Historically speaking...

July 17, 1943 - The Star and Sentinel newspaper in Gettysburg, Penn., reported that "the regional office of the War Production Board has advised the county that a shortage of wiping and other forms of rags is developing rapidly. Army and Navy, as well as war plants, are demanding more wiping cloths than the (rag) industry is able to provide and inventories of rag dealers are dwindling."