>Hi,
>
>>>
>I think they needed the rubber ring for the pressure cooker, and of course they couldn't find one, because these were sold only in the shop of the local sewing machines factory.
>>>
>
>LOL. That brought a smile to my face and reminded me of how common similar scenarios seemed to be throughout the old soviet bloc countries.

Beg to differ - it's not the Soviet bloc. Yugoslavia was non-aligned.

Then why these utensils were sold in that particular store? Because the sewing machine factory, being an independent, self-managed enterprise just like any other, had found market for its products abroad, and decided to use the proceeds of their export to import some goods that it thought would sell well in their shops, which included pressure cookers, among other things. So it was market forces at work, believe it or not.

As to similar scenarios: here, if you want to register for voting, you go to DMV (Department of Motor vehicles, where you get your driver's license and register your car, tank or yacht). When you need a passport, you go to ... post office. So, in the City of Virginia Beach, where can you get daily or weekly tickets for the city busses?

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...two places:
- the parking garages run by the city (i.e. not private ones, nor those owned by hotels), which is logical, if you want to ride a bus you probably must leave the car somewhere first
- the city library... although they had only old expired tickets and didn't get any new ones last time I tried.