I went shopping at the local grocer today and sure enough, no toilet paper to be had. This is not a surprise as they have likely not gotten a new shipment in yet, but it is irksome when you want to buy (not hoard) it. I expect there will be plenty of toilet paper for the first day after the shipment, then the shelves will be stripped bare again.
This will probably go on for a few more weeks. By then all the panic-buyers will be well-stocked, though irrational behavior may compel them to buy even more. Who knows.
I noticed that other stuff was disappearing, too. Hand sanitizer, of course, but also an entire section of fresh meat, boxed pasta and a large variety of canned goods.
Admittedly, the baked beans were on sale, so it was a good time to buy, anyway. The whole shelf was picked clean except for this:
In the coming zombie apocalypse no one wants to eat Chili Style beans.
Including me, actually.
There was also a single forlorn can of British Style beans that may have been missed because it was pushed back from the front of the shelf. It is probably gone now, after I moved it forward. Hail Britannia.
I saw one woman buying paper towels and just something about it made me think she was getting it as toilet paper substitute. I guess in desperate times you take desperate choose-your-own-size-sheets measures.
I am hoping this temporary madness ends soon, but it is a flickering sort of hope.