Some extra examples of madness being shared in Australia this morning https://twitter.com/West_Sydney/status/1236075872714514432?s=20
Also the Hierarchy of Needs has been updated
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People are panic buying all kinds of things. I think toilet paper was the first thing to go because it’s bulky and therefore less units are kept in stock, so it’s easy for a rush on the supermarkets to empty the shelves. The supermarkets near me now have no toilet paper, tissues, or paper towels, and plain rice, pasta and a handful of other things have lots of gaps on the shelves.
Other items will end up being affected as well. Last night I saw someone buying a massive trolley full of soft drink cans. I’m not sure what her plan was in case of a coronavirus outbreak - drowning in a pool of sugar-filled soft drinks? Unfortunately, it only takes a small minority of people to start acting crazy to affect everyone else.
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It only took 2 days before the UK also followed suit, however if you ask the staff in the supermarkets, they will point out that their supply chain for loo-roll in the UK is fine, and the only thing making it scarce is idiots.
Same for all the bread and milk people have now decided to hoard.
One of the security guys at the local ASDA was rather angry and pointed out that for every person that buys 10 bottles of hand sanitiser, means that 9 people go without, and we increase the risk to the community even more.
Those that are hoarding cleaning products are guilty of promoting the infection, not helping to stem it.
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It doesn’t look good does it? Supermarkets here have restricted customers to one pack of toilet rolls at a time.
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Eek! I have three bathrooms and four adults and one ten yo. I can go through three rolls a day no problem…usually four!
I order by the case from Amazon and just ordered a few days ago with no problems. Hope amazon stays in stock!
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One pack could be a pack of 64 if they have that size.
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One thing I noticed with a girlfriend of yesteryear was that she would make a mitt by wrapping loo-roll round her hand for each wipe (I was trying to have a bath at the time).
I finally worked out where the loo-roll goblin was that seemed to be eating it all.
I think we probably never contemplate there would be any variety in… err… style.
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It’s the argument of scrunch or fold again 
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as it was a wrap, it was sort of a fold.
I remember saying “I hope you use both sides.”
I just got glared at so went back to trying to have my bath. hehe
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Ok, LMAO…I’ve never even THOUGHT about styles! 
. Thanks for my laugh for the day! 
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Saw a possible reason on FaceBook (of all places) of people who could have been wrapped mummy style in toilet paper. ???
Even out in regional Australia most stores are out with restrictions too.
Trevor
This toilet paper thing will go down in history as one of those freak phenomenons of irrational consumer behaviour. It’s so wonderfully bizarre. I wonder if we ever manage to build an “AI” that is as strangely irrational as we are.
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Kinda like the flock of sheep that all jump over a non-existent object.
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Germany is setting up extra aid for affected businesses, to help pay employees who are being kept away from work through company or self quarantine. (If an employer tells an employee to stay away, or they close their gates, they still have to pay 100% of the salary, by law - it isn’t the employee’s fault if the employer can’t provide them a place to work.)
The EU has also set up a 11 figure fund for looking after those unable to work because of quarantine.
Lower Saxony, where I live, has just announced that, because of SARS-CoV-2, they are suspending all schools and child care until 18.04.2020 (essentially extending the Easter break by starting it a couple of weeks earlier).
There is a special dispensation for care for the children of medical, rescue, police and fire workers; children up to class 8 will be looked after by emergency groups. Children from “normal” workers will have to stay at home.
The children should also not be passed onto grandparents for day-care, because they are the highest risk group.
Meanwhile in the UK
Hey Pommster I have been pondering this, too.
I think it is linked to a couple of human psyche fears; what happens when you get caught short and run out of sheets while on the loo and herd mentality. Panic buying, begets panic buying.
There was also talk of fear of failure of our sanitary systems if other things (fabrics and who knows what) are used as alternatives and get flushed and block drains and the companies that would fix this for us could not.
As a result, human health is at risk from breakdown of basic services. Who knew bog roll in all its innocency plays a key part in our safety?
Ah that would be the ironic cherry on the cake. Modern civilisations brought to their knees because of the return of dysentery and cholera due to overuse of loo roll.
Time for America to show that all that annual black friday practice was not wasted
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