Making Daily Headlines · Page 9
Emergency Kits Prepare for Everything Except Agreeing on a Packing List
· New York time
People in the United States, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands are sharing what they keep in emergency stashes, with items ranging from filter straws to a disposable toilet. Their choices show how differently households prepare for a possible crisis. An emergency kit is meant to sit ready for circumstances its owner hopes never arrive. That makes it a peculiar shopping list: the most successful purchase may be the one that spends years untouched. A filter straw and a disposable toilet also suggest rather different ideas about which inconvenience deserves priority. The households share an interest in being ready, but their supplies reflect individual choices rather than a single universal kit. Preparedness turns a closet into a small exercise in anticipation. It also gives ordinary storage space a remarkably ambitious job description.
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