Corona Virus and toilet paper.

Why? Of all the things one might stockpile during an outbreak, why toilet paper? I mean, excessive use of the restroom isn't even a consequence of this virus.

What gives? Could someone provide a psychological deep dive?

 

I believe it's because if people believe they may have to stay at home for an extended period of time, toilet paper is one of those items people can't really go without. Personally I think those that hoarded toilet paper are idiots. If everyone did their normal shopping we'd all be fine. But many people are selfish self-centered a holes so here we are.

 

Being prepared for a lot of sh*t...... ?
Of course, that's metaphorical, not rational.

Panic is not a logical or rational condition. It suspends reason, and people do things because other people are doing them. They have a feeling that they must do something, even when they have no idea what the right thing to do would be. Once the word got out that TP was in huge demand, the sudden need to hoard it spread far faster than the virus.....
That's what panic mode does. It makes people do stupid things.

 

I can tell you that things are pretty crazy in France because last time I was to the store, there was no baguette anymore. Unbelievable, what an outrage !

More seriously, I have the luck to have the personnality of a squirrel, stockpilling food is essential for me, so I didn't had even to go to the store. What concern me the most are fruits and vegetables. I mean, rice, pasta, soap, fish, I have more than enough.

I suppose it's a chain reaction. Because a lot of people started to speak of the lack of toilet paper, even to says it was stupid to stockpile it, the possible lack of toilet papers was present in the mind of a lot of people.
Which I don't understand, because, even if I don't like it, when there is no toilet paper anymore, you have two things called "soap and water".

It's quite amusing however to see a lot of people getting very close to each other to buy toilet paper, masks, which is the ideal condition for a virus to spread.

 

I've lived in the midwest/south of the U.S. most of my life, and since my early teen years I've been perplexed by the bread and milk obsession. Those two items are the go to in the face of disaster.

I was walking around the store yesterday noting which shelves were empty and wondering why. One shelf that was fully stocked was the shelf where various nuts are kept. If I had to survive for a long time off of one source that's nutritious and doesn't require much in the way of storage and transportation...

 

You think? I thought that the endless calls for stocking up on the essentials, including TP that ran nearly non stop on CNN had more to do with it. But, in any event, folks got proactive, and you can't find the charmin anywhere... Or milk, or bread, and amazingly salad dressing? Perhaps that's just a local thing. But retailers were running out over the weekend.

 

It's always great to have a bag of rice (ten kilos) or wheat in your house. It doesn't take you a lot of place and can save you a lot of disagreement. It can be great also to have a few liters of bottled water, in case of a problem with tap water. Soap is great also.

However, clearly, milk, toilet paper are not a top priority.

The best is to be able to be self sufficient for at least one week. However, it's important to be able to see what's necessary and what is not (milk and bread).

 

It's even more difficult to find Clorox Cleanup Wipes but that one makes sense.

 

Pro tip, glass cleaner works perfectly fine for sanitizing hands and surfaces. Yesterday the wife and I went to the grocery store and found everything on our list with everything but bread and toilet paper being readily available. Ironically this was the same store that was impossible to enter on the previous Friday afternoon due to everyone panic buying. For us it was pretty much the same as purchasing hurricane supplies, which we do every season anyway.

 

My suspicion is that it’s mainly just because they’re large packages on the shelf. As soon as one person takes a couple, there would be a very obvious gap, so another person thinks they might be running low and takes two, so the next person sees an even bigger gap and takes three and so on. It probably only happened in a couple of random places at first but once the idea hit the news, we were at the mercy of the idiocracy.

 

I wouldn't put it on my hands but do use it for surfaces. Thanks .

 

I read an article that said people feel powerless in these situations and will do irrational things like this to feel like they are doing something to help or prepare.

 

Total insanity that there is a toilet paper shortage. I simply dont get the connection with the virus.

 

Isn’t it obvious that if you don’t panic, buy all of the toilet paper and make a little fort you must not care about other people?

 

It's just a waterfall affect. People are hoarding because people are hoarding.