If the coronavirus was the norovirus, I would completely understand why people have been hoarding toilet paper. The norovirus was the sickest I’ve ever been and stuff was coming out of both ends. I couldn’t keep down anything solid for days, and for about 48 hours, I couldn’t even keep down water. But… the coronavirus isn’t a pukey/diarrhea virus. It’s respiratory. It’s doing damage to lungs most of all. So why are people hoarding toilet paper? I mean, I get that TP is the thing people want to make sure they have enough of in an emergency situation, especially with so many of us staying home all day, every day. But the TP hoarding has been next-level for two solid weeks. People are buying all of the paper towels too. Anyway, Dr. Oz has some thoughts. He posted a photo of an empty toilet paper shelf at the grocery store with this message:
I went shopping today and there was no toilet paper. (Much to my chagrin there was plenty of soap.) Why we buy out toilet paper is something I’ll never understand. Humans are [a] hearty bunch. We’ve fixed problems far under the sea and on the face of the moon…yet we panic buy more toilet paper than we can possibly fit in our carts and cars. (1) Don’t panic — keep your distance from people, and if you feel sick, stay home. (2) Buy the essentials for two weeks, no more. Leave supples for everyone else. (3) Trust in the fact that if you somehow run out of toilet paper, a friendly neighbor would find a way to safely deliver you some. And if it really came to it, our ancestors survived without TP. This is my way of telling you to stay calm and keep your head down. We’ve faced plenty of challenges before, and we’ll figure this one out too.
“Our ancestors survived without TP,” yeah but they had dirty asses. Honestly though, the last time I went to the grocery store, people had just figured out that they should start hoarding soap too, which… I mean, at least there’s that? I got the last few bars of Dial and I felt lucky. I also bought some TP at CVS even though I STRONGLY believe that CVS-corporate has decided to price-gouge on all of this stuff. It is legit crazy to see the hoarding mentality spread like wildfire though. I’ve got it too. The feeling of relief I got from just having those four extra rolls of Cottonelle… well, I’m not proud of myself.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
We are hoarding bc there we getting no reliable information from leadership on what to do so people are just following what everyone else is doing and the Charmin bears obviously started this is what I’m saying.
He’s a goofchicken, this one.
Be proud of yourself. You’re gonna make it through this and that’s a point for pride if I ever heard one. Stay alive, fellow celebitches!!
@nicegirl. I love “goofchicken” never heard it before & now is my new favorite. Thx
I’ve grown tired of those mocking people for stocking up. It’s so we don’t NEED to make a Target run when everyone in our area is sick. We’re supposed to be social distancing, not going out shopping every day after work.
I agree that it’s wrong for people to take mounds of toilet paper and not leave any for other people, but I understand why people felt the need, too. The last thing I want to do is make a trip to the store right now!
Hopefully now that those who have the means to stock up are already set for the next few weeks, and those who buy things paycheck-to-paycheck can visit grocery stores and convenience stores without worrying about overcrowding.
I got mine so let the poors fight it out when this thing really starts spreading. They don’t need the peace of mind. If they’re living paycheck to paycheck I’m sure their jobs are just fine.
HOLY SH*********
Wow, what? I’m utterly horrified if it reads that way. I have family members and and friends who could not all afford to stock up amid all the craziness the past few weekends. I’m worried about them having to go back out, but it’s their reality and the reality of many others around the world. They will have to keep making trips to the store through all of this. My hope is that the supply will be better now that people who could stock up did, and that the stores will be fairly empty so they’re not interacting with a lot of people when they do need to go. I’m also hoping that everyone who can afford to stay home will do their part and stay home.
@Case Is your first name Karen? Also, WTF.
There’s a difference between stocking up and hoarding, IMHO. I always have spares of things (eg a spare tube of toothpaste, an extra bottle of contact lens solution…that’s par for the course for me) but I don’t stock up to the point where I empty the shelves. Like I don’t need 35 bottles of hand soap, so I’m not going to buy more just because of social distancing. If you’re just buying 1-2 extra to be on the safe side, I don’t consider that hoarding at all.
Hoarders are frustrating because they will take so much that there isn’t anything left for people who genuinely need it. My brother was at a pharmacy to get baby wipes for his 4 month old daughter and there was only one box left! His theory was that people saw that the disinfecting wipes were sold out, so they moved on to baby wipes. I mean, that’s just ridiculous if it’s true.
People are also running to the baby wipes when they can’t get toilet paper. It’s actually getting crazy.
Two reasons, I imagine:
1.) People are afraid of long term quarantine and are panicking and overstocking. The lack of leadership is particularly noticeable here, and the fear was exacerbated by the media’s sensationalism early on.
2.) China provides a hell of a lot of our paper goods. With the way their economy has been stalled while on quarantine, we’re very likely looking at some shortages down the road.
I don’t hoard (that’s just selfish and incredibly dangerous for people who can’t afford to buy ahead), but I did go out a week or two previous to when The Panic set in and grabbed two bags of paper towels and two big rolls of toilet paper, two months of menstrual supplies, and a few major staples (rice, flour, canned foods) just for safety’s sake if there was a quarantine. I wasn’t clearing out shelves, but I had a feeling this kind of reaction was coming, especially talking to friends who worked in shipping and trade industry. I’m staying home for the most part to be responsible, but I may venture out one more time today to grab some frozen and canned vegetables, and I have a pantry order coming in from Amazon this week that has things like soap and some basic necessities. My state isn’t hard hit yet, but we’ve got two major cities that are bound to contribute to the spread, so I’d like to limit our need to go out as much as possible in the next few weeks.
To enhance your point, I think people are realizing this might impact their household income in a big way by either loss of income or prices skyrocketing. So they are taking advantage of the situation they can afford now given the huge uncertainty in the future.
Fortunately, the vast majority of states have laws against price gouging during crises situations, so you likely won’t see insane rises in the cost of basic necessities. You’ll notice how quick Amazon and Ebay were to crack down on those hoarding hand sanitizers and masks. The bigger issue, IMO, is the income loss for most working in service industry.
I don’t understand the hoarding of tp either. Luckily I have enough for 2 weeks and will pick up another package when I go to the store. Happily before all this happened bought soap at bath and body while it was on sale.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9uKz6rFRRw/?igshid=oov3r2enus0z
It’s smart to have a little extra stock on hand since we probably all can’t be going out very much in the next few weeks, but there were people buying enough for their family for like a year! That kind of mentality is what causes the problems.
This so much, I think the people defending overstocking probably havent seen how over the top some people can be. Does a family of 5 really need a whole carts of cleaning products to get through a couple months? Because that’s what I’ve seen, and plenty.
Dr. Oz was actually a proper medical doctor before he sold out to Oprah and decided to become a shill for any and every thing to make the all mighty $$.
I is correct about distancing, hand washing, etc. But, IMO, he has lost a ton of credibility because he is now all about $$. It is fine that he is trying to reassure people, he is still a medically trained surgeon and it might help to hear it from him, his fans still trust him.
I am amazed at the local news here in Minnesota, every newscast they are having the Anchor Teams show how to properly wash your hands. People, have ya never learned to wash your hands? really?
Of course, maybe it will finally sink in to my disgusting co-working who is infamous for using the bathroom and strolling out the door..never washes hands, never. It is known about the office. WHO raised these kinds of people? Ugh!
I worked with a young woman (mid-20s) who was always well groomed and dressed well. Word quickly spread (and I personally witnessed) that she never washed her hands after using the toilet. Completely puzzling!
Right now I am hoping a co-worker will heed the “cover your cough” common sense tip. She has been dry coughing for weeks and rarely covers it with her hand (which then spreads it via touching handles, etc.).
Fun fact: public health studies have found that upwards of 70% of men don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
We are all raising them, apparently.
Everything has been mandated to shut down with the exception of grocery stores, banks, gas stations and pharmacies in my area (greater Seattle- which is under the same directions as Italy). People stocked up bc there is a chance that everything will shut down (like in China). No one wants to go into the community with how many people are getting sick.
I skipped the panic buying and used this as an excuse to buy a bidet seat that I’ve always wanted. Lol!
But even in China, grocery stores and pharmacies were opened during the lockdown! They never closed. Almost everything in Quebec is now closed (daycares, universities, bars, gyms, etc.) but grocery stores remain opened and re-stocked. It sucks, things are going well in part because despite some ridiculous cases of panic buying at Costco, most people are keeping calm
No, y’all have dirty asses. Wash, don’t wipe, like 4 billion people do.
The hoarding really annoys me. I buy and have backups of all essential household products… it’s just the way my mom did it. So when I crack open a new package or bottle, it goes immediately on the list to buy a new one within a week. So we always have at least two 12-roll packs on hand and there’s only 2 of us in the house. And yes, there are other safe ways to cleanse oneself. This isn’t the butt flu people. Maybe people just don’t have ‘extra’ at home? That’s my guess.
My mother trained me the same way! If we didn’t report to her or add it to the shopping list ourselves when using an item, she would reprimand us. It helps prevent accidentally running out of an item, doesn’t it?
My elderly MIL said that if she runs out of TP, she’ll do what her mother did and use newspaper. She said the key is to wad the newspaper several times, to make it softer.
The toilet paper issue has us in stitches each trip. It’s one thing to stock up, it’s quite another to hoard. And knowing you’re doing it is quite despicable imo. But three days ago, an actual fight broke out over the last huge ass package of toilet paper. These two had two carts each with mountains of toilet paper. Wtf? I wanted to start throwing packages to other shoppers while they fought. It’s ridiculous. It’s insane. It’s selfish. It’s stupid. We’re used to this behavior during hurricane season. People quickly become dangerously selfish and absurd. Pisses me off.
I cant even find bags of frozen vegetables or fruit in the small city I live closest to. I am in a rural area 1 hour each way from shopping area and I always keep a supply of toilet paper, lysol wipes and coffee in case of a blizzard or emergency. I will share will neighbours and friends if they need.
I was surprised at how much was gone from our small town grocery and dollar stores. No TV dinners at all, and of course no TP, bleach or wipes. There were several elderly women trying to locate items. I overheard two of them talking about how ridiculous this seemed.
Our area had a double whammy, as many paper and sanitizing items were directed/donated recently to tornado victims. Plus we learned of two guys hoarding items for online price gouging, by going to rural stores in two states and buying all the hand sanitizer, etc., they could.
Please donate to a foodbank if you’re panicked and hoarding.
At least where I live food banks are struggling to stock up on staples and provide them to people who need them.
I refuse to panic buy but I understand why people are doing it. It just sucks that negatively impacts people who live from pay to pay cheque and food banks that help people in need.
Capitalism has conditioned us to respond to everything by spending money and it inevitably negatively impacts people without money.
I’ve been encouraging giving to food banks too. Usually the better choice is to donate money so the org can bulk buy for cheap but those supplies are drying up too. So I’m helping a friend organize a food/stuff drive, including toilet paper. She is a successful community organizer and basically has the whole town’s email. Logistics have been tricky given social distancing/isolation but she found a van and people are to leave things on their porch on specific days.
I watched him do a Q&A on his daughter Daphne’s IG last night. I generally have no respect for him, but he’s not wrong about this. He made a great point; the toilet paper aisle is wiped out but the soap aisle is fully stocked. Can’t get your hands on rubbing alcohol or Lysol of any kind, but the soap aisles are fully loaded despite the fact that the CDC is saying hand washing is the absolute best way to protect yourself and help stop the spread.
You’re not going to die if you have to use water and soap to clean yourself. There is really no excuse for the kind of stockpiling going on. You do not need to load your entire cart with ONLY toilet paper. What exactly is the logic here? You might die from a virus but at least you’ll be able to wipe your ass. Oh boy!
People LOVE drama like this. This is generating the same kind of buzz that black Friday does. People are going to ridiculous lengths to stock up on toilet paper, filling their shopping carts with 5 packs of the 20 roll packs because they see other people doing it. It’s a trend at this point. No one really knows WHY they’re doing it, but they see other people doing it, so they have to do it too.
Sadly, events like this really bring out the worst in a lot of people. I have family in Italy where things are exponentially worse than they are here in America, and guess what? No one is stock piling anything. They have to fill out forms to go places and in some cases are escorted by police yet they’re dealing with none of the ridiculous bullshit going on here in the US.
Families may have been buying more than usual due to children and adult children (who may be coming home early from college) staying at home. Our household is only 2 people but I can only imagine if 2 (or more!) butts were at home for several weeks how much faster supplies (incl TP) would be used.
Cup of water people. And then wash ur hands after. Make do
I just went to the store because I came home after taking care of my elderly parents. I have 4 rolls of tp in the house and didn’t buy any. HOW much do people need to wipe? And if worst comes to worst, you are in a bathroom! Wash your butt.
People are also buying crazy shit like coconut milk like it’s going out of style. Hand lotion. And ALL the animal products. Meat, milk, cheese, eggs, the list goes on. That stuff is perishable, I don’t understand?
how very weird it is that after china was tarriffed, this virus appears.
Thank god I’m Muslim 😂
me too !! 😀
the toilet paper thing is just baffling ! use water people !!
Its baffling! We have water and soap(p.s I hope they dont get crazy and start hoarding soap too). I’m Nigerian and we beat Ebola( which is more virulent and fatal than COVID -19) by observing basic hygiene of handwashing and surveillance( and also due to the bravery of Dr Adadevoh who diagnosed the index case and lost her life as a result). Hoarding of food, toilet paper is just greed and it wont help in anyway in stopping the transmission of the virus.