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And the rumor was that there was a glut of sugar about to spoil.
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Sugar spoiling? Sugar actually acts as a preservative when concentrated.
The good thing about gasoline is that it's very hard to hoard a significant amount of it. The gas tanks in our cars is only so big and to hoard more takes a significant investment in a storgage tank.
I remember gas stations being out of gas on 9-11, if it had been possible for people to panic buy a year's or more supply of gasoline, it could have been really bad for drivers.
Maybe it's a good idea to have several months of non-perishable food squirreled away somewhere in case there comes a food panic buying episode.
Like a run on a bank, a panic buy reinforces itself, sort of like a self fulfilling prophesy. A rumor starts that a bank is insolvent and everyone pulling their funds out of the bank makes the rumor come true.
I believe the FDIC was created more to protect banks from runs than it was created to protect depositors, though protecting depositors from bank failures was its obstentious purpose.