4 ms·

It also seems crazy for it to be toilet paper in the first place. Its (1) easy to make, (2) mostly produced in-country with no long, integrated supply chain an

It also seems crazy for it to be toilet paper in the first place. Its (1) easy to make, (2) mostly produced in-country with no long, integrated supply chain and (3) relatively new (talk to someone over 80 who grew up rural, they probably switched from the sears catalog to toilet paper in their life).

mokus 7y ago
Unfortunately we have no Amazon catalog to switch back to.
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 7y ago
  You don't get tons of junk mail?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
    Many people have an ad blocker installed on the mail box.
Obsnold 7y ago
My wife suspects it started in Hong Kong. People started buying all the toilet paper so they could make masks from them. Then people in other countries saw on the news that toilet paper was running out in Hong Kong so they started panic buying as well.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
JumpCrisscross 7y ago
It happens in every crisis, across every culture, and has been happening for decades. One hypothesis is it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other is it's the defence of an intimate space. Either way, it’s older than this crisis.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  The way I see it, toilet paper occupies the same slot in its users' minds as soap - basic hygiene article. You want to stock up on it to compensate for risk of shortages; consequence of running out is having to reinvent an area of life you usually handle on autopilot.
the8472 7y ago
It's one of the bulkiest consumable products people buy. Which means a whole shelf is only equivalent a few families worth of demand. So it only takes a few buyers stocking up for a few weeks of use to empty the shelves. And once the shelves are empty the panic sets in.
- teambayleaf 7y ago
  Also due to its bulkiness, there is a limit on how many units can be delivered per truck. In short, toilet paper is a low margin, least-stocked product with difficulty in transportation. Logistics matters.

mokus 7y ago

Unfortunately we have no Amazon catalog to switch back to.

Red_Leaves_Flyy 7y ago
You don't get tons of junk mail?
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  Many people have an ad blocker installed on the mail box.

Obsnold 7y ago

My wife suspects it started in Hong Kong. People started buying all the toilet paper so they could make masks from them. Then people in other countries saw on the news that toilet paper was running out in Hong Kong so they started panic buying as well.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

JumpCrisscross 7y ago

It happens in every crisis, across every culture, and has been happening for decades. One hypothesis is it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other is it's the defence of an intimate space. Either way, it’s older than this crisis.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
The way I see it, toilet paper occupies the same slot in its users' minds as soap - basic hygiene article. You want to stock up on it to compensate for risk of shortages; consequence of running out is having to reinvent an area of life you usually handle on autopilot.

the8472 7y ago

It's one of the bulkiest consumable products people buy. Which means a whole shelf is only equivalent a few families worth of demand. So it only takes a few buyers stocking up for a few weeks of use to empty the shelves. And once the shelves are empty the panic sets in.

teambayleaf 7y ago
Also due to its bulkiness, there is a limit on how many units can be delivered per truck. In short, toilet paper is a low margin, least-stocked product with difficulty in transportation. Logistics matters.