Why is There Panic Buying of Toilet Rolls in Europe and USA?

Store shelves across Europe and in the United States are being stripped bare of toilet rolls as panic buying criss-crosses the globe with the coronavirus, defying repeated calls for calm and disrupting supply chains.

This week, Australia's biggest supermarket began rationing sales of toilet paper after police had to be called to a shop in Sydney when a knife was drawn in a scuffle over the scarce commodity.

In Japan, the country's prime minister took to Twitter to calm fears of a national shortage, while social media photos from the US show toilet paper shelves lying bare.

The hysteria has left many outisde of the West scratching their heads, while pointing out the fact that much of the non-western world gets on just fine without the use of loo rolls.

This is because across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, both for religious reasons and that of hygeine, using water is the preferred method of cleaning.

Amid the panic-buying, many Twitter users from the Middle East and beyond were quick to point this out.

Here were some of our favourite responses.

1. Get a 'bum gun'

He really summed up what many millions were already thinking.

2. 'Experience a clean bum'

Do you still need convincing?

3. Green hypocrisy

This Twitter user from Indonesia had a point.

Translation: "Western countries: "Go green! Save Forest!"

Also Western countries: clean your behind with tissue."

4. 'Join the civilised world'

This article has been adapted from its original source.