When the United States entered World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the global commodity trade was in a state of complete uncertainty and decline.
Basic commodities such as rubber and fabric immediately rose in price due to massive military use.
Recycling centers were set up across the country, where citizens were encouraged to carry rubber for the production of tires for jeeps, clothes to make rags, nylon and silk stockings for parachutes, and the remains of edible fat to produce explosives.
One of the most important materials to collect was scrap metal. Indeed, for the construction of one medium tank, 18 tons of metal were required, and for one ship - hundreds of times more.
Collection points and communities competed with each other, housewives brought aluminum pots and pans, farmers donated their old tractors, and cities and towns dismantled wrought-iron fences and historic cannons from the Civil War.
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In Lubbock, Texas, a bust of Hitler was erected as a target, at which patriotic citizens threw dishes.
Walt Disney donated two Bambi iron sculptures, said to be enough metal to produce 10,000 incendiary bombs or one 75mm artillery piece.
Ultimately, the effect of these collection points for actual military production was rather small. Their true value was in raising the morale of citizens and creating a sense of patriotic unity, so that as many people as possible felt involved in the victory over the enemy.