Why Soviet drivers carried their windshield wipers indoors

Ah, the glorious scarcity of a planned economy. In the Soviet Union, spare auto parts for your Lada were virtually impossible to buy. Windshield wipers became highly lucrative black-market currency. If you left them on your car while parked, they would evaporate in minutes. Drivers literally had to unscrew their wipers and carry them around in their briefcases like highly prized corporate documents.