Honest question: Why do people panic-buy toilet-paper?

[DetlefK]

One roll of toilet-paper lasts about 1 month or whatever. I bet, you have on any given day a few spare rolls of toilet-paper in your home. So why the fuck do you need to go out and panic-buy 8 months worth of toilet-paper???

If you the shops close down for 8 months, we have worse problems than lack of toilet-paper.

[shockey80]

1. Because they are fucking idiots.

[Nature Man]

23. A-FUCKING-MEN

[TwilightZone]

2. Panic and control.

“When faced with an uncertain situation, people feel better if they can eliminate one risk,” Dr. Jay Zagorsky, a senior lecturer with BU’s Questrom School of Business, said in an email to Boston.com. “Bulk buying toilet paper eliminates the small risk of running out if quarantined. People might not be able to eliminate the risk of catching coronavirus but they can eliminate the risk of running out of toilet paper, which makes most people feel they have some control in this very uncertain situation.”

https://www.boston.com/news/business/2020/03/13/toilet-paper-coronavirus

[Ohiogal]

3. 1 roll of toilet paper

lasts about 2 days in my house! (4 adults here)

[BComplex]

21. I know! Who has a roll of toilet paper for a month?

How does that happen?

[TrishaJ]

34. Single person living alone

who uses moisturized butt wipes in lieu of toilet paper for #2.

[BComplex]

37. Oh. Makes sense. n/t

[at140]

28. 2 days is good in my house LOL

and we just 2 of us in the house.

[Polybius]

50. That's really odd

That averages one roll every 4 days per person. I live by myself and one roll lasts around 2 weeks.

[at140]

57. My rate of use about same as yours

my wife does not go by how many squares to use,
she yanks the end of paper, and has to have a wad in her hand.
and she uses a lot for every pee-pee.
I use nothing for pee-pee, just shake it a few times LOL
My wife thinks we own a paper mill or something.
But hey, she is a good shopper, so no big deal with TP..

[jimfields33]

38. I'm single and use one a week

No way it lasts a month. But I would never get more then 1 large toilet paper “package”. Some hold 24 rolls. I might grab that but again One!!!!!

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. Because when someone nearby sneezes...

A hundred people shit themselves

[kimbutgar]

5. I have a bidet so a roll lasts 1 week with 2 adults

I could be more frugal and use only 2 sheets.

But I don’t get it either people buying up the toilet paper.

[SeattleVet]

6. If you need 100 rolls of TP for a 14-day respiratory disease quarantine...

you most likely have some other major problems going on - not all of them physical.

[onenote]

10. I imagine people are anticipating that the quarantine might be longer than just 14 days.

[at140]

30. So...if run out of TP, jump in the shower!

[jimfields33]

39. Exactly!!

[redstatebluegirl]

7. I remember one winter in Illinois when I was a girl.

We got 18 inches of snow in a day and were snowed in out on the farm for 5 days. We ran out of TP with 5 of us using it. It is not a pleasant experience . But I think it is more about feeling in control of something, anything in an out of control situation.

[uponit7771]

53. +1,

[onenote]

8. Maybe one roll lasts you a month

But if you have a family, it goes a lot faster than that.

[cyclonefence]

9. Because it's the one common household item

they can't figure out a work-around for. Plus it doesn't go bad if you have to keep it a long time. Things like milk and eggs and bread are important, but you can't realistically stock up (I know: freezers, but you're not addressing my concerns). In ordinary life it's a nuisance if you run out of tp, but you can try to borrow some from a neighbor or run to the store; if it's in short supply, you're SOL.

My theory, anyway.

[cwydro]

13. I lived off the grid for several months once.

Plenty of work-around for TP.

[Throck]

11. Not just toilet paper it's everything.

Only thing left on the shelves is common sense.

[SammyWinstonJack]

51. Good one.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Same reason there's a run on anything during an emergency.

People are afraid they'll run out (and running out of TP could be awkward) so they buy more than they need. Others see people buying a lot of it and they become afraid there won't be enough for them, so they buy more, too, and it snowballs. Any time there's a perceived shortage people try to get as much of the scarce thing as they can because they're afraid they won't be able to get any, and then the thing becomes even more scarce.

[cwydro]

14. People are sheep.

Lemmings.

When they save a crowd do something, they have to do it too.

[MagickMuffin]

15. Because they are NincomPoops

That's my observation!

[question everything]

16. One role a month... for how many people?

Still, we Americans are over protecting ourselves. Visit other countries and you can purchase food in the street without all the wrapping that we have here. And we shower every day. I don't think that they do so in many countries. The downside is that as children we are not exposed enough to bugs that lurk around, and we do not have a chance to build our immune response.

I talked to a friend who is getting worry about not finding toiler paper and, worse come to worse she thinks she can use paper towel and throw it in the trash. ..

[Newest Reality]

17. The Food Tube

The alimentary canal is one, long tube from mouth to anus. One end usually does most of the thinking, but in an emergency the other hand starts to become more active in making decisions due to increased peristalsis caused by stress.

Of course, if you are a member of the GOP, a Republican, Trump, etc., that situation is usually, permanently reversed.

[at140]

31. Your real thinking brain is in the gut.

Ever heard of "gut feeling"?

[Newest Reality]

33. Oh, yes.

There has been some research along those lines, as well.

I remember "intestinal fortitude" also, back when I played some D&D games in younger times.

[handmade34]

18. herding/heuristics/FOMO

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/copycats-and-contrarians/202003/toilet-paper-mania


"...Psychologists and economists have suggested a range of explanations; a desire to control bodily functions in the face of fear of illness; the need for security and comfort in a stressful situation; preparing for shortages...Other commentators hypothesize that loo roll mania is something like a fear of missing out, similar to the reactions seen during banking runs

...the fact that such large numbers of people are joining the crowd reflects our inbuilt instincts, as social animals, to follow others. Our propensity to follow others is complex. Some of our reasons for herding behind others are well-reasoned. Herding can be a type of heuristic: a decision-making short-cut that saves us time and cognitive effort. When other people's choices might be a useful source of information, we use a herding heuristic and follow others because we believe that they know more than we do...

...mobs take on a life and personality of their own, separate and distinct from the individuals within it. Also, numerous experiments from social psychology have shown how blindly susceptible we can be to the influence of others

[SaveOurDemocracy]

19. lunatica solved this mystery...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213095178

[kysrsoze]

20. I'm WAY more stunned at the stupidity of water hoarding. Unless you live in Flint, MI or somewhere

with the same issues, it makes absoutely zero sense. The water's a-flowin' from all our faucets, like it always does, and it's not loaded with coronavirus.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. That one really has me baffled. I get worrying about running out of TP,

since it isn't automatically distributed into our homes like water, but there's never been any kind of threat to the water supply.

[Arthur_Frain]

22. That one website is more popular than you give it credit for being.

Rhymes with “corn pub”.

[Mr. Ected]

24. Because they're scared shitless

And this virus is going to wipe them out.

[jimfields33]

44. When it doesn't they are going to laugh and say,

“Damn we went overboard.”

[Windy City Charlie]

45. That's why

That's why I'm picturing the day when the return area at stores are going to be piled high with packages of toilet paper when people realize they didn't need as much as they thought they did.

[jimfields33]

47. I'd love to see that picture on social media.

[Bc804]

25. Completely Anecdotal

But I suspect the more people see Social Media posts about all of the shelves being empty, they then buy up the entire supply if they see any out of fear they won't find it again.

[Vinca]

27. The most shocking part of your post is saying you only need 1 roll of toilet paper

a month. Maybe you should try some probiotics and a little Metamucil. LOL.

[TeamPooka]

29. This is what happens when you're two generations away from a time when diapers were

cloth and people washed an reused them
before Pampers were invented.
People have forgotten how to clean something with poop on it.

[CottonBear]

46. Many poor people don't have washers & dryers.

I used cloth diapers and cloth wipes for my child. I washed 2 times/week at least. Plus, there was the initial rinsing of poop in the toilet, the transfer to the 5 gal diaper bucket with water & borax, the washing, the vinegar rinse and the drying.

You’d have to have multiple wash buckets with lids in the bathroom if you don’t have a washer. A bucket for holding rinsed but not washed cloth wipes, a washing/rinsing bucket and a sanitizing bucket. Then hang everything from an indoor or outdoor clothes line or rack.

[Mosby]

32. Why are people buying bottled water?

Talk about stupid.

[Raven123]

35. Its the item they would least tolerate being without.

[RockRaven]

36. Once some people start bulk-buying and creating an appearance of scarcity/shortage on the shelves

it becomes a game of musical chairs where nobody wants to be the one(s) left without. So more and more people get in game, and the scarcity becomes worse and worse. Self-perpetuating, and those late to the game are not totally irrational because by then there is real (temporary) scarcity.

[ripcord]

60. At least not matter what they die from

Their butts will be clean.

[global1]

40. Diarrhea Could Be One Of The Symptoms Of The Coronavirus.....

It's not one of the main symptoms - but some people may develop diarrhea.

People use more toilet paper when they have diarrhea.

This may be some of the thinking that is going on and why the hoarding.

I was at a store the other day and I overheard a lady saying out loud - why are people buying all this TP. Then she said - they must know something I don't. I better buy some too. She proeeded to put 2 six packs of TP in her cart.

[Lars39]

41. Antibiotics and other meds can really mess

with your stomach.

[radical noodle]

42. While some are just crazed...

people often try to think of those things they use regularly. I suspect there's little in our lives we use more frequently (particularly women) than TP. While there are other solutions, most people want to have a supply of necessities if they think they'll be unable to get out for weeks on end. That buying of necessities is happening all over the country at all the same time therefor shortages appear. Providing that the factories can continue to produce, the supplies will eventually recover.

[Grasswire2]

43. a roll lasts a month?

Please remember that women can't just give it a shake.

And remember that women menstruate.

And remember that having a stock of toilet paper in the house (and other essentials) means that YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THE FREAKING HOUSE TO GO GET SOME.

Having supplies to last several weeks in case of quarantine is simply reasonable.

[Sugar Smack]

48. Because NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!

[Ilsa]

49. The way Kleenex disappears in our home,

Using tp to blow your nose is common. A roll sits on the night stand.

Preppers buy a lot to use for barter.

[Windy City Charlie]

52. It's how the mind works

It's amazing how the mind works....when they see the rush and panic of things, they think they need to do the same thing. All you have to do is look in the past at the next great thing that comes out and everyone is on a mad rush to buy something, they figure they better make a mad-rush to, with the idea the items are going to run out and it's going to be a long time before they'll have a chance to buy it again.

[LakeArenal]

54. Quite frankly, I'm amazed at folks who say they use two squares...

No way two sheets even for pee
But two for pooping??????

No effin way.

[Chainfire]

55. There is a good reason to not run short of of toilet paper

Clean, white, soft toilet paper is the only thing that separates us from the Neanderthals. To run out is to drag our culture back ten thousand years.

Folks, this hoarding only a small taste of what will come if this virus has the impact that the gloom and doom folks think it will. It is the first small step of the breakdown of societal morals, ethics and reason. It is a case of, "I am going to have mine, and damn you any your family." Of course there are other "winners" out there that plan to profit off of shit paper. They should be forever know as "shit heads."

Next thing you may hear is that "I will give up my toilet paper stash when they pry my cold dead fingers from it."

[Buns_of_Fire]

56. In the not-too-distant future, there will probably be epic poems and ballads

written about the TP Shortage of 2020. Maybe even a full-length motion picture about a pair of good-ol-boys who bootleg 400 cases of Charmin while being chased by the Potty Police.

[zackymilly]

58. A woman who has the virus said if you get it, you won't want to eat, so you won't need to crap....

...so stop hoarding food and toilet paper.

[Hortensis]

59. Honest question, why would we leap to think the worst of others

when it's so clearly wrong? For every whoever who is "panic buying" are hundreds who are laying in supplies they believe they'll need. What kind of father would let his wife and children run out of toilet paper? And it multifunctions. This is basic stuff.

Our supply problem isn't too much panic but too much complacence.

A standard pack of TP at Sam's Club has 36 rolls. To MY mind, I believe every sensible household should -- as has been recommended for years by authorities -- have one of those laid in in case of disaster, many types of which, like this one, are predicted. We all certainly should have known this was going to happen.

I took a big dislike to the word panic long ago, though. Governments routinely use it as an excuse to lie to, exploit and betray whole populations. Watch any coverage of advancing wildfire and you'll see some idiot reporter claiming people packing their cars are panicking. And of course, we have this picture of the frantic buying of toilet paper everywhere, with panicked people fighting each other for the last rolls and and then running into the fires with them.

Maybe we should just eliminate that word for now. It's degenerated into a knee-jerk insult aimed in not-so passive aggression at pretty much everybody who purchases anything. Never forgetting that mindless hostility swung around like a fire hose at anything moves is a really big part of what got Trump elected.