Toilet Paper Essentials Fly Off Shelves
Ive covered a lot of weird stories in my time but this one might take the cake. Toilet paper. TOILET PAPER. Americans are hoarding the stuff like the apocalypse specifically targets our bathrooms. Every grocery store Ive visited this week looks like it got ransacked by a very particular type of looter.
Coronavirus outbreak triggered pandemic-era panic buying across the country. Shelves that normally hold months of inventory are stripped bare within hours of restocking. Stores started rationing – one or two packages per customer. People are actually FIGHTING over bathroom tissue. Fighting.
Why Toilet Paper Of All Things
Doesnt make much sense when you think about it. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. Its not like the virus causes unusual bathroom symptoms that would require stockpiling supplies. Yet toilet paper became THE symbolic hoarding item of this whole pandemic.
Psychologists explain it as need for control during uncertainty. When everything feels chaotic and unpredictable, securing a concrete tangible necessity provides comfort. Its also highly visible – empty TP shelves signal scarcity which triggers more panic buying. Self-fulfilling prophecy type deal.
The Supply Chain Reality
Heres the thing: theres actually no real toilet paper shortage in America. Mills running at capacity. Raw materials available. Problem is logistics – supply chain was designed for steady predictable demand not sudden spikes.
When everyone simultaneously buys three months worth instead of their usual amount stores run out. Trucks can only carry so much. Warehouses have limited space. System just needs time to catch up to abnormal patterns.
Making it worse – people working from home now use more residential toilet paper. Commercial TP, that cheap stuff in office buildings, uses different production lines. Demand shift caught manufacturers off guard.
When Does This End
Retailers keep asking people to buy only what they need. Pleas fall on deaf ears mostly. Social media videos of overflowing carts full of toilet paper generate outrage but also reinforce hoarding behavior. If THAT person bought 200 rolls shouldnt I?
Eventually frenzy subsides. Either peoples homes literally run out of space for more TP or panic transfers to some other commodity. For now the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 remains our strangest collective pandemic response. If you find some on shelf buy a normal amount. Leave some for your neighbors. Were all in this together even if were fighting over bathroom supplies.
