Life Magazine: That Time that America Ran out of Coffee

If you are reading this, you likely know about rationing in the Second World War. Both because of shortages and the pressing need to conserve cargo ship capacity, quite a few things ended up being rationed, or even just vanished from the shelves. One of these shortages that I particularly find interesting is American Coffee rationing since I kind of shudder to think what I'd be like if suddenly I was down to half a cup a day - and I only usually have 2.

The reason for the sudden shortage was simple: when America joined World War 2, the Nazi Kriegsmarine sent as many subs as it could to America's east coast, where they had a second 'Happy Time' sinking merchant ships sailing unescorted. The Kriegsmarine also sent Type IX U-boats to the Caribbean, where for a while they were as a wolf among sheep. That meant a drastic drop in South American Coffee being delivered to America, and thus, rationing. Life ran an article on how to make the best of it.

Imagine posting the sign above in a Starbucks.

Even FDR gave up his morning cup. Fortunately, the United States got their convoys and anti-sub defenses together, and the crisis passed in about a year. Then, there was a series of ads promoting coffee consumption - not for any brand, mind you. Just ads with the cheerful message Drink Coffee!

If you think being low on coffee would have made for a snappy, crabby nation, consider this: at one point in 1944, the America was out of cigarettes.

Now this was a spot shortage that seems to have sorted itself out by Christmas (this article is from November of '44) but still. An entire nation low on tobacco is a queasy thing to contemplate now - let alone in the 1940s, when everybody over the age of 14 has some sort of tobacco habit.