.

[@MechWarrior894]

Because they're British.

[@jonkerr7959]

did you see what happened last time England went with out tea, The opium wars happened

[@user-qv8rb9jp3l]

"why tea" because british people need tea just like all other humans need food and water.

[@jjjjjjjjjjjmmmmmmm4461]

*british anthem intensifies*

[@ewancampbellcampbell1550]

I've got a 1938 "Rational Association Friendly Society" book that seems to be unused. It's amazing how these little peices of history survive up to the present!

[@obviouslytwo4u]

I still have my ration book. With the way things are looking today , I might need it again.

[@wonk123]

here is your ration of food *-1*

[@Alejandro-Chapter1]

*Fallout item grabbing sfx*

[@TrusteeNail]

Gain trait *canibalism*

[@jjjjjjjjjjjmmmmmmm4461]

i yearn for true rationing equality.....

[@samuelhaley6114]

Soviet Union be like

[@DonkeyKickingMC]

So wait, do I just get hungrier?

[@honestyprofessorcaesarreal5091]

0:37 that guy with the Martini-Henry has super human old man strength.

[@onebigfatguy]

Isn't that from the fucking Zulu wars?

[@johnsother2440]

Welcome to Texas.

[@yoboikamil525]

I know jackshit about guns so can you be more specific?

[@onebigfatguy]

@@yoboikamil525 0:34 Of the two old men in the front of the group the one holding the rifle across his chest is holding a Henry-Martini Rifle. Those were the standard infantry rifles of the British army during the Zulu wars some 70+ years prior.

[@yoboikamil525]

@@onebigfatguy thanks

[@irnbru6418]

Fun fact in ww2 the RAF said they had night vision from carrots this was to hide that they had radar because we knew where german aircraft were I just remembered this

[@taskforceboi8977]

German pilots proceeded to reqisition and consume untold amouts of carrots in an attempt to gain the same ability.

[@tommcewan7936]

There were also rumours during the war that the Germans had discovered some wonderful new vitamin that they were issuing to their troops and fighter pilots. It was actually amphetamines. There turned out to be downsides.

[@tessat338]

@@taskforceboi8977 Well no, the Germans also had developed a form of radar as well. They also used directional radio beacons to help their bomber squadrons to navigate. It wasn't perfect over such a long distance but it helped.

[@tessat338]

Yes, a lack of beta carotene can cause vision problems but an excess of vitamin K will not improve vision beyond a person's normal capacity. It can, however, give a person a faint orange tint to their skin.

[@taskforceboi8977]

@@tessat338 oof, messed up, thanks

[@josephattwell1006]

2:17 Only the British would consider Tea an essential food.

[@howardhamlin7386]

At the time it was an extremely popular drink. I mean we’re talking drinking it like water popular.

[@generaladvance5812]

It is essential though.

[@3.2187_Kilometres]

Are you implying that Tea isn't essential.

[@ArroyoEnterprise]

1940 Currency: Tin food and tea 2020 Currency: butt wipes (toilet paper) When the Currency of the Apocalypse Turns our to be Toilet paper instead of bottle caps: :(

[@genghiskhan5701]

Toilet Bidets:Am I a joke you?

[@tordaimihai5394]

How many games of the Fallout series have you played?

[@ArroyoEnterprise]

I have played fallout 4 and watched another channel play fallout 3

[@onebigfatguy]

@@ArroyoEnterprise If you haven't played New Vegas with all dlc's included you missed out. Easily the Best Fallout game over the last decade.

[@ArroyoEnterprise]

Ok I’m ask my mom to buy it for me and my bro so we can play it

[@matthewoconnell4700]

My Grandad continued to grow food from the second world war right up until a few years before he passed.

[@IrkenExile]

00:38 I got that reference immediately!! I love "Dad's Army!"

[@spencerfaithfull9247]

You found an Easter egg

[@maximilianolimamoreira5002]

me too,amazing.

[@w.a.w.o3387]

3:00 An addition to this video is that many of those supplies came from the British Commonwealth. Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These merchant seamen from these nations risked their lives onboard ships without military escort guard until they reached at least the South or Mid Atlantic and were under constant threat from German U Boats operating as far as the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In order that Britain could continue the war effort these nations also went without, rationing their food sources so that Britain could continue to be fed.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

I agree the commonwealth played a important role in ww2 and were very brave in doing so however British merchant seamen did the exact same job as Canadian, Australian,new Zealand merchant seamen only to come back to there towns & cities in ruins and possibly there loved ones dead from the air raids

[@GeorgeyTheApe]

@@lightfootpathfinder8218 Yeah I think the original poster is one of those people that would find fault if the British were to cure cancer tomorrow.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@GeorgeyTheApe lol I know what you mean.... unfortunately it's trendy to hate everything British at the moment

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@reminiscence4142oh really?? Can you name me a single British extermination camp in India or name me any Indian women that were forcefully sterilised or disabled indian children that were murdered by British doctors🤔??? ...thought not!. Yes the empire was not perfect but to compare it to the Nazis is ridiculous. the only reason India is a democracy and that we have a "free world" today is because of the British empire. Britain stood alone against the combined dictatorships of the world and a lot of it's people died defending democracy so show some respect instead spouting your anti British rhetoric

[@Jingles2423x]

"Women painted their legs with gravy" WTF? There goes old gravy legs again....

[@x6621]

Yes, women wanted stockings so badly they would paint their legs with gravy; or those willing enough even became hookers for American soldiers so they could get stockings from America 😳

[@CleoS-vx5pd]

It was tea! They painted their legs with the browned water from leftover tea leaves. Never heard of gravy legs!

[@donaldboughton8686]

No nylons available. Some women have been known to get stocking seams tattooed on their legs.

[@dp-sr1fd]

It was actually gravy browning powder and a little water I think. The seam at the back was put on with an eyebrow pencil. I suppose in the blackout you would not notice. Female vanity, a multi billion pound industry today.

[@roonilwazlib3089]

Delicious

[@wunderwaffeyt4077]

7:46 I like how she's smiling and making clothes from curtains while people are scared and panicking because of the air raid outside. It is a perfect representation of the British people's resilience and bravery during war time conditions.

[@giovannicervantes2053]

Good as new!

[@aclown36]

Some person: *serves inspector meat and fish combo* The inspector after he ate the meal: *that was good, now you get fined for serving me a combo that's not allowed*

[@1940sExperiment]

What a fantastic resource! This would be so good to use in schools, I love these types of explainer animated videos. Loved watching C xxx

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

7:05 FYI, the balloons you always see in this time period are 'interdiction balloons'. They are what they appear to be, except there is a grenade attached to the balloon, meant to detonate if a plane were to detach the rope... At the time, what people feared the most was (propeler) fighter planes strafing with machineguns or diving for a precision bombing run ! Interdiction balloons prevented exactly that as the plane would end up at very low altitude once done with its manœuvre, and likely collide with one such balloon, prompting an explosion that wooden planes of the era couldn't wistand !

[@someguy1747]

So that is what they were, I always assumed they were some kind of Early-Warning Observation Radar Airships for the RAF against the Luftwaffe.

[@sarkybugger5009]

Where on earth did you hear such rubbish?

[@zirofastable]

My grandma ( French ) has talked to me only once about the war, from 1940 till 1944. She told me how, horrified, she saw on the newspapers that the Germans were advancing inexorably toward her city ( Rouen ), and how she and her whole family had to leave because of the heavy fighting that started to occur in the city. They were now on the road, during the exode, with thousands of other french civilians, when German stukas bombed them ( I was playing as a stuka in a computer game and she recognized it ) and everyone died around them. Then how until 1944 they were terribly suffering from malnutrition, and that the only thing they cared about was that little ration card they had to show to the local provider to get a little bit of food. My point is that the crisis we're going through today, even if it shouldn't be taken lightly, is cat piss compared with what our elders went through and that a lot of people I know should stop complaining all the time

[@MassachusettsMapping]

Throws out some carrots: "You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people. What say you in your defense?"

[@carlosnathanieljannjusonal4826]

"The carrots were rotting and its scent was foul so I threw them out your honor"

[@jessej7111]

One of my favorite historical topics. Thank you!

[@Renrang]

1940: Civilian grow vegetables for food in wartime. 2019: MrBeast plants 20 million trees🌲 preparing for 2020 toilet paper crisis.

[@CRENOKOGOD]

Do a video on the invasion of Germany during the late war period

[@Plantrum]

Fun fact: The whole "carrots are good for your eyes" thing was created around this time in britain because of the extensive propaganda surrounding home grown foods, such as carrots

[@ismaeljimenez6562]

And throw off the Germans from figuring out about their radars

[@daciamcv1026]

I was born during the 2nd world war and I remember there was still shortages in Britain up to the late 1950's (bit like today)

[@RamanShrikant]

last time I was this early the United Kingdom were still garrisioning their ports and didn't have their entire army in cairo. hoi4 momments

[@edgarbanuelos6472]

Let's stop my was the surly it was still an Empire.

[@gabrielmora5092]

Last time i was this early, USA were still training their only one division

[@tuccerjim3084]

Oh, and they were sending half their army to occupy Sardinia to stop an Italian naval invasion while leaving France undefended...

[@WRGOP]

My Grandfather had a ration book during WW2, when he was a teen in the 50s and the rationing books weren’t needed anymore, he and his friends burned them all in a giant bonfire.

[@estradamurcielgo175]

Now you have Vaccine Passports

[@ghazghkullthraka9714]

‘Essentials like tea’ GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

[@SHZ_Tristan19]

100% a good video about WWII. Love this video, thanks Simple History!

[@dteddy304]

1 egg per week??? Fam, I use 3 eggs per day in my omelets lmao.

[@blankblank5409]

Jesus

[@arandomperson5434]

I use 6 eggs for a single breakfast

[@ericsuarez834]

That's why you all are the first ones to die of become mad

[@Autumnlight91]

This is probably one of the best videos animation wise, really fluid and lots of different character models. Good work

[@LS_Customs.]

I like how we (british people) class tea as an essential oh i love Britain

[@beaucaspar3990]

I appreciate the level of detail in this video. It makes the video more pleasing to watch

[@asahelsmith9490]

I have more appreciation for my grandfather's ration book I inherited.

[@greg1938]

me: chillin during quarantine YT/Simple History: here's a video about rationing me: withdraw all cash to atm, listing essential items, buying those items, cupboard is now full of SPAM

[@totallyfrozen]

Riel Rosete And tea. LOL!

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

Lucky you, I only got spam in my mailbox.

[@justinpenney6841]

I still have my grandmas ration book ❤️

[@matthewgibson8245]

I was in the middle of watching a simple history episode when I saw the notification. Switched over to this episode real quick!

[@Simplehistory]

:)

[@bonktonk74]

ngl the weekly rations for a single adult sounds so little, it seems more fitting to be a breakfast rather than a whole week ( 5:29 )

[@ianfinrir8724]

People managed to get by on it, though. Although there was also the British Restaurant which was used to either supplement your ration or used when you ran out of ration coupons.

[@MrEadan]

0:37 "Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler?"

[@1Maklak]

I like the barrage balloons in the background. It's such a nice touch. They're balloons shaped like blimps anchored to the ground with strong steel cables. They can sever an airplane wing if it hits a cable, so having them discourages bombardment.

[@thebossman9176]

Great video (as always). Since we're already on rations topic,how about the rationing during the siege of Leningrad and how they grew their own food to survive until soviets broke through and the river allowed to get food and supplies in. Simple suggestion for Simple History.

[@vickypedias]

5:45 surely you don't mean that they only received that much a week? That's barely 2000 calories worth of food: 1 egg - 90 cal 4 oz marg - 50 cal 4 oz bacon - 600 cal 2 oz butter - 200 cal 2 oz tea - 0 cal 1 oz cheese - 70 cal 8 oz sugar - 880 cal Total: 1890 cal. How could they stretch that for a week? That's beyond starvation level of diet, which requires 450-800 calories a day.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

I was born in 1950, and _just_ remember rationing. I lived in London, and there were still plenty of bombsites, and the big trees in my road had broad white stripes painted around their trunks, so people didn't bump into them during the Blackout.

[@LichsuhoathinhDrabattle]

Loving the battle graphics, great work guys ❣❣💕💕

[@ModellingWeekly]

0:37 Dad's army reference? As in the people in the picture

[@keithcorrigan658]

My father was a child in the north of England during WW2 he told me that the rationing made people healthier and this was visible in that generation of young people.I believe that rationing played a vital roll in the war effort !🇳🇿👩‍🎓🙈🙊🙉

[@leechowning2712]

I love seeing all the "we could never survive on that" when "that" was a 3,000 calorie diet, spaced over a week. If we have a hard time imagining surviving on 3,000 calories... suddenly the US/UK weight gains make sense.

[@basichistory]

This is a very good episode, well done!

[@nemosis9449]

My mum who lived in London during the Blitz always had a weeks worth of tinned food in the cupboard just in case. But never spam!

[@kennyflanders8337]

Hey Simple History do the battle of leyte gulf (the largest Naval Battle in History)