Covid-19 and toilet paper hysteria

[Delphic Oracle]

Restroom report: whereas before about 1 in 3 trips I would need to turn off running water upon entering or exiting, I will reliably need to turn off running water upon both entering and exiting every time.

There is a man with his daughter in the stall next to me. I hear him spraying something and wiping surfaces down. He repeatedly chastises her not to touch herself or anything else. The toilet auto flushed and he lectured her sternly for it. She began making fussy, nervous noises as he hunts for a sanitary wipe "we only have a couple left!" he exasperates. She washed her hands while he counted to 20 seconds. She had to use the air dryers even though she doesn't like them.

She was sobbing a bit as they left.

[alfaniner]

Originally Posted by carlitos

I wore latex gloves to vote today. Received the ballot and signed my name in my leather gloves, went to the booth and pocketed the leather ones, put on the latex ones from my pocket, did the ballot, handed it and the marker in, opened the door and tossed the latex ones in the trash. Swabbed my leather gloves before and after.

What's my grade?

Of course, latex gloves can do double duty if you just turn them inside out!

[crescent]

My nextdoor feed (north Denver area):

City manager gets on the feed numerous times to quell rumors: The city water supply is safe. The city has not told workers to stockpile drinking water in their homes. The city has no plan to close liquor stores. Less serious calls to the police are less likely to get an in-person response than before, but actual criminal activity is still being dealt with.

Less talk about TP and food and such, other than those with supplies offering to share, and ad-hoc arrangements to help more at-risk people get what they need. People are working together to help each other out.

More talk about the need to stockpile ammo and to open-carry. People are expecting looting to start soon. Some of those are the same people participating in the ad-hoc "get vulnerable people what they need" things. People are working together to help each other out, including some people are paranoid but lend a hand anyway.


In the real world: My wife went to Target yesterday. It was not terribly crowded. TP and cleaning supplies cleaned out. Some food shelves bare (but not all), still no milk. She was surprised at just how much food was still available. She was able to buy yogurt, but only her second-most-favorite kind. Bananas, bread (not the good stuff, but still decent), apples (less variety than normal).

Now that the initial panic has faded a bit, the stores seem to be restocking. My older brother works at a grocery store, he says it may take months to fully restock some items. Perishable items might be the first to get fully restocked as those are more frequently replenished to begin with.


I think the concern might be when grocery store workers start to get infected. Once they find out that a contagious person came to work on a busy day, things might revert back to panic mode again.

[Elagabalus]

Originally Posted by calebprime

The gloves are just a tactile reminder not to touch my face.

I wear rubber gloves, disinfect gloves with 91% iso. alc. after leaving store.

alc. is already in my coat, I don't have to touch door handles.

I also wash down my debit card, which I've kept separately.

I wash my hands with alc.

I put on other leather gloves to drive. no face touch.

I only shop at co-op every 5 days. otherwise no contact with anyone.

We need to get together.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally Posted by crescent

I think the concern might be when grocery store workers start to get infected. Once they find out that a contagious person came to work on a busy day, things might revert back to panic mode again.

Personally, if it comes down to food insecurity I'd rather just get the virus and have it over with. Right now I'm willing to work from home and "social distance", but if food troubles start that's more serious. I'm pretty sure at my age and health condition I can survive the coronavirus better than starvation.

[Elagabalus]

Originally Posted by Delphic Oracle

Restroom report: whereas before about 1 in 3 trips I would need to turn off running water upon entering or exiting, I will reliably need to turn off running water upon both entering and exiting every time.

There is a man with his daughter in the stall next to me. I hear him spraying something and wiping surfaces down. He repeatedly chastises her not to touch herself or anything else. The toilet auto flushed and he lectured her sternly for it. She began making fussy, nervous noises as he hunts for a sanitary wipe "we only have a couple left!" he exasperates. She washed her hands while he counted to 20 seconds. She had to use the air dryers even though she doesn't like them.

She was sobbing a bit as they left.

Rule No.1. Never do No.2 in a public/work bathroom! Seriously people, mind over matter! "Put an empty chamber in that gun!"

No exceptions for toddlers!

[Elagabalus]

Originally Posted by Ian Osborne

Would you (and everyone else) recommend getting a bread-making machine, or can you manage just as well with a set of loaf tins and the oven?

You might want to try the local thrift store. I guarantee you that there will be a veritable Death Row of bread machines on offer.

[SpitfireIX]

I went to a pharmacy (CVS) today to get my asthma scripts and Wellbutrin refilled. I was planning to get milk if there was any; my mother and brother asked me to get eggs and bread, too, if possible. The pharmacy had one half-gallon of whole milk left that was more expensive than a full gallon costs at the grocery store (we usually drink skim(med), but I bought it anyway). They had one loaf of white bread and a few of wheat (I got one of each), and no eggs. I also bought four boxes of breakfast cereal, which were luckily deeply discounted, and eight cans of Progresso soup, which was also on sale, though still somewhat more expensive than at a grocery store. They were running low on or out of the cereal and soup that were on sale, but they had a lot of cereal and soup that weren't on sale. Finally, I bought some candy that I don't need, because it was on sale. I didn't check to see if they had any toilet paper, because we have enough to last for a while.

I went to wash my hands as soon as I entered the store, and discovered that the signs on the men's and women's restrooms had been covered with papers that read "employee restroom" and "customer restroom," or words to that effect. BTW, CVS is a great place to wash your hands if you're out and about, because unlike many retail establishments, they have plenty of hot water, and they don't use hot-air hand dryers, which of course spread germs.

After I got done at CVS, which was a little after noon, I swung by the nearby grocery store (Kroger) with the idea of going in to see if they had any eggs or milk, and possibly some fresh fruit, but the parking lot was packed, so I decided not to. I did see someone coming out with a gallon of milk, though.

[EHocking]

Originally Posted by novaphile

I'm in exactly the same position. My daily drug, is filled once per month. If I try to renew after three weeks the pharmacist refuses.

You can ask your doctor to instruct chemists to dispense 2+ month’s prescriptions.

Literally heard this from the horse’s (dispensing Pharmacist) yesterday.

[Trebuchet]

Originally Posted by SpitfireIX

I went to a pharmacy (CVS) today to get my asthma scripts and Wellbutrin refilled. I was planning to get milk if there was any; my mother and brother asked me to get eggs and bread, too, if possible. The pharmacy had one half-gallon of whole milk left that was more expensive than a full gallon costs at the grocery store (we usually drink skim(med), but I bought it anyway). They had one loaf of white bread and a few of wheat (I got one of each), and no eggs. I also bought four boxes of breakfast cereal, which were luckily deeply discounted, and eight cans of Progresso soup, which was also on sale, though still somewhat more expensive than at a grocery store. They were running low on or out of the cereal and soup that were on sale, but they had a lot of cereal and soup that weren't on sale. Finally, I bought some candy that I don't need, because it was on sale. I didn't check to see if they had any toilet paper, because we have enough to last for a while.

I went to wash my hands as soon as I entered the store, and discovered that the signs on the men's and women's restrooms had been covered with papers that read "employee restroom" and "customer restroom," or words to that effect. BTW, CVS is a great place to wash your hands if you're out and about, because unlike many retail establishments, they have plenty of hot water, and they don't use hot-air hand dryers, which of course spread germs.

After I got done at CVS, which was a little after noon, I swung by the nearby grocery store (Kroger) with the idea of going in to see if they had any eggs or milk, and possibly some fresh fruit, but the parking lot was packed, so I decided not to. I did see someone coming out with a gallon of milk, though.

I wound up at two supermarkets today, because I needed to pick up prescriptions at one and my wife is low on cheesecake from the other.
At the first they were out of the wipes for the cart, instead providing a spray and box of paper towels. The latter was empty. No TP or sanitizer, of course, but well stocked with meat, milk, and lots of other stuff. I bought two jugs of cat litter because it was on sale and I saved six bucks!
But there was still no cheesecake. Who'd have thought they'd be hording cheesecake?
Oh, and despite the draconian regulations in my hippy-dippy town, one store was refusing to use reusable shopping bags.

Originally Posted by EHocking

You can ask your doctor to instruct chemists to dispense 2+ month’s prescriptions.

Literally heard this from the horse’s (dispensing Pharmacist) yesterday.

Our insurance company insists on 90 day supplies. Apparently it costs them less.

[Cheetah]

I went to the shops to get some supplies. No cases in central SA yet. TP was lowish at the supermarket and it seemed markedly busier than usual. Everyone had some TP.



Baking bread. I've streamlined a recipe I found on the web years ago. It's really easy. No kneading involved and it's delicious, yellowish, chewy and with a thick crunchy crust. I use a cast iron dutch oven.



Pane Rustico: Italian Peasant Bread


Highly recommended.

[MoeFaux]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

I went to the shops to get some supplies. No cases in central SA yet. TP was lowish at the supermarket and it seemed markedly busier than usual. Everyone had some TP.



Baking bread. I've streamlined a recipe I found on the web years ago. It's really easy. No kneading involved and it's delicious, yellowish, chewy and with a thick crunchy crust. I use a cast iron dutch oven.



Pane Rustico: Italian Peasant Bread


Highly recommended.

Oh, shoot! That reminded me that I had meant to look for yeast when I was at the store. Phooey. That bread sounds good!

[The Don]

Brewdog have started producing hand sanitiser.

Quote:

Many readers in the UK have told us that they haven't been able to find hand sanitiser here in the shops. We've reported on how a gin distillery in Scotland is planning to produce alcohol-based hand sanitiser after it was approached by local care partnerships - and now beer brand BrewDog says it's launched a similar effort.

"To help with the shortages, we have just started working on making hand sanitiser at our distillery in Scotland. We are determined to do everything we can to try and help as many people as possible stay safe.It's time to keep it clean," it wrote on Instagram.

BrewDog said it is giving the product to those who need it without charge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/worl...ost_type=share

I'm a Brewdog shareholder and I approve of that message

[a_unique_person]

Now it's general hysteria. Lots of food items being created out so the big shops are bringing in rationing.
Enterprising people are going out and raiding country areas.

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

Probably posted already but in case it hasn't been:

https://www.facebook.com/pluginjug/p...type=3&theater

Lots of funny memes, scroll a bit. And there's some hilarious memes beyond the TP issue.

Two days without sports.
Found lady sitting on my couch.
Apparently she's my wife.
She seems pretty nice....

We're having this: https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0318/11...ercise-dublin/

[SuburbanTurkey]

Originally Posted by casebro

Or get a yeast starter going. Easier than a sourdough. Do it before you need the last of your yeast to do it. Yeast flour, warm water, the day before, next day use half to make your bread, refrigerate the other half. Yeast counts double in 20 minutes. When I brew wine I buy a pack of yeast once per season, use the dreck from one batch for the next.

Practice now, or be prepared to eat your hard tack mistakes.

The King Arthur Flour catalog is a good option for home bakers in Canada and the US. 1lb bags of instant yeast are showing backordered until next week, but 1 lb is a lot of instant yeast. States it's good for up to a year if stored properly.

Even with shipping, this may actually be cheaper than what I've been buying in the store. The 4oz yeast jars are very expensive for what you get. I haven't ordered so much in the past, but I'm making much more bread now that I'm staying at home.

I went ahead and ordered the yeast combo, which includes a storage jar, 1lb of instant yeast, and a 2.25 tsp measuring spoon (which is the amount that comes in one packet of yeast and is standard for most recipes).

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by The Don

Buying tinned soup makes sense to me. If you and your family are feeling unwell then it's an easy way to get some hot, soothing food inside you with minimum effort.

Yep, I have plenty of it (much now passed on) that I got from a logistics company that needed IT services.

Originally Posted by The Don

Nearly 30 years ago Mrs Don and I had typhoid and cholera shots before we went on honeymoon to Kenya. Although only a small proportion of people are supposed to react badly to them, we both did and were confined to bed for 3 days with flu-like symptoms. At one point each offered the other "a million pounds" to make a cup of tea.

Thankfully we had an ample supply of tinned soup.
..

What about tea?

Originally Posted by The Don

Mrs Don plans to pop into Lidl after going to the gym this morning.

They're still open in the UK?

Originally Posted by The Don

She'll pick up a couple of litres of UHT milk (which doubtless we'll throw away in a few months time), a couple of packs of pasta and/or rice, some frozen fish and/or meat and, it being Lidl, probably a 3 ton capacity car jack, a pair of welding gloves and a surfboard.

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by Darat

A few more people than usual. Remember all the big store operate on JIT, so they probably hold no more than a predicted week of supply of toilet paper. Even without anyone "hoarding" TP if say 20% of people buy a pack of TP earlier than usual it will be enough to empty the shelves. I can't see the TP manufacturers ramping up their production lines, it makes no sense for them, TP isn't perishable so people in a months time won't be buying TP as they usually would and they'd end up with a glut.

Over here the shortage lasted less than a day; no problems since.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by catsmate

What about tea?

We have sufficient for now - around 800 bags - so about a week's worth

Originally Posted by catsmate

They're still open in the UK?

Yes, for now. The UK government seems to be taking a passive-aggressive approach to public safety. They won't actually force pubs, restaurants, gyms and so on to close, merely tell people that they should avoid them (and that they're not angry, merely disappointed, if you go to one).

[Meadmaker]

Originally Posted by Darat

A few more people than usual. Remember all the big store operate on JIT, so they probably hold no more than a predicted week of supply of toilet paper. Even without anyone "hoarding" TP if say 20% of people buy a pack of TP earlier than usual it will be enough to empty the shelves. I can't see the TP manufacturers ramping up their production lines, it makes no sense for them, TP isn't perishable so people in a months time won't be buying TP as they usually would and they'd end up with a glut.

CNN had a piece yesterday about TP production. Apparently, it would be next to impossible to ramp up production. The machines already run 24/7, as the product has a pretty steady and predictable demand. It goes from factory to warehouse to distributors. What little variability that exists in normal circumstances is soaked up by warehouse space. The one thing they can do is shift demand from some sort of product to others, but the actual equipment can't be brought on line easily.

The actual biggest fear is that the workers will become sick, and the machines won't be able to run.

[SuburbanTurkey]

Originally Posted by Meadmaker

CNN had a piece yesterday about TP production. Apparently, it would be next to impossible to ramp up production. The machines already run 24/7, as the product has a pretty steady and predictable demand. It goes from factory to warehouse to distributors. What little variability that exists in normal circumstances is soaked up by warehouse space. The one thing they can do is shift demand from some sort of product to others, but the actual equipment can't be brought on line easily.

The actual biggest fear is that the workers will become sick, and the machines won't be able to run.

I mean, demand might be up right now, but there's no reason to believe actual usage is up. Hopefully these panic buyers have now satisfied themselves and won't be at the stores buying more as it gets restocked.

[Ryokan]

Eurovision cancelled.

Now you know it's serious.

[JoeMorgue]

Okay I might not see anyone die of Covid-19, but I might soon see someone die because of Covid-19 if people don't calm the ever-loving hell down.

Just watched a little old lady sitting in a Pharmacy waiting room pull out a little travel size can of Lysol and spray it directly into the face of another little old lady sitting next to them after the person coughed. Like it was goddamn Mace or something and she was being mugged.

Hospital security legit had to come and break up was about two steps away from becoming a little old lady throw down.

[Swordfishtrombone]

Made a trip to the local 24-hour grocery store late at night, and it seems that at least Finns are done hoarding TP - the shelves looked pretty normal in the paper aisle.

HOWEVER, because we're Finns, of course we're hoarding rye bread. A minor miracle happened, and I got the last package of rye bread on the empty shelves. People are buying it all up and freezing it to use later.

[Meadmaker]

Originally Posted by SuburbanTurkey

I mean, demand might be up right now, but there's no reason to believe actual usage is up. Hopefully these panic buyers have now satisfied themselves and won't be at the stores buying more as it gets restocked.

Right. Didn't mean to imply otherwise. It's just a temporary supply issue because of the temporary "stocking up".....unless the workers get sick and the machines shut down.

[carlitos]

Originally Posted by catsmate

Over here the shortage lasted less than a day; no problems since.

In the US, this should be normal, at least as long as people are still working. My client took a full truckload of dry goods yesterday. Soups, Ramen, cleaning products, etc. Next weeks order is on schedule with no shortages. Shelves will be full in no time with the exception of sanitizer etc.

[SuburbanTurkey]

Originally Posted by Meadmaker

Right. Didn't mean to imply otherwise. It's just a temporary supply issue because of the temporary "stocking up".....unless the workers get sick and the machines shut down.

I'm just hoping that it doesn't enter some horrible feedback loop. Those people who couldn't find TP in the last week might respond by hoarding it when they do come across it, even though they might not originally had that inclination.

[JoeMorgue]

This is why if you're the kind of person who you know panics and horder during a crisis, the onus is on you to slowly build up your stash before the crisis, not when it starts happening.

[Horatius]

Originally Posted by JoeMorgue

As of Sunday the food seemed all to be normal stock at our local Publix. The hand sanitizer, toilet paper, disinfectants were all picked clean but none of the food supplies looked all that picked through.

I think at this point we're just in the self feeding part of it, where the only think being bought up is stuff we're being told is being bought up.

I'm seeing weird patterns in what is sold out and what isn't. On Sunday, when shopping for my mother, the commercial bread was almost completely sold out, there were just a few bagels and English muffins left. Yesterday, as I expected, the bread was fully-restocked, but they were sold out of fresh chicken and frozen french fries. But they still had normal levels of beef and pork, literally right next to the bare chicken shelf. Why panic buy one, and not the others?

Just weird.

[TX50]

Originally Posted by Meadmaker

And I saw a headline that in the US, gun sales are surging.

No indication of whether supply is adequate to meet the surge in demand.

Remember that if you are using a gun as a TP substitute to always unload it first (or you might accidentally rip yourself a new one).

[Meadmaker]

Originally Posted by Horatius

I'm seeing weird patterns in what is sold out and what isn't. On Sunday, when shopping for my mother, the commercial bread was almost completely sold out, there were just a few bagels and English muffins left. Yesterday, as I expected, the bread was fully-restocked, but they were sold out of fresh chicken and frozen french fries. But they still had normal levels of beef and pork, literally right next to the bare chicken shelf. Why panic buy one, and not the others?

Just weird.

A lot of it is distributor issues. People are stocking up on meat, so all kinds of meat are selling out. What might have happened is that your store's chicken supplier couldn't make his normal delivery because it went to another customer, but your store's beef and pork delivery was made as normal.

[Mike!]

Originally Posted by JoeMorgue

Okay I might not see anyone die of Covid-19, but I might soon see someone die because of Covid-19 if people don't calm the ever-loving hell down.

Just watched a little old lady sitting in a Pharmacy waiting room pull out a little travel size can of Lysol and spray it directly into the face of another little old lady sitting next to them after the person coughed. Like it was goddamn Mace or something and she was being mugged.

Hospital security legit had to come and break up was about two steps away from becoming a little old lady throw down.

I could see this happening if the two individuals involved were Eric Idle and Terry Jones in old lady drag, and laughing hysterically at it, but that it actually (reportedly) happened is a sure sign it really is the freaking Apocalypse.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike!

I could see this happening if the two individuals involved were Eric Idle and Terry Jones in old lady drag, and laughing hysterically at it, but that it actually (reportedly) happened is a sure sign it really is the freaking Apocalypse.

I've seen worse behavior from little old ladies. I saw two get into a cane-and-kicking fight in a store over Hallmark Xmas tree ornaments.

[Horatius]

Originally Posted by Ian Osborne

Would you (and everyone else) recommend getting a bread-making machine, or can you manage just as well with a set of loaf tins and the oven?

Originally Posted by Dave Rogers

Get a bread-making machine. It's not exactly a difficult process making it yourself, but it's more complicated than slinging the ingredients in the machine and pressing Go. Bread-making machines more or less guarantee you an edible loaf, whereas I've made bread without one that ended up more suitable for garden walling.

Dave

The other nice thing about a machine is they usually have a timer. You can set it up just before going to bed, and wake up to a fresh loaf. My machine can set the delay up to 13 hours, and then will keep the loaf warm for an hour or two after baking, which gives me a pretty wide window for having fresh bread in the morning.

[JoeMorgue]

I was listening to a new podcast from the Night Vale people; Our Plague Year a sort of general purpose current events podcast. One of the speakers on on the first episode was sci-fi writer Cory Doctorow with a piece called "Don't Look for the Helpers."

There is a wonderful line in it. "It is not dystopian to imagine the crisis. It is dystopian to imagine that in the aftermath we will all reveal ourselves to be barely constrained monsters just waiting for the second civilization hits pause."

The panic hoarding mentality, in most cases (sane or at least justifiable versions of it do exist to be sure) is nothing more than that, another version of the "I think the world is crap, I'm better than you because I think the world is crap, and if it comes to it I will do everything in my power to make the world crap just to prove my point that you never should have had optimism."

This are people who refuse to even consider the notion that the rest of humanity is just waiting for the first excuse to be horrible to them, which says more about them then it does about anyone else.

I guarantee you the bulk of the panic buying is being done under the "Oh I don't need to hoard toilet paper, no siree, but I have to buy toilet paper before all the... others hoard it all with their panic buying. You see I'm not panicking, I'm reacting to other people panicking is a way that is functionally identical to me just being the one panicking." mentality.

[Ian Osborne]

Originally Posted by Elagabalus

You might want to try the local thrift store. I guarantee you that there will be a veritable Death Row of bread machines on offer.

You're right. I just picked up a really good one for a tenner at our local British Heart Foundation charity shop.

[TragicMonkey]

Somewhere out there is a machine that makes bread machines. And there must also be a machine that makes the machine that makes bread machines. And a machine that makes that one! That's where the real money is: the bread machine machine machine machine. That would be like owning the One Ring. (The enchanted finger jewelry, I mean. The books don't make it clear but when they say "the One Ring" they mean the jewelry, and not Sauron's butthole. Which I'm sure is also magical, but in a different way. So many hobbit fingers have been in there, it's got to degrade the quality of the magic over time.)

[Elagabalus]

Originally Posted by carlitos

In the US, this should be normal, at least as long as people are still working. My client took a full truckload of dry goods yesterday. Soups, Ramen, cleaning products, etc. Next weeks order is on schedule with no shortages. Shelves will be full in no time with the exception of sanitizer etc.

Nice try, little Carlitos. You almost had me fooled ...

[dann]

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

Somewhere out there is a machine that makes bread machines. And there must also be a machine that makes the machine that makes bread machines. And a machine that makes that one! That's where the real money is: the bread machine machine machine machine.

When they make the prequel to the Stargate replicator attacks ...

[Mike!]

Oh brother... Local news has a "good news/bad news" twist today.

Good news, the county I live in has had it's first confirmed case, but, the individual knew they were at risk and self quarantined before becoming symptomatic and being tested positive.

Bad News, St. Louis has it's second confirmed case, and that idiot had been going to work with symptoms. We don't know where they work, but one would hope the business/authorities are discretely informing other employees to stay home/get tested, and are mapping out other contacts to alert to possible contamination.