Items

• 
  2020-11-14

  Be ready for new panic buying and shortages as COVID cases surge

  Article on panic buying
• 
  2020-12-08

  Distillers scrambled to make hand sanitizer for free. Then the federal government moved on

  Article discussing hand sanitizer production during the COVID-19 pandemic
• 
  2020-07-03

  Coronavirus: Le Château begins manufacturing 500,000 hospital gowns

  This article talks about retailers making PPE and by doing so they are allowing workers to keep working
• 
  2020-12-10T09:31:50

  My Perspective Of Life.

  I remember the day Friday March 13th clear as day. I do because this is the day that literally changed everyones lives. I was in school and Just thinking to myself "cmon just like 20 more minutes of class and then I'm done for the day." Rights as I get out of class the school has been notified that the state of California will go into a state of emergency. The tv's just lit up with the hazard sign. Everyone in my grade just starts going bonkers because us kids had no idea what was happening. I left school just thinking what the world is. Then it was the weekend. you might've thought this was a normal weekend but, no. Saturday we hear from the school saying we will not be having regular school days anymore. Now this, this hit me hard. Everyones thinking whats going on whats happening. No answer. At the start of 2020 everyone said "oh this is going to be our year nothing bad's going to happen." We seriously just jinxed it. How could quite possibly the worst pandemic happen right now? Jut why now? Why cant it happen when Im older or something? These questions wont get answered. I kid you not the past what 8 months of been extremely boring. I know kids say this a lot but Im sure pretty much everyone will agree on this one. Have you ever watched the "Simpsons"?? Well, if you haven't already got caught up they predicted another event. Im not joking. They had workers working in a factory in China and they had a bat that was contaminated and they shipped it to the united states for a project or something. They had the same bat concept as Covid 19. And that episode came out months before Covid or even a couple years. Search it up. June, July just went by so fast but also its like it slowed down reality at the same time. When august comes around school starts back up. It is the hardest time yet. Zoom classes all the time no going back to school.Okay, Im a huge Disney freak so you're gonna want to hear this. This is the third time in history in HISTORY that a multi billion theme park has closed. This is the first and the very first time Disneyland and every other Disney park has been closed for more than a day. This is history. Can you really believe that Covid has done all of this?? Oh, too any store or marketplace that sold toilet paper in March, April, and May were all sold out because everyone was so panicked that they couldn't restock on stuff like that. Can you believe my generation seriously that they would run out of toilet paper?!?!? Then on that note, may 2020 rest in those that are essential workers and my generation.
• 
  11/19/2020

  David McKenney Oral History, 2020/11/19

  David John McKenney lived in rural Michigan for most of his life. In this interview, David reflects upon the challenges that COVID-19 wrought on the rural school districts for which he works. He describes how he and his coworkers wrote code that helped transition students to remote learning and saved other districts countless hours of labor. David also touches upon his experience in Ukraine and the flu quarantine that occurred there seasonally. He contrasts this with the current American quarantine and highlights his concerns about freedoms of speech in reference to lockdowns. His concerns about freedoms of speech also extends to the future of Christianity and the church. He expresses his anger about the 2020 election season. In addition, David discusses his frustration with rioting in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. David remarks on the shift in real estate from urban areas to suburban areas and the rise in construction. Finally, David comments on his participation in pandemic trends (such as baking bread) and increased time spent with family.
• 
  2020-04-15

  How COVID-19 Caused a Shortage of Toilet Paper

  As the pandemic began, the shortage of toilet paper became quite severe. Several people were unable to get get a hand on a package of toilet paper, leading them to desperate measures of cutting up paper towels in order to substitute the toilet paper.
• 
  2020-07-10

  Summer Coin Shortage Still Going in November

  On July 10, 2020 the local bank had a sign displayed that warned of the coin shortage that was caused by the pandemic. Due to the shortage, local businesses were limited in the amount of coins they could request from the National Bank in Blanchard, Oklahoma. On July 24, 2020 we decided to do our part and cashed in all of our coins. This gave us some extra cash and gave the bank some extra rolls of coins to distribute to the local businesses. Signs at local fast food restaurants still display their signs on the coin shortage and occasionally cannot make exact change. For certain restaurants like Taco Bell, they were encouraging over the summer to donate the remaining change to a charity they would then distribute the money to. This is example of how the pandemic has changed our lives in unpredictable ways.
• 
  2020-03-17

  Video - Toilet paper fight erupts at Coles in Melbourne

  HIST30060 I have chosen to upload this article because I distinctly remember when the public fights about toilet paper begun to surface on social media. Initially, I found it hilarious. And then scary. And then kinda sad. And then eventually some combination of all three, alongside a healthy dose of embarassment at the fact Australians would behave in such a way. While I personally never felt the panic that led to hoarding goods, I know many people who did, and I also remember my housemates and I resorting to using paper towels as toilet paper for a short while because it was impossible to find in the shops near our house.
• 
  2020-03-13

  Customer Notice at Woolworths

  HIST30060: A ‘Customer Notice’ at Woolworths in mid-March, explaining their new returns policy alongside a list of affected products. With half the shelves bare due to ‘panic buying’, grocery stores implemented new rules to avoid having to give refunds to people who changed their mind. I took this photo at a suburban Woolworths, packed with frantic shoppers and overflowing carts.
• 2020-07-03T11:54

  COVID-19 in My Small Suburban Town of West Chester, Pennsylvania

  In my small suburban town of West Chester, Pennslyvania, the effects of COVID-19 were abundantly evident. People of all ages were impacted in significant ways. High school graduates were forced to stay home under Governor Wolfe's stay at home advisory during a time sacred to spending time with peers before college takes us our ways. The elderly worried about the safety of doing basic tasks like grocery shopping, most likely contemplating if this basic need will be an ill-made or possibly fatal decision. Another major event to be noted was the shortages of food and other necessities in the supply chain. This was a real wake-up call for many families in my town. Anxiety and panic definitely could be seen in everyday homes. I recall my one friend racing to Costco after hearing a small supply of toilet paper was in stock. He ended up spending a couple of thousand dollars, filling five carts to the brim with essentials. The sight of many bare shelves triggered this spontaneous decision to hoard. Many families acted similarly in my area, believing that the only option was to prepare to outlast a complete shutdown. While many businesses were forced to shut down, a local dairy farm called Bailey's Farm took advantage of the situation. It proposed a unique solution to the food shortage. Bailey's Farm began to increase its food output by collaborating with local farms across West Chester and Kennett Square. This agreement lessened competition among farms, allowing farms to focus on producing goods that they are most efficient at producing. Bernards Orchard grew a variety of fruits. Baileys Farm increased its milk and cheese production by adding more cows to their grassland. Northbrooke farms sold local pies, bread, pastries, and their famous apple cider donuts. Many other farms contributed to this network; however, these were the farms that I primarily worked with. These farms began to deliver goods to the doorstep of families. This solution relieved families from worrying about contracting COVID-19 in grocery stores, running out of food during a shortage, and simultaneously supported local farms. At the beginning of summer, I had hours of free time; I was advised to stay home and limit interactions with my friends. To utilize my time wisely, I began to look for work to have savings for college. Jobs were scarce because of the many closed businesses. I was beyond grateful when Bailey's Farm reached out and hired me as their new milkman to drive their refrigerated truck. Yes, I occupied the small niche of a milkman during a Global Pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Sex Work in Africa During Covid-19

  As subsaharan Africa already had a pandemic of HIV/AIDS prior to Covid, it has made sex work even more dangerous in Africa. For many, it has also lead to a reduced income and increased harassment.
• 
  2020-07-17

  Travel Nurses Share Their Story

  This article shows what things are like on the front lines during a pandemic. In the article a nurse states that they literally had to choose who was going to live, and who was going to die. They had to wear the same PPE for days at a time; even when there were feces and blood on them. There is a lot of information about what life has been like for nurses on the frontline and I think that needs to be heard.
• 
  2020-07-02

  World-Wide Roller Skate Shortage

  Roller-skating has recently become a viral trend, to the point that major skate companies have been sold out for weeks. While the hobby has been alive and well within Black and skate communities, it has had a massive resurgence in popularity in the mainstream.
• 
  2020-10-06

  Pet shortage in SF

  The COVID-19 lockdown has forced many people into social isolation, and also provided the free time necessary to care for and train new pets. The resulting surge in dog adoptions has led to a shortage of adoptable animals in San Francisco shelters, and the pet sales industry made a record-breaking $100 billion this year. Since puppies can no longer be commercially shipped, a company called PuppySpot has taken to chartering private jets to transport animals bred in the Midwest to the Bay Area. With no end to the pandemic in site, demand has continued to rise.
• 
  2020-10-24

  Vaccines and the Prisoners Dilemma

  This article explains how rich countries are creating inequality access to Covid-19 vaccines. For example, a report by Oxfam warns that "the rich nations represent only 13% of the global population have already acquired 51% of planned doses of the most promising candidate vaccines."
• 
  10/19/2020

  Maria Carney Oral History, 2020/10/19

  I interview my maternal (and only living) grandmother over the phone about her experience of Covid while primarily self-isolating in her mobile home. There is not so much direct question and answer but over the course of a somewhat rambling conversation pretty much all the topics get covered. Although she remains pretty spry for her age, there are some places where she loses the thread or misunderstands the conversation.
• 
  2020-07-28

  3D Printed, P100 Mask for COVID Nurses

  This is a video my sister sent me of her first day with the P100 mask. It is a 3D printed mask that a department at her hospital have been making themselves because of the shortage of PPE. Every nurse gets one of these and the filters on them are replaceable (roughly 3 months before replacement filters are needed). They are very tight so nurses apply gel stickers around the seal to prevent bruising. They are so new to the unit that some nurses and techs have been getting bad dermatitis on their skin, so their is still some improvements to be made but because of the severity of the situation comfort is overlooked.
• 2020-10-21

  Canning lid and jar shortage of 2020

  I can wholly relate to this article. First the shortages of many items such as hand sanitizers, toilet paper, and food in the first few weeks of the pandemic. But after this summer's growing season, I found myself with a lot of vegetables to can and no jars and/or lids in my local stores. I did not keep extra on hand nor did I think to get any until it was time to can. I did find some in Louisville on websites, but I refused to travel there since the numbers were very high. I eventually ordered some with no guarantee it would arrive before my vegetables went bad. But, in the meantime, I would check the stores in hopes a shipment came in before my online orders arrived. My vegetables and fruits needed to be canned or a whole season would be lost for what I could not freeze. I know it sounds silly to some people and the least of worries for others but for me, it was almost a half a year effort. It was food for my family for the next coming months. Next year this will be a funny story but for now, I will add this to my “The Year of 2020” list. I know many people will not see the humor in this but who knew canning lids and jars would be such a hot item. But it in a way does make sense since we were forced to stay home and be creative with our time until we reopened as a society.
• 2020-10-20

  Tales From TheVarus

  This video was made by a YouTuber known as Internet Historian. It is satirical/journalistic in nature, and seeks to document events and incidents that occurred during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The great costco chicken shortage

  My partner and I went to Costco to do regular grocery shopping for the week when we stumbled on the emptiest isles we have ever seen at any Costco. I remember turning to my partner and saying “This feels unreal. I have never seen a store this empty and I don’t think that I ever will again”. It was still March, and my partner was just told by his job to stay home and that the office would be closed for a while until Covid was under control. We didn’t know at that time seven months later he would still be working from home. It was eerie being in a store that was so empty and it is hard to explain what it felt like to see that. It was at a time of high panic for others but I hadn’t felt that same panic until that moment. I was very worried we wouldn't be able to get chicken for the foreseeable future and I didn’t know what we were going to do. I panic purchased a five pound bag of dry pinto beans that are still living in the back of a cupboard in my kitchen, unopened, on that trip. I think of my quarantine experience in multiple stages, the first to being before Costco, and after the great Costco chicken shortage. I think other people felt the same way I did; After they saw people panic buying, they started panic buying or fretting more than they may have been in the months before quarantine. The beginning feelings of panic did do good for me though, they made me more conscious of what we are eating and how much food we actually buy. I feel like the changes have benefited me for the better. Arizona State University HST485
• 
  2020-10-12T09:40

  Our Six-Week, COVID-19 Baking Crisis

  My wife and I were both home from our jobs by mid-March because the COVID-19 pandemic had, for all effective purposes, practically shut down our home state of Alabama. During our long sequestration from the world, we often baked together to pass the time. Tamsie has a sourdough bread starter that was handed down from her grandmother, so to keep the starter “alive”, she has to bake bread every month or so, which of course requires yeast. I believe that millions of Americans were at home baking during that time because we were out of dry yeast for her bread and, though we searched every grocery within a 20-mile radius of our home, we looked to no avail; additionally, yeast was back-ordered on Amazon, Walmart online, and every other online store. We were beyond desperate for that yeast, and the starter had to be near death when, at long last, I discovered an in-stock yeast on Amazon and ordered six pounds of it. Needless to say, I ordered entirely too much and thus unintentionally became that obligatory hoarder with which we’ve all had to deal during the last seven months. Thus, we had to bake dozens of loaves of sourdough bread to use that yeast! My wife is a dentist, so we baked bread for all her employees and left it on both their front porches and garages. We also baked for our neighbors and our families. The sweet smells of sourdough bread and sticky buns filled our home for nearly six weeks, as baking became an inane, daily ritual in the Rogers household! Today, whenever I smell fresh bread or cinnamon rolls, I think of our time spent together with our puppies in the kitchen, laboriously prepping, waiting for the yeast to rise, baking, and cleaning on a daily basis. I am thankful for this time, and though we now laugh about and much fun is had at my expense over my overzealous yeast spending-spree, whenever I smell fresh bread, I will forever be transported to our happy kitchen along with its aromatic sights and smells during the early weeks of the pandemic. It is truly amazing to ponder what we take for granted in our daily walks, and though I am obviously glad we are standing on firmer ground than in spring in relation to COVID-19, I miss our time together in the kitchen, which seems lonely and destitute without the sweet aroma of fresh sourdough bread. My association with this simple, yet happy memory during the pandemic is reflective of the joys we should be seeking in small things. Our daily lives are measured by our relationships, our serenity and contentment, and the joy we both provide and glean from others. The extended time at home with Tamsie allowed us a “factory reset” of sorts in our lives, one that brought our already-happy marriage much closer together; consequently, we no longer take life’s simple, quiet moments for granted. In some ways, the lasting human effects of the pandemic on relationships have been positive, in that each of us has had ample time to again focus on those whom we love.
• 
  2020-04-09

  Food Storage Sourdough Bread

  The pandemic caught me unprepared in many ways. I did not expect to run out of flour or yeast. I regularly bake rolls, muffins, cookies, and other treats several times a week. Just a day before New York shut down, I was at my local wholesale club stocking up on freezer items and canned goods, but could not find yeast or flour. The flour and yeast shortage was real and lasted for months in New York. Sourdough bread recipes started to circulate and I realized it was time to break out our food storage. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have approximately a year's worth of dry canned whole wheat in my basement. My husband started the sourdough starter. As a the scientist in our family, I figured he would be up to the challenge of experimenting with a starter. After two weeks of tending his starter, he pulled out the wheat grinder. The grinder loudly screamed through the house as a fine flour sifted through the blades. A warm, homey smell settled in the kitchen. Then, he set about making the bread--a twenty-four hour affair. The tang of the starter smelled promising. The last hour of baking we smelled the rich smell of the bread baking in the hot oven. When he pulled it out, we could hardly wait to taste it. The jagged dark crust had the hallmarks of an artisanal loaf of bread. It smelled so good, earthy and hearty. After it cooled, he sliced the bread, cracking through the rough crust into the perfectly textured inside. The flavor was perfectly tangy, with a gorgeous whole wheat texture. Before the pandemic, my husband worked long hours at his lab and would never have had the time to make a loaf of bread that required so many steps and 24 hours. And before, we never had the need to make a starter or to use our food storage wheat.
• 
  2020-10-08

  Cursed year, Covid era 2020

  I would say its pretty safe to assume that the majority of us were unfazed the very first time we heard of a virus breakout in wuhan, even though having played the mobile game Plague Inc. you would know that because of the dense population distribution china & india are two of the best places for a virus to start from. I would say other than the zombie movie like “leaked” videos that surfaced on social media no one really took it seriously until about march. That’s when I want to say the real pandemic fear started to creep in, there were multiple new cases showing up everywhere around the world, this is when things really started to get crazy, to begin with there was a weird shortage of toilet paper worldwide, not only that but grocery stores were a nightmare, it was the prepare for an apocalypse. People lost all sense of rational thinking & started hoarding food in a very animalistic selfish way. For a whole month everytime you go grocery shopping the shelves were almost empty, drinking water was scarce ,finding toilet paper was almost impossible. Personally as a 20 year old fit healthy male that wasn’t surrounded by any family or elders in the area I couldn’t care less If I got it, I was naïve& selfish for thinking that way, I had just suffered the lost of close friend to a car accident so I wasn’t in the best headspace. months go by… and I received news that three of my uncles & aunts got it, it was during that time that school was turning to online classes & terrible would be an understatement for my academic performance at the time, I was very busy & too into my head that a couple days went by & I got a follow up news that my uncles actually passed away, he was one of the kindest souls to me & I cannot think of one bad memory of him, yet I felt a void , I wasn’t sad nor that I cried & that in a way did more damage , It was just the countless deaths around me this year that had me completely numb emotionally, it just all felt so unreal, more than that is the long distance & not being able to travel back to comfort my dad through his hardship was the hardest part. To God we belong and to God we shall all return إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ‎, On a more positive note my cousin said on her birthday “I am not counting this year in my age because I didn’t use it”.
• 
  2020-06

  Mask situation in Japan

  Like other countries, Japanese people were hoarding masks during March. In June, Uniqulo made a mask using their technology “Airism”. Airism is a popular technology which allows less humidity and dries sweat fast and is very smooth to skin. The Airism mask has three layers, with the outside with UV cut layer, the middle with the filter layer, and inside with Airism layer. When this mask came out, a lot of people waited in line and crowded a lot of stores around Japan. This caused clusters and became news. The mask sold out very quickly and was only limited to one set per person. One set included one small mask for kids, one medium size for women, and one large size for men. They had only one color, which was white, but they now have gray. Recently all stores in Japan have masks, but all of the stocks are from China. Japanese made mask are still very low in stock and is very popular. This is an image from Uniqlo website, which shows the structure of the mask.
• 
  2020-02

  Hoarding toilet papers in Japan

  Between the end of February to the beginning of March, people started to hoard toilet papers. This was caused by an SNS post, which was fake, stating “Toilet paper is made mainly in China, and due to the COVID -19, the importation of toilet paper will be very limited and the stock will be gone”. This post itself did not cause a huge hoarding situation. What caused the hoarding was the feeling of fear and anxiety. Because of COVID-19, people were put into a different situation than so-called normal, and on TV, there were people lining up to buy toilet papers where you can see that the store is having limited stock left caused people to think “I need to get some too”. However, the reality was that most of the toilet papers that are sold in Japan are made in Japan, and if everyone does not hoard, then there will be more than enough for everyone. Even though the news said that all toilet was made in Japan, people still were hoarding because other people were and felt like if they do not buy one, they will not get the toilet paper for a while. My mother was also hoarding a lot of toilet papers, and now we probably have a stock that will last for months. The image is an example of how stores looked like in the toilet paper section, where there were no toilet papers.
• 
  2020-09-18

  How a Spanish flu news in 1918 may help to reflect on Covid-19 (with historical text)

  History is a mirror decorated with stories. Learning about historical matierals is interesting and enlightening. An article about Spanish flu from the Boston Daily Globe on September 30th, 1918, titled Number of grippe deaths fall off and discussions with the Media History class have inspired me in understanding health policies, social changes, and more from diverse perspectives during the Covid times.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Coronavirus shoppers

  This comic shows how much of an impact the coronavirus had on grocery stores and shoppers. It also shows how people could have overreacted to the fact that they can't find toilet paper or foods like spaghetti sauce. The main focus of this comic though is the doctor who is looking at the other row of shelves. The shelves are labeled, "face masks," "test kits," and "ventilators." This shows how not only food was a shortage, but also very important medical supplies that were needed to keep people alive. This is important to me because it shows the different struggles between everyday necessities, and what people need to stay alive.
• 
  2020-03-14

  The Toilet Paper Chaos

  Me and my family would go to the store to get grocieries, the shelfs were basically empty and had nothing on them. We needed toilet paper but there really wasn't any there, so we had to improvise and get paper towels which were about gone. The meme says a lot about the pandemic because it was a hassle to go to the store and get groceries cause there wasn't anything there.
• 
  2020-08-16

  The Hottest New Accessory

  Masks. In the span of just a few weeks, I went from never having worn one before to wearing one nearly every day. As a person with several autoimmune diseases, COVID-19 poses an existential threat to my health. Masks are not just about being allowed in a grocery store, or avoiding the ridicule of others; they are a matter of survival. I have now amassed quite the collection, partly out of convenience- I never want to find myself without a clean one- and partly out of fear. We are now in the fifth month of COVID restrictions, with a distinct possibility of another five or more to come. What if there is another PPE shortage? What if I become too sick to sew my own? So dutifully I collect, buying and making and sharing, just in case. Written by Meghan E. Donahue, incoming junior at Suffolk University.
• 
  2020-08-18

  Toilet Paper

  Although this pile of toilet paper may seem insignificant to most, it actually represents a time of struggle and perseverance. During the pandemic, some household necessities become scarce such as hand soap, hand sanitizer, and most importantly toilet paper. "The great shortage of toilet paper" was a common joke used during the early days of the virus. I think it represents the lack of materials and resources that we had during this pandemic.
• 
  2020-07-10

  Hospitals struggle with PPE shortages amid new COVID-19 surges

  Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are still struggling to find enough PPE to protect their workers. With supplies still being grossly under-available, some hospitals have had to resort to reusing PPE multiples times in an effort to provide at least some protection for their staff.
• 2020-03-13

  A Mad Panic

  My girlfriend and I took a trip to Sedona, Arizona, during ASU's spring break this past year. There was a good amount of news regarding the rising pandemic, but it didn't seem to scare us too much at this point. ASU sent out an email stating that classes were under the question of returning after spring break, but we didn't take it all too seriously, thinking this whole thing would blow over as Ebola did. We had an amazing time and enjoyed dining and shopping at all of the fine shops and restaurants in Sedona. We didn't have a care in the world. We just enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the many sights of Sedona. As we were packing up to return home, my girlfriend's parents called us in a panic that all of the grocery stores surrounding their home were empty or close to empty. There were no paper products, and the food isles were nearly cleaned out. We had not prepared for this at all. We just didn't think that we needed to prepare for Covid-19. On the way home, we stopped at every single grocery store, Walmart, convenience store, and target to find much of the same thing... people by the hundreds stocking up on everything in the grocery store. We got as much as we could and rushed home to consolidate our goods with her parents to find that we needed to make another trip tonight. We barely had anything to prepare for the virus, and that led to a stressful few nights of stocking up as much on as we could find. This marked the start of the panic, but we didn't even know for sure that we should be panicking about the virus. A few days later, the announcement came that school would be going online for the next few weeks. A week after the announcement from ASU, the president shut down the country. This was the start of the quarantine, and it still feels like we are quarantining to this day.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Screenshot of Amazon Order for Face Masks

  My mother recently ordered a supply of face masks for our family to wear when we are out in public. The order states that they have already shipped, but tracking the package shows it has not yet left California. Note: These are not N95 face masks, which is the type of medical face mask in short supply right now and needed by those who work in the medical and first responder fields.
• 
  2020-04-11

  Walmart CEO says we're in the 'hair color' phase of panic buying

  In recent weeks, Americans’ shopping patterns reflects how the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve and affect daily lives. From hand sanitizer, disinfectants and toilet paper, now to hair clippers and hair dye are flying off shelves.
• 
  2020-07-22

  Bay Area Hospitals Say Remdesivir is in Short Supply

  According to Bay Area health officials, the only drug that is currently effective in treating COVID-19, Remdesivir, is short supply. This is incredibly concerning. While Bay Area counties are on the California state watch list, health dashboards do not indicate an outbreak. If there is already a shortage of this drug, what happens if there is indeed an outbreak? Concerns from ICU headroom and staffing have been highly publicized. But even without an outbreak, we may run out of the drug needed to effectively treat this virus. As restrictions ease up across the state, I hope people are mindful of the horrific realities that await us all if people are not abiding by the social distancing and mask mandates.
• 
  03/30/2020

  Al Bailey Oral History, 2020/03/30

  Al Bailey grew up in the Midwest. He joined the Navy and worked on nuclear submarines for six years, has a degree in nuclear physics, worked in many nuclear power stations, and has been retired several times. He is an avid collector of paper money, enjoys ham radio, and is planning to go to law school this August. He has been married twice and has five children. Al and his wife Sara Bailey are currently living in Florence, Kentucky, with their youngest daughter Melanie. Sara is working in Kentucky at a chemical plant and is currently not required to stay home. Al’s life has been filled with many interesting events and experiences from his time in the military to 9/11 and more. In this interview, he reflects on current events related to COVID-19 and its political implications as well as how he and his family are handling the social distancing and isolation.
• 
  2020-07-13

  Fear, Terrible Fear

  The story that I have uploaded talks about how the pandemic has impacted people and is a reflection of how I feel as a young individual amongst all of it.
• 2020-05-24

  Toilet Paper Is Your Prize!

  Of course, you've heard all about the toilet paper shortage, the hoarding of it, and the bare shelves where toilet paper used to be. This is a humorous meme offering toilet paper as the prize--if you can grab it with the big claw. These games are notoriously difficult to win with, too.
• 
  2020-04-13

  How to Release People from Prison to Achieve Public Health Goals during COVID-19: Recommended Principles and Practices*

  As covid-19 spreads throughout the population of the US several groups have seen it spread rapidly through their population. One such group are inmates at correctional facilities (jails, prison, detention centers). The disease spreads very quickly because social distancing is nearly impossible, facilities are overcrowded, and soap and cleaning supplies are in short supply. Advocates and families argue that it is imperative inmates that are not a threat to the public should be released early or allowed to continue serving their sentences under house arrest. This document was published by Amend. Amend is a University of California San Francisco program that “works to transform correctional culture inside prisons and jails and reduce the debilitating health effects of those environments.”
• 
  2020-06-13

  California’s Racial Justice Crisis is COVID-19 in Prisons

  This article, written by three University of California professors, highlights the racial justice crisis inside US prisons. Due to their architecture and systems corrections facilities find it nearly impossible to keep covid-19 out or slow the spread of the disease. In California the incarcerated populations rate of covid is 650 percent higher than that of the general population of the state. Once introduced into a facility covid spreads rapidly due to overcrowding, lack of ability to social distance, and a shortage of soap and other cleaning supplies. While many people in the general public feel that inmates chose to commit a crime and therefor should do their time others argue that they should not be made to die for their crimes due to covid.
• 
  2020-06-22

  John Oliver on prisons during Covid-19: 'That's not justice, that's neglect'

  Late night host, John Oliver, of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," recently dedicated the main portion of his thirty minute show to highlighting the struggle of America's inmates with the covid-19 pandemic. This article provides the highlights of the show including a lack of soap, the number of non-inmate personal who are ill, covid being introduced to new facilities through prison transfer, people who have yet to be convicted but stuck in jail because they cannot afford cash bail, and the use of solitary confinement as punishment for one inmate who shared a video on Facebook.
• 
  2020-06-04

  June 4th and the store is still low on supplies

  I was hopeful that the stores would recover quickly from the panic buying taking place in March. But here we are in June and the local Walmart, once restocked only stays that way for a day. For a while my neighbors were trading supplies, toilet paper for sugar, garbage bags for dish-soap. But at this point it is getting frustrating. I always had my favorite brands before all of this started. Now, I am lucky if I can even find a similar product. I left the store on June 4th just happy I was able to find cheese at all. Every recipe I cook tastes a little bit off because I had to replace one or two ingredients. I just don't understand all of this. I heard that farms are dumping milk and killing off their entire farm. Meanwhile we are being told there is going to be a meat and dairy shortage. Hopefully things start to look more normal now that they have re-opened California. We are supposed to be going to stage four soon.
• 
  2020-04-18

  African governments mobilise to keep people fed during Covid-19 lockdowns

  "Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced an Emergency Food Response as a means of supporting indigenous and other vulnerable persons."
• 2020-06-05

  A health pack from my homecountry

  When the virus spread around the world, as a foreign student, I was also greatly affected. All of our offline courses are taught online. But because of the epidemic, it is very difficult for me to go back to my country. And now the government requires everyone to be well protected before going out. For example, many supermarkets require citizens to wear masks before entering. Masks that can isolate the virus are also scarce. Masks and antiseptic wipes are almost out of stock at CVS and Amazon. At this time, I received a health package from my country. It contains masks, disinfectant wipes and other items. I think this health package helped me a lot at this particular time. It's also very important to me.
• 
  2020-05-31

  Yeast Shortage due to Covid-19

  With lots of time on our hands, people are turning to hobbies they have been putting off like baking. One of the hallmarks of being a good baker is making bread. This has created a shortage of yeast, which as the article points out, is a living ingredient that can only be rushed so much. Baking has it's seasons, and as a professional baker, you learn when to expect shortages of ingredients, and when orders for products will increase. Typically this is around the fall and into the Christmas season. With the coronavirus pandemic and many bakeries closed, people are baking like it is the Christmas season when most ingredient manufacturers have cut down their output to reflect the coming summer. The shortage of yeast is most likely why many people are turning to sourdough starters. However, the quickest way to get a starter started is by using dry yeast. Contributed by Stephanie Berry, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580.
• 
  03/15/2020

  Covid-19 Empty Store Shelves

  The fact that people will go to stores and take everything there instead of only what is needed causing more issues. *From Date: Mar 15, 2020 8:59 am
• 
  05/21/2020

  Despite Purchase Limits, Shortages Persist in Important Disinfectant Categories at Walmart During COVID-19.

  Important disinfecting products such as Clorox wipes and Lysol remain in short supply, despite the limiting of one per customer at the Newcastle, Oklahoma Walmart. These products are important in the disinfecting of the COVID-19 virus for both homes and businesses. These products have been difficult to find since at least mid-March of 2020. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580. #HST580 #ASU
• 
  2020-05-21

  Covid 19 Pandemic

• 
  04/05/2020

  A TP Shortage

  Although this store has nothing to do with hygiene products, this attempt at humor reflects the acute toilet paper shortage caused by the virus-induced "panic-buying" that slammed stores nationwide. #NortheasternJOTPY
• 
  2020-05-19

  The Perspective of a Department Store Employee

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