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> There have been shortages in Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. All English-speaking countries, and, until now, moderately hit
by bambax 7y ago
> There have been shortages in Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
All English-speaking countries, and, until now, moderately hit by the pandemic.
I don't know about Italy or Germany (except that there seemed to be few photos of empty shelves running around the Internet), but I can testify that here in France, there is no visible toilet paper shortage, or people fighting in the aisles of the supermarkets to get the last roll.
Yet all "rich" countries, with the possible exception of Japan, use toilet paper in the same manner. So why the difference between countries?
- tathougies 7y agoThis is a form of mass hysteria. The media reports on some silly commodity like toilet paper having run out in one store (maybe they didn't get their delivery, unrelated to coronavirus at the early days). People take this signal to mean that toilet paper is going to run out. Now, afraid of being left without toilet paper, and worried that others are hoarding it for a reason they do not yet understand, others go to buy it. It's the same reason why people start buying ridiculous things when a celebrity is seen wearing them. People look at it, don't understand what's going on, but don't want to be left behind, so demand increases irrationally.
- FrojoS 7y agoJust from personal experience, the shortage also happened in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. So, it's not limited to Anglo-Saxon countries. Maybe France is an exception because of the popularity of the bidet?