I've been employed in the industry for over 20 years. I remember the Hale Bopp excitement in 1997 topped considerably by the Mars Opposition of 2003. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has come close to what the industry is experiencing for this eclipse. Well, maybe Halley's Comet in 1986 but I'm not sure. I wasn't in the industry then.
Retailers can't keep up with shipments of solar shades. The company I work for went from what we thought was "way too much" to "not nearly enough" inventory in just 2 weeks. One school district alone purchased over 150,000 solar shades. It's been absolutely insane.
I have to wonder if some of the smaller towns in the path of totality will have sufficient infrastructure to handle the pending onslaught of humanity about to come their way. We shall see, it has certainly been exciting!!!
