Free Republic

When the history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, the vanishing of toilet paper might rank as just a footnote in an otherwise dark and frightening account. But it might be a very long, complex and even wise footnote, because toilet paper — or rather, the lack of it — turns out to reveal a great deal about who we are and how we behave in a crisis. It showed David Cohen something about the nature of humanity: As a checkout guy at a supermarket in Asheville, N.C., he saw people buying absurd amounts of toilet paper, but he also...

Officers recovered nearly 200 rolls of toilet paper from a vehicle that had been reported stolen, the Beverly Hills Police Department said Tuesday. A photo posted to the agency’s social media accounts showed that police pulled over the white SUV near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive, right in front of the police station. When officers searched the vehicle, they found 192 rolls of toilet paper inside, according to police. “Gives ‘They saw me rollin’…’ a whole new meaning,” the department wrote on Twitter. Toilet paper has been a hot commodity amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the...

A 26-year-old Saugus man was in custody Tuesday for allegedly punching his mother during a fight over the family's toilet paper supply. Deputies were called to the residence near Plum Canyon Road and Mirabelle Lane in Saugus about 3 a.m. Monday, according to Shirley Miller of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. The son had accused the mother of hiding the family's toilet paper, which has become a hot commodity nationwide amid the coronavirus pandemic. The argument escalated and he allegedly punched her, according to Miller. The woman later told deputies she hid toilet paper from her son, adding that...

In these first few days before rational minds prevail, I'm watching people grabbing as many bulk cases of toilet paper as their cart can hold as if we're in the End of Days. After seeing a fight break out between two mothers over a single packet of toilet paper, I figured it was time to make this video. I'm also a huge Breaking Bad fan and this seemed like the perfect mix while adding in just a bit of social commentary to help taper the anxiety levels out there. :) Be safe!

All this when experts agree that rinsing yourself with water is infinitely more sanitary and environmentally sound. Dr. H. Randolph Bailey, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston, recommended bidets or toilet attachments, such as the Washlet or Tushy. “A lot of people who come to see me have fairly significant irritation of their bottoms,” he said. “Most of the time it has to do with overzealous cleaning” — wiping too vigorously with toilet paper or using wipes, which often contain harsh fragrances and chemicals. Editors’ Picks Dressing Up for Work … at Home...

It started with an unsubstantiated rumor. “You can laugh now,” Johnny Carson said on The Tonight Show on December 19, 1973, “but there is an acute shortage of toilet paper.” There wasn’t—but it didn’t matter. The broadcast sent America into a mass panic. Millions of shoppers swarmed into grocery stores and began hoarding toilet paper. Ex nihilo, a shortage was born. The Scott Paper Company urged people to stop panic-buying the product. Nevertheless, for four months, toilet paper—absent from shelves—was bartered for, traded, and even sold on the black market....Some experts regard the toilet-paper shortage of ’73 as a...

If you have ever watched a single sketch from "The Carol Burnett Show," you know that it’s the crown jewel of sketch comedy. The silliness, the quick wit, and the chemistry of the four principals in the show — Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, and Harvey Korman — that ran for 11 seasons may never be matched again. Today we’re revisiting a sketch that is hilariously relevant to the state of panic buying and hoarding that the state of Utah (among others) has found itself in during the COVID-19 breakout. You guessed it: We will never seem to get...

A housewife (Carol Burnett) returns home after running some errands.

Ox Ranch owner Brent Oxley stands by a video produced by the business which shows toilet paper being lit on fire by a flamethrower. The clip was posted across the ranch's social media accounts, angering many, but Oxley says the video presented a marketing opportunity and way to donate toilet paper. Ox Ranch says more than 75 care packages, seen here, have been donated. While stores around the world are experiencing a run on toilet paper amid coronavirus anxieties, a hunting ranch in Uvalde decided to torch some of their surplus for a video the business owner is standing by...

Rolls you have Current Value: 20 Toilet visits per day Current Value: 7 Average number of wipes per trip Current Value: 5 Sheets per wipe Current Value: 2 Sheets on roll Current Value: 774 People in household Current Value: 1 (does not take into account different amount of use per person) Days of quarantine Current Value: 14

Former coronavirus patient Jerri Jorgensen said Friday that the hysteria surrounding the coronavirus has “gotten out of control,” recalling when she was barred from a gym after undergoing quarantine. “All the toilet paper being gone -- I don’t get the toilet paper,” Jorgensen told “Fox & Friends.” Jorgensen said that afterward when she got home, the gym’s management called her to tell her to stay away to keep the “senior citizens” safe. “I go, ‘I am a senior citizen! Wait, what about me?'” Jorgensen said. “And I am the safest one in the gym, probably the safest one in Utah...

A new website has been designed to help with the toilet paper crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The site, called “HowMuchToiletPaper.com,” reports its average user has 500% more toilet paper than they need during quarantine. The website is simple to use. First, go to the website, then users can enter how many rolls of toilet paper they have and how many times they visit the bathroom.

Florida man was arrested and charged with felony theft after he was allegedly caught using a garbage can to sneak 66 rolls of toilet paper out of a Marriott hotel. Angel Esteban Hernandezcinto, 31, was arrested in the early morning hours of Thursday after police responded to security guard Yamil Egipciaco's call complaining that a man was stealing toilet paper from the hotel. At 1:30 a.m., the guard said he was on regular patrols when he noticed suspicious activity from Hernandezcinto, according to an arrest affidavit. "Yamil saw Angel pushing a trash can toward his Honda van," the arresting officer...

Empty Shelves at Yuma Walmart March 18, 2020 Courtesy Dean Weingarten Those in the gun culture can recognize the run on toilet paper as similar to the .22 ammunition bubble we experienced in President Obama's second term. Toilet paper, like .22 ammunition, takes very specialized machinery to produce in bulk at historically low prices. People became accustomed to it being plentiful, cheap, and easily available. Capital investment has been tuned by the market to meet the demand. There is only a small surplus capacity.Then, an event, unexpected by most, happened. People worried if they would have enough; with .22 ammunition,...

Tasty Pizza in Lyndhurst is offering a free roll of toilet paper and a large plain pizza to anyone who buys an extra-large pizza. The promotion, which the owner undertook to help the business' many loyal customers during a difficult time, has been well-received.

Amid the empty shelves and store closures, a Springfield Walmart had its own commotion going Wednesday afternoon. A baby was born in the toilet paper aisle of the Walmart at Sunshine and West Bypass. One Walmart customer didn't have a chance to get any of those groceries she came for, but she left with something much more special. "We were like oh my gosh, is this actually going to happen," said store manager Jessica Hinkle. Hinkle said the woman warned store associates that her last child came in just 30 minutes. When the woman's water broke in the toilet paper...

Notices posted at Costco this week indicate the store is no longer accepting returns on key items that many are stocking up on the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The signs, posted by several Costco Instagram accounts (not affiliated with the store itself), indicate that returns are not being accepted on toilet paper, paper towels, rice, water, sanitizing wipes, and Lysol. It's not clear if the new policy is store-by-store or part of a national corporate push. Costco announced limits earlier this week on certain items that have seen a spike in purchases as customers stock up. This could be...

The shelves of some stores may not have toilet paper and diapers, but the products are weaving through the supply chain, International Paper CEO Mark Sutton told CNBC on Friday. “Diapers and toilet paper, there’s plenty of it,” Sutton said on “Squawk Box.” “It’s just got to get the velocity through the system, through the distribution centers and directly to the consumers.”

With the American population fighting over a single precious roll of toilet paper amid the coronavirus outbreak, police in North Carolina uncovered nearly 18,000 pounds of commercial bathroom paper products inside a stolen tractor-trailer on Wednesday. Police said they aren't releasing the name of the driver because the topic of toilet paper is “fairly sensitive right now.” "After further investigation, it was determined the 53-foot Hyundai dry-van trailer was reported stolen locally and was being utilized to transport nearly 18,000 pounds of commercial bathroom paper products," the Guilford County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

WHITSETT, N.C. — The Guilford County Sheriff’s office said they found nearly 18,000 pounds of commercial bathroom paper products in a stolen 53-foot Hyundai dry-van trailer on Wednesday. Sheriff Danny Rodgers said their Specialized Enforcement Unit initiated an investigation on the driver of a tractor-trailer who was traveling on Interstate 40 in Whitsett, North Carolina. Rodgers said the driver was in violation of NC Motor Vehicle law, so deputies followed the vehicle to a warehouse/dock facility a short distance off the interstate. Deputies encountered the driver and determined the tractor-trailer was stolen from a local facility and was being used...