# Coronavirus--I don't get it.\[hoarding toilet paper\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 8, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107 "2020-03-08T16:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/201 "2020-03-14T21:26:24Z")
In Aus, we went to full TP panic mode early. And it could have been so easily avoided: The shops could have doubled (or tripled) the price on some of the lines, and announced it was all going to drought/bush fire relief. That would have slowed down the idiots. And even if it hadn’t slowed down the idiots, it would have generated a big donation for drought/bush fire relief. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/202 "2020-03-14T22:27:00Z")
Oh, sure, you can freeze bananas. But I’m pretty sure that (or anything else) wasn’t what those buyers were thinking. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/203 "2020-03-14T23:16:30Z")
I made a run to my local grocery store this afternoon. It was busier than usual for a Saturday afternoon, but not a zoo. I didn’t have to wait to check out. Completely picked clean (or really close to it): - Toilet paper - Hand sanitizer - Disinfectant hand soap - Fresh beef, chicken, and turkey - Prepackaged bread (but the in-store bakery had quite a lot) - Eggs Definitely showing the effects of mass buying (still some in stock, but a lot of empty spaces, too): - Lunch meat, presliced cheese (lots of people stocking up for making sandwiches, clearly) - Frozen pizzas - Milk - Paper towels - Facial tissue - Baby products (baby wipes, diapers, formula) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/204 "2020-03-15T00:22:52Z")
TPocalapse Now. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/205 "2020-03-15T02:08:43Z")
I went to Trader Joe’s and Safeway today, and both were less crowded than normal. There were some empty shelves, and I forgot to check their TP aisle, but it wasn’t an apocalypse. And then I come home and the news is reporting lines of people wrapping around the building at a couple of big stores. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/206 "2020-03-15T02:33:04Z")
The grocery store parking lots were jammed again today from what i heard and from what i saw while driving by. My husband decided to order a couple of masks online last week, and it’s almost certainly a scam. Time to file a credit card chargeback, i fear. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/207 "2020-03-15T03:22:13Z")
I haven’t read this thread, but I wanted to post my impressions after walking through the local supermarket: 1.) It’s a weird mix of normality and famine. Most things are there in their normal bounty, but some things are either missing completely, or seriously depleted. 2.) Totally Missing – All paper products. I went to pick up some napkins, because we happen to be almost out of them. The ENTIRE paper products aisle was empty. No Napkins. No Toilet Paper. No Paper Towels. No Tissues. Why? This seems so bizarre. We have plenty of paper towels, toilet paper, and tissues, because we buy in bulk. Are people really thinking that they will run out of these disposable items over the next two weeks to a month? 3.) Totally Missing – Potatoes. Really. I wanted to get some potatoes yesterday for dinner, and they were completely gone, except for a few “premium” plastic-wrapped potatoes. I guess people figured that potatoes will keep a long time. 4.) Mostly gone – Pasta and Macaroni and Cheese – Again, I guess people stocked up because this will keep a long time. Gonna be some boringly repetitive meals, though. 5.) Mostly gone – flour, bread mixes, and pancake mix. Again, it’ll keep, I guess. 6.) Depleted – bottled water. Nowhere near gone, because the store seems to have a LOT of it. But, as another thread asks, why stock up? 7.) Depleted – eggs. I guess you need them for the pancakes and other baking. 8.) Depleted – milk, but not as bad as eggs. Again, needed for a lot of baking. 9.) Depleted – Frozen pizzas and pizza fixings – I guess pizza is the go-to quarantine food. 10,) Depleted – Popcorn – something to eat while quarantined with all those movies and streaming services. 10.) Coffee Grinders – shut down and placed off-limits. I guess they don’t want people contaminating the grinders. I’m reminded of Dave Barry’s crime-novel-writing friend who observed that by poisoning the grinder at the supermarket you could commit the Perfect Crime, as long as you didn’t mind killing a few innocents. But there was still a lot of bread itself, fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, prepared foods, candy, and snacks. All things considered, it’s as weird what ISN’T missing as what is. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/208 "2020-03-15T03:39:20Z")
Walmart and other chains are now limiting their hours of operation. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/209 "2020-03-15T03:51:24Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If I have a “flu-like thing” no, I won’t be baking but if I’m stuck inside for two weeks and NOT feeling ill I very well might be churning out some baked goods … because baking is something I already do when I have time. Not sure why non-bakers would be stocking up, though. Today my facebook feed has a lot of baked goods. Bored people trying to “socially isolate” are doing recreational baking. Seems like a decent thing to do with your kids who are also home. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/210 "2020-03-15T04:06:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Walmart and other chains are now limiting their hours of operation. My local Walmarts were going to cut back their hours long before any of this happened. Here’s a story from a hand sanitizer hoarder whose actions have bitten him in the bee-hind. (Good grief - all he really needed to do was put his story on social media and he’d be mobbed, assuming he hasn’t been since the story appeared, although perhaps the locals are going to avoid him because of his attitude?) > **[He Has 17,700 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer and Nowhere to Sell Them (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html?fbclid=IwAR1Kw8PCsHnBPRHoLCiYYMzaDgmCIjHSCr4s7oFNRrMQx6HgbdKLF8vMfa8)** > > Amazon cracked down on coronavirus price gouging. Now, while the rest of the world searches, some sellers are holding stockpiles of sanitizer and masks. ETA: The Tennessee Attorney General has opened an investigation. [https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/3/14/405791/State-Attorney-General-Hits-Hixson.aspx](https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/3/14/405791/State-Attorney-General-Hits-Hixson.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/211 "2020-03-15T04:06:36Z")
All the tp was gone when I shopped today, but there were still napkins and paper towels. Lots of people were buying bottled water, but there still seemed to be plenty. Some snacks were decimated. Only about 20% of the usual amount of eggs were on the shelves, and a LOT of the milk was gone, but not all. No lack of fresh fruits and veggies. I wasn’t stocking up, just getting a few things I was low on. I didn’t check out frozen foods, but I saw lots of folks with frozen pizzas stacked up. I can make my own bread if I really needed it. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/212 "2020-03-15T06:12:49Z")
The 11 PM news is showing empty shelves, abbreviated store hours, employees wiping down handles and surfaces. And outside in the parking lot, a woman complains to a reporter, “For the second week in a row, I can’t find cashew milk. I need cashew milk.” Yeah, that’s a top ten item, right there! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/213 "2020-03-15T06:21:32Z")
The stupid is intensifying. A Facebook acquaintance seriously posted that he’s worried about ordering a pizza, since he thinks one of the toppings is likely to be coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/214 "2020-03-15T07:27:43Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > If you are planning on freezing nanners, a little prep will make life a lot easier. > > Use an ice cube tray. Smush the banana into the little open squares, then freeze. Once frozen, you can pop out the nana cubes and keep them in a sack in the freezer. The cubes easily fit in a blender jar, with no mess. > > Freezing a whole banana in the peel is a gawdawful drippy mess when you try to use the damned thing. The curved bananas don’t cooperate when you keep them in the freezer, either. They block your normal rectangular packages, and they like to clatter to the floor when you want to pull out just one thing. > ~VOW I normally peel the bananas and smush them a bit. I put them in groups of 3, because that’s what I normally need for banana bread (or banana/fig or banana/blueberry, etc.). Frozen ripe bananas are almost better for baking than just overripe ones. I will now go put bananas on my shopping list. Not planning to shop until Tuesday or Wednesday. We went on Friday and it was mostly normal except for the missing flour. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/215 "2020-03-15T08:02:54Z")
In a not legal State. But I have friends! It’s going High. Everyone wants a nice stash to wait this virus out. I try to not talk about what we have, Movie stuff … or TV shows. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/216 "2020-03-15T11:35:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Are people really thinking that they will run out of these disposable items over the next two weeks to a month? I think we will be damned lucky if it’s only two weeks to a month. I don’t see any reason to expect that we will be that lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/217 "2020-03-15T11:45:02Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > The stupid is intensifying. A Facebook acquaintance seriously posted that he’s worried about ordering a pizza, since he thinks one of the toppings is likely to be coronavirus. Still better than pineapple. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/218 "2020-03-15T11:49:10Z")
I also use old bananas for making (what I’m just now coining as) redneck homade ice cream. Put milk and sugar and flavoring agent (such as bananas) in ziplock bag, put bag in freezer. While it is freezing occasionally take it out and kneed it a bit to keep the ice crystals small and distributed. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/219 "2020-03-15T14:05:03Z")
> [@mistymage](#): > > In a not legal State. But I have friends! It’s going High. Everyone wants a nice stash to wait this virus out. > > I try to not talk about what we have, > > Movie stuff … or TV shows. > > 😉 Pennsylvania is a medical state and I have a card. Our governor, Tom Wolf (hallowed be his name) has declared dispensaries to be a necessary service that must remain open. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107/220 "2020-03-15T14:38:58Z")
As a manager in a supermarket let me just say how exhausting this all is. Please remember to sat “thank you” to those trying to get the shelves stocked and the product sold. Many are working seven days and giving up breaks to keep the lines flowing. Someone stole all the toilet paper out of the customer women’s restroom. Someone stole the huge container of sanitizer wipes we had by the door for customers to clean hands and carts. Most people are understanding of the massive out-of-stocks on the shelves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-i-dont-get-it-hoarding-toilet-paper/849107.md?page=12)