No one is inspiring anyone to make a zip gun. Why make a zip gun when there are plenty of real guns? It's an alternative ammo supply for an already existing, very, very large inventory of commercially made .22 rifles that are already in private hands, both here, there, and around the world.
The recent shortage left millions of guns without a commercially available ammo supply. Rimfire ammo cannot be easily reloaded. If the supply shuts off, what you have is what you have, if you have any at all. If you have none, or you want to conserve what you have, you find an additional ammo source.
This alternative ammo for existing .22LR rimfire rifles, using industrial .22 blanks and .22 airgun pellets, is safe when used in a commercially made firearm, it doesn't harm the rifle, and it works surprisingly well. In fact, in many ways the ballistics can be superior to many .22LR loads. When fired out of a .22LR rifle barrel with a yellow tip blank, the speed on a .22 pellet is approaching the velocity of a .22 Hornet. Furthermore, the pellets seem to be adequately stabilized and they are relatively accurate. You can vary the loads with different pellet weights and styles and with different strength blanks.
I'm actually pondering getting a break action Rossi single shot just so I can more easily use these loads in a dedicated .22LR rifle with a scope. I can use then in my 10/22 and I have a tool bent at 90 degrees that I use to push the pellet into the rifling. Walmart sells this really neat set that is a Rossi single shot with a weather resistant coating and easy change barrels in .22LR and .410 for $170.
Take heed, because at some point this could easily happen everywhere for a number of reasons. Look at it this way. We have, in private, civilian hands, 60% of the world's small arms. If we can run out of ammo, I guarantee that at some point, you can run out of ammo, given the right political, social, and economic climate.
BTW, during the shortage, there were often no other calibers available, except for shotgun shells, primarily 12ga, and air rifle pellets, even if you went out and bought another rifle. There was also a massive run on reloading supplies.
Survival is not a fantasy. In times of crisis even a small amount of hunted game can make a huge difference, and for hunting almost any firearm is superior to pretty much anything else. The native tribes in the New World knew this the first time they saw a musket.
During a food crisis, any amount of extra food can be significant. For example, during the Great Depression in the USA, hunting accounted for 1/4 to 1/3 of the food supply for the average rural family. There wasn't nearly as much wild game then as there is now. During a severe food crisis, which can easily happen, even a single extra rabbit every day or two can make a significant difference.
Improvised ammo was used a lot back then, especially 12ga wax slugs and cut shells which allowed the killing of a deer with an ordinary, inexpensive bird shot load. A wax slug is minute of deer accurate out to about 50 yards. For those that aren't familiar with the term, a wax slug is where they would cut the crimp off of the end of the shell, pour out the shot into a pot with melted wax, such as from a candle, and the shot mixed with melted wax would then be spooned back into the shell and allowed to cool and harden. A cut shell is where they would take a knife and cut through the shell casing around the circumference of the shell, at the location of the middle of the wad, leaving only a small tab or two holding the shell together. When fired, the entire front of the shell flies down range as a single projectile. Cut shells have issues, they can come apart in your barrel, and are not recommended with any kind of choke except cylinder bore.
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) but my girlfiriend is and she lives out in the far east. 
