With the COVID-19 outbreak getting more and more out of hand, more people are panic buying just in case the outbreak reaches a whole other level where we are all forced to stay home and all stores are closed, basically like all those zombie apocalypses that you see in movies.
Instant noodles, rice and hand sanitisers are flying off the shelves.
But there’s one more thing that people are panic buying which boggles logical people’s minds:
Toilet. Paper.
Panic Buying In Australia
Australian citizens have been panic buying toilet paper after the COVID-19 outbreak became more severe.
As a result, many Australians have uploaded the aftermath of the panic buy, and all you can see are empty shelves at supermarkets. Similar to the photos uploaded by those in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The situation became so bad that you can even see fights occurring, just like how three women were caught fighting in an Australian supermarket over toilet paper.
As such, Australian supermarkets have no choice but to impose buying restrictions on their customers in which every buyer is only limited to four packets.
Which gave birth to this money-making idea:
Toilet Paper Claw Machine
A genius in Australia has thought of a way to resolve all conflicts.
A way to determine the true winner.
A game that is mostly fair (we all know it’s rigged but we still play into the system because of the thrill of it).
Claw machines.
Join our telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or download the Goody Feed app here: https://goodyfeed.com/app/
Yep, some genius placed rolls of toilet paper in a claw machine, and for AUD$2 (~S$1.80), you get one chance to get a roll of it.
The claw machine was spotted at a shopping centre at Victor Harbour, and I’m pretty sure many shoppers were intrigued by this sight.
Spotted and taken by Chevelle Prokop from Adelaide, she said, “I thought it was just the funniest, most typical Australian thing ever. It was just the most random thing.”
It seems that up till now, no one has owned up to the deed.
A Conversation About Toilet Paper
So why is it that so many people are panic buying toilet paper?
Well, there are a few reasons for it.
The first one being a herd mentality. When we read news of others panic buying toilet papers and seeing that a lot of stores are getting wiped out, we can’t help but also feel that we need to join in and get some for ourselves.
Another reason is our attempt to regain control. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a lot of panic for us because we never know when we will be the next victims of the virus. Since we aren’t able to control how bad the outbreak is, we look for the next best thing to have control over.
Like what Niki Edwards from the School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, said, “When people hear about the coronavirus, they are afraid of losing control. And the toilet paper feels like a way to maintain control over hygiene and cleanliness.”
For the other two reasons, you can actually read it here more extensively as we actually did a full article on why people panic buy toilet paper.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, hoarders are told that they can’t refund for items they’ve gotten when they invaded FairPrice previously.
So keep calm and chill, as a Singapore politician said.
