Although not from the UK, I grew up listening to my grandfather and my older relatives retelling the years of rationing during the great war.
First things first, it wasn’t equal, as who had money would find ways to get more food to their houses. My grandmother often mentioned the pantry in the houses she served at were always stocked, regardless of rationing.
The average citizen would get their ration of goods but although you could live on it, you would be somewhat uncomfortable if you didn’t had any way to suplement your diet. Rasing pidgeons in the city became common fare, more than what already was, and many people started raising rabbits, that can sustained on hay, to eat and sell.
Gardens in every space available became common, to put more vegetables and potatoes on the plate.
It was in the country where people felt the rationing less, being accostumed with surviving from what they farmed, raised and collected. And these were people used to hard work, hand labour. The basis for their day to day living was made up of large quantities of vegetables, dry salted fish (cod), salted and/or cured meats from the yearly pig families would raise, eggs and olive oil and bread. Fresh meat was an event often reserved for special occasions.
Let’s learn and teach how to eat. No need to ration; we already produce more than what is really necessary.
These machines being tinkered with and heavily modified happens almost exclusevely in urban areas where good public transportation already exists.
Every article I’ve read usually boils down to thrills, a hollow sense of being against the system or just disrespect for the place because tourist.
Even giving all the wiggle room for bad reporting, it feels something is very wrong with this particular mode of transportation, in that setting.
I live in a rural area, with essentially no public transportation, and these alternatives have been growing in popularity with no issues. Even the older folks get intrigued and often strike up conversations with the people using it.
My partner worked at a water bottling station and they kept a “dead archive” of production for quality control: dark, cool room, away from machinery and chemicals.
Archived samples were cleared after 5 years. Out of curiosity, they decided to try the water before emptying the bottles and it was foul. Blamed on too long storage time.
When the plant shut down, the archive was fully cleared and samples older than 6 months were drinkable but not pleasant to, older than a year tasted bad.
Water does not stock well and even worse when exposed to sun light.