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panic buying
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2021-08-21
HIST30060: Family Texts
This is a screenshot of a family text conversation in August 2021. The mother, nicknamed “mrs matriarch” on the Facebook Messenger application, is relaying rumours of an intensification of the lockdown restrictions, including the involvement of the military. She also encourages the popular practice of hoarding or panic buying. This conversation encapsulates popular anxiety around the suddenness of government responses to the pandemic. The user alerts their family based on a rumour that the 8pm Victorian curfew would be moved earlier to 5pm. In hindsight, the 5pm curfew never eventuated. Instead, the 8pm curfew became 9pm, before it was later removed. The user’s fear that the military would be involved further shows the anxiety felt by Victorian residents and the sense of entrapment. The conversation also indicates the popular phenomenon of panic buying and hoarding. The text reads, “get whatever you need for today now” and “buy a bunch – we are heading for tighter restrictions in lockdowns,” even for a perishable item like strawberries. Rumours had a very real effect on the population, prompting atypical economic behaviours, including the infamous toilet paper hoarding. The low price of strawberries reported by the user also illustrates the strange supply and demand for groceries during the pandemic and excess of fruit that year. -
2020-03-20
Life of a Retail Worker During COVID-19
Throughout the entire pandemic, I worked in retail (specifically at the "Meijer" grocery store). As essential workers, it was frightening going to work and exposing myself to illness while many others stayed home in quarantine. I went to work and was met with frantic customers panic buying everything and anything they could find - the meat aisles were empty. The bread was gone. There wasn't a roll of toilet paper to be found. Although stock of popular items was low on a national level, we still received questions about when we would be getting more shipment in. It seemed as though people were gearing up for an apocalypse rather than a pandemic. We went around cleaning constantly, wiping and spraying down every surface we could find. Masks were mandated and giant plexi-glass shields were installed in the check-out lanes. It was incredibly difficult to work alongside others who were absolutely terrified - I was worried that I would do something wrong and set them off. Working throughout the pandemic completely wore me out and shed light on who people become when they're scared. -
2022-04-29
An ~Interesting~ Time to Say the Least
After living through it for the past two years, there is SO much to say about the COVID-19 pandemic, and I don’t even know where to begin. I guess the main takeaway is that it really forced everyone’s true colors to show. At the beginning in March of 2020, everyone was so uncertain of what was to come, and that alone made it so scary, that most people had no choice but to make light of the situation. I remember not only the grocery store shelves being empty because of everyone over-stocking their pantries and shortages in general, but also the hobby sections of Walmart and Target being empty, which was truly a really beautiful thing to witness. People were taking the time in quarantine to learn more about themselves whether that meant learning new skills or trying out new hobbies and spending time with their families doing puzzles and playing games as well. For me personally, I taught myself how to sew, which is depicted in the attached photo, as I needed to make face masks for my boyfriend and me (out of an old t-shirt) so we could safely go to the grocery store, before masks were widely available. I also learned how to bake really delicious treats, got back into reading, and even painted a few pictures here and there. Aside from these positives, it also brought out a lot of negatives as well including built up anxiety and anger that came out in the form of a new equal rights movement: Black Lives Matter after George Floyd's murder. It was scary at the time because protests and riots got very violent, but any movement for equal rights is a good movement, so it was a positive in the long run. I would say COVID-19 also played a role in the insurrection at the capitol on January 6th of 2021, and more division between political parties regarding vaccines and mandates. One could go on for hours listing all the positive and negative aspects that came about from the pandemic, but it's most important to recognize how resilient we as humans are. I'm proud of how far we've come. -
2020-06-09
Toilet Paper Panic
This image demonstrates the panic-buying of toilet paper at a Walmart store in Katy, Texas. Attached to the shelves there are signs limiting customers to one pack. However, the customers had taken the toilet paper so quickly there had been no time to remove empty boxes. I'm not sure anyone predicted or fully understood the obsession of toilet paper hoarding at the beginning of the pandemic. Yet, it is one item that I continue to buy often to keep a stock in my garage. I think that internal panic of hoarding toilet paper is something that will always stick with me. It is a piece of the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2020-03-11
A week of Change
March 2020 came to change everyones lives, March 11th 2020 was our last normal day on campus. Everyone on campus was so confused whether professors were going to cancel class or move it to an online class, some professors had already moved it online and most continued with their normal schedule. Wednesday March 11th, 2020 after my class ended I went back home and as soon as I sat down in my living room I went on my instagram and saw that cuny had posted that all classes were going online for the rest of the semester. For me that day was the beginning of a lot of changes. My dad was already coughing but we didn't think it was covid. That next Monday he stopped working because he didn't feel well, both my brother and I stopped going to school and my mom stopped going to work as well. That week was crazy for us, we went to our Costco near by and bought so many things, canned food to be specific, and toilet paper let's not even go there (toilet paper madness is a whole different story). My mother and I went to our local Mexican supermarket and stocked up on everything we thought we needed, we made like 2 trips with each carrying 3 heavy bags. We had bottled water, 32 toilet paper rolls, 48 eggs, 4 gallons of milk, canned tuna, canned fruit (we didn't get fresh fruit because my parents had heard them say in the news how "the virus can get on the fruit" and if we did get we soaked the fruit and deep washed it after). That week was when our sleep schedule changed, that week we started having zoom meeting instead of in person meetings, that week my dad started getting worse and we couldn't sleep knowing he couldn't breathe properly. That week I still remember clearly. We went to my cousins birthday on Sunday not knowing that was the last time we were going to have a family gathering in a while. -
2020-03-06
Food and House Supply Shortage
When the pandemic first started people were out of control buying food and house supplies. There was a shortage on meat and the price rose up to an unreasonable price. Not only that the people were buying all the toilet paper. Like whom would have thought we will run out of toilet paper. -
2021-01-31
COVID-19 Gardening in 2021
The gardening industry saw a jump in the number of home gardeners in 2020 unlike ever seen before. People, with time on their hands and nowhere to go, jumped into the home gardening world. As a home gardener myself, I think that this is a great thing. I have been trying to convince friends of mine for many years now how easy and enjoyable growing some of your own food is. During Covid, many people picked up the hobby. I hope that people stick with it as there are so many benefits. However, I saw last year what panic buying and the uptick in home gardeners did to the industry. At times, it was nearly impossible to find seeds or gardening supplies. For this reason, I have already purchased all of the seeds that I will be using in my garden (a full 2 months before I would have normally even thought about buying them). The photograph is of a couple of the new seeds and varieties that I can't wait to start in the Spring. -
2020-11-14
Be ready for new panic buying and shortages as COVID cases surge
Article on panic buying -
2020-11-05
A Thriving Glass Factory, Melbourne
The glass factory is in the middle of Spotswood, a suburb close to central Melbourne. The factory produces glass containers for many products including baby food, vegemite, beer, wine, jam, and kombucha. They have been very busy this year, thanks to panic buying. One staff member stated that production had been high since March 2020, just like it was in Christmas 2019, the peak season for glass production. Glass bottles are made around Australia as they are quite difficult to transport, so they cannot be outsourced to overseas manufacturers. This facility has around 100 staff. In these images you can see some staff having a break out the front of the business. They are wearing masks in accordance with Victorian (state) laws. In the other image you can also see that the workplace is taking temperature checks to reduce the risk of virus transmission. 37°49'49.5"S 144°53'30.5"E HIST30060 -
2020-03-13
The great costco chicken shortage
My partner and I went to Costco to do regular grocery shopping for the week when we stumbled on the emptiest isles we have ever seen at any Costco. I remember turning to my partner and saying “This feels unreal. I have never seen a store this empty and I don’t think that I ever will again”. It was still March, and my partner was just told by his job to stay home and that the office would be closed for a while until Covid was under control. We didn’t know at that time seven months later he would still be working from home. It was eerie being in a store that was so empty and it is hard to explain what it felt like to see that. It was at a time of high panic for others but I hadn’t felt that same panic until that moment. I was very worried we wouldn't be able to get chicken for the foreseeable future and I didn’t know what we were going to do. I panic purchased a five pound bag of dry pinto beans that are still living in the back of a cupboard in my kitchen, unopened, on that trip. I think of my quarantine experience in multiple stages, the first to being before Costco, and after the great Costco chicken shortage. I think other people felt the same way I did; After they saw people panic buying, they started panic buying or fretting more than they may have been in the months before quarantine. The beginning feelings of panic did do good for me though, they made me more conscious of what we are eating and how much food we actually buy. I feel like the changes have benefited me for the better. Arizona State University HST485 -
2020-03-20
A Sight to Be Seen
The photograph that is attached is a picture that I took while in the grocery store on March 20, 2020, and I remember the sight and the moment vividly. Much like the rest of the nation, I wasn't really sure how to make meaning of the recent events that were taking place across the world and, beginning in March, starting to take place in our very nation. COVID-19 was still something I didn't quite understand, but what I did know is that it was coming, whatever that meant. My apartment is roughly three blocks from this grocery store, so naturally I went there often to buy things that I needed. On this day, earlier in the morning, I remember showing up to the front door and there were massive crowds of people not only outside, but in the aisles as well, and especially in one specific aisle. I began to ask myself "why is everyone cramming into that specific aisle? There isn't even food over there on that side of the grocery store." Come to find out, these people, much like people across the nation, were mobbing the stores and buying massive amounts of...toilet paper? Yes, exactly - toilet paper. I decided that I wasn't going to get what I needed in these crowds, so I left, aiming to come back later that evening. The attached picture is on my return trip on the night of March 20, when I walked down the aisle that everyone was clustered into in an attempt to see the aftermath. Every shelf that had toilet paper that morning was completely empty, which was a sight that I can't say that I have ever seen before. I was left not only amazed, but confused as to what prompted these people to collect toilet paper in the face of a global pandemic. If the nation were shutting down for a period of time and a national quarantine was on the brink, wouldn't canned foods, water bottles, and various other items take precedent over toilet paper? Just a thought. This event made my mind up that the year 2020 was going to be a year that would not be forgotten, and this picture, to me, stands as a picture of the very moment I had that realization. -
2020-03-13
Empty Shelves at Target
When I went to Target to get Clorox wipes for my team, I saw the empty shelves of what should be products. It's important to record the item shortages and panic buying -
2020-04-08
Empty Shelves
The photograph shows a woman standing next to empty shelves at a Walmart. This is very true for the COVID-19 pandemic as nearly all of the stores went out of stock for certain things, especially toilet paper. In fact in my personal experience, there was no food available at the Walmart next door. -
2020-03-05
Empty Shelf at Target
My friend and I visited Target in March, and when we tried to find something like hand sanitizer, paper towel, we found nothing. Panic exists during these days and people just want food and supplies as much as possible, many people think if they don't by them, they will starve and have nothing to eat or use. -
2020-03-11
Clearing Supermarket Shelves
A few days before the official national lockdown, people were panic buying and clearing shelves at store. Non-perishable foods such as SPAM, pasta, and other canned foods were being taken off shelves. Essential items such as Clorox wipes, toilet paper, rice, and bottled water also seemed to be popular among panic-buyers. Here are photos of two large stores, Costco and Walmart, where shelves were cleared and people were almost fighting over items. -
2020-05-23
Return of the Paper
A photograph of bathroom tissue in stock on store shelves. An indicator that the initial panic that consumed the United States is passing, with a humorous twist. -
04/05/2020
A TP Shortage
Although this store has nothing to do with hygiene products, this attempt at humor reflects the acute toilet paper shortage caused by the virus-induced "panic-buying" that slammed stores nationwide. #NortheasternJOTPY -
04/03/2020
Rationing Items
The Sam's Club in Eau Claire limiting soap for customers to one per item. This tells us the levels of desperation consumers went in panic buying basic items coupled with the disruption in supply chains that created shortages for everyday consumers. -
2020-03-13
Object over puchasing
These images highlight the reaction of panic purchasing during the beginning of COVID-19. It is an account over weeks, showcasing the empty toilet paper, paper towels, soaps, and hand sanitizer. -
2020-03-14
Wealth of Nations
The image shows the aftermath of a grocery store two days after a state of emergency was issued in Virginia and all schools were closed due to Covid-19 -
2020-04-30
The Great Grocery Store Run
Throughout my whole life I have never seen people so scared and/or lost like I did during this pandemic. Hearing on the news that the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across the country and that we were encouraged to stock up on essential supplies I decided to head to the nearest Walmart and get the things I would need for daily life to continue. As I walk into the grocery store, I could immediately feel the panic that was upon every individual that was in the building. Shopping carts full to the max as well as almost everybody having on mask and/or gloves. Shelves were almost completely empty with nothing really left for the workers to stock them back up with. People fighting over items that we considered very small and unimportant just a few days ago. I was completely shocked at just how real this invisible virus had become to everybody,and what people were willing to do to make sure that they were able to survive. A day I will always remember as the Great Grocery Store Run. #REL101 -
2020-04-23
Missing foods
While pandemic is going on, there are many people who end up buying more than the amounts that they need for themselves. This then leaves families who are in actual need to not have something healthy to provide for their families. #REL101 -
2020-03-14
The Reality of a Pandemic
Walmart, which is usually known for having large quantities of any and all goods you could ever need, is shown being completely out of toilet paper. It shows the reality of this pandemic, and the obsession to "horde" what is seen as neccesities. Not pictured is the meat section completely empty, as well as all the bicycles being sold out, both of which were the case on different occasions. #REL101 -
2020-03-14
A local Tempre Grocery Store
The pandemic has caused Americans to stock up on toiletries due to the chance of these items not being available if quarantine was to occur. #REL101 -
2020-04-16
Grocery Store Shortages
This was a photo of my local grocery store pasta sauce isle on April 16th. I know I have probably seen a dozen photos of the same or similar situations, but this really made me think about not only how I took the availability of items for granted, but also the people who work there and their frustration as well. Many grocery store workers are experiencing frustration and dread at work because of shopper irritation and frustration over unavailable items. There were obviously several choices left, but not what I usually use. That made me reflect on how we as a society become so entrenched in our own routine that we often forget the challenges that others experience all over the world and the complete unavailability of necessities that we take for granted. Shortages are a challenge to all of us and this has made me far more respectful of that fact and all those that are impacted by them. -
2020-03-17
Panic buying
As lockdowns loom, people panic buy and grocery shelves remain empty. -
2020-04-05
Corona Is the Devil
The author did not provide the description. -
2020-04-05
The Great Toilet Paper Crisis
Both of my parents drive for a limousine company. This week, one of them was to drive an old woman to do chores and grocery shopping. All she needed from the store was toilet paper and ground beef. She was not able to find any in any of the stores they had tried. We could not let her go without any, so we gave her some from home. Why are people purchasing so much stuff at once? It's like they had decided to start stockpiling as much as they could get there hands on. -
2020-03-30
Empty Cleaning Isle
This image shows how limited some resources are. At almost all local grocery stores they are out of paper products and cleaning supplies. This issue occurs when people panic bulk buy. This shows the effect the pandemic has had on people's attitudes and dispositions. -
2020-03-13
Aisles at Walmart on Rochambeau Drive were out of toilet paper since Thursday
This photograph was taken at a local Walmart in Williamsburg, Virginia. This Walmart ran out of toilet paper and the store was struggling to restock the toilet paper. This photo is an example of "panic buying." As the number of confirmed cases in Williamsburg increases more people are stocking up on supplies. -
2020-01-29
A large number of masks were purchased
The CVS and Walgreens pharmacy near his home, even the Wal-Mart masks were all bought by the Chinese. He grabbed the last batch. -
2020-03-26
Humorous Bumper Sticker
A humorous bumper sticker. It reads: Stop buying all of the toilet paper. Go get Kitty Litter if you want to act like wild animals! -
2020-03-30
One of Those International Students
As an international student, what we discussed recently is that if going home is a smart move. When the first case was found in U.S., people started to buy tons of foods, water, toilet paper,etc. I went to CVS to purchase mask to protect myself but the assistant told me that was sold out as soon as the news was reported. However, I seldom see people on the street with a mask. I saw many of international students went back home several days ago. But the way back home was not as easy as usual under this situation, they wore professional white clothes which can cover all aspects to not get the virus, and with professional glasses, N95 mask. I think the airport is dangerous so I decided not to go home. -
2020-03-30
Going Home
As an international student, what we discussed recently is that if going home is a smart move. When the first case was found in U.S., people started to buy tons of foods, water, toilet paper,etc. I went to CVS to purchase mask to protect myself but the assistant told me that was sold out as soon as the news was reported. However, I seldom see people on the street with a mask. I saw many of international students went back home several days ago. But the way back home was not as easy as usual under this situation, they wore professional white clothes which can cover all aspects to not get the virus, and with professional glasses, N95 mask. -
2020-03-30
One of Those International Students
As an international student who decided to stay in the U.S., I would like to say that at the beginning of the first case was found in the U.S., people started to crazily purchase food, vegetables, water, toilot paper,etc. When I found out that I should collect some mask for myself, I went to CVS to buy them, but the assistant told me that it was sold out as the news was reported. I was so confused that why the mask was sold out but there's no one on the street wearing a mask? I discussed about this one time with my professor, she told me that in American culture, people consider wearing a mask as have cancer. But in my culture, wearing mask is a way to not only protect myself but also good for others. As the virus spread, I saw several news about some ASIAN wearing a mask and was bullied. Things should not go like this. That's racist! My family worried about me everyday and what I can do is telling them I'm fine plz don't worry, I am staying at home and super safe. So many international students decided to go home but I don't think this is a smart move. Now, China has changed policies that they reduce the flights from other countries to China, which makes me upset. This is not a responsible decision under this situation. -
2020-03-08
Bare Walmart Shelves
At a Walmart in Fredericksburg, VA, all of the shelves that are usually stocked with water are completely empty. This picture shows that when there is a pandemic, people panic buy which results in shelves staying empty for days and maybe weeks. -
2020-03-10
Out of Toliet paper at Publix grocery store
I wen to the grocery store at 3521 Thomasville Rd Tallahassee, FL 32309-7134 on March 10, 2020 before we started having cases and the toilet paper was mostly gone. -
2020-03-05
Trader Joe's, Long Beach, CA
I took this photo to document the run on groceries that took place in California about a week before we received the official announcement to shelter-in-place. Many of the shelves at the local Trader Joe's in Long Beach were barren. Shoppers had cleaned the store out of pasta, rice, beans, soup, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, some vegetables (sweet potatoes) and other goods. It was the first tangible sign to me personally that a panic had set in our area. -
2020-03-25
COVID-19 Alarming Times
A piece of prose that highlights global opinions and assertions that were made in March of 2020. The author notes the state of Australian citizens and how people in general there, and worldwide, are being affected, either in a positive manner, negative manner or somewhere in between those two extremes . (Added by curator) -
2020-03-04
Single toilet paper roll sells for $1000 as coronavirus panic-buying reaches new level
A commercial news website reports on the panic buying of toilet paper. URL for full article here: https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/single-toilet-paper-roll-sells-for-1000-as-coronavirus-panic-buying-reaches-new-level-c-729542 In Australia, supermarket shelves were stripped of many essential items once people understood how serious the pandemic was, but the one that became a national obsession was toilet paper. People were filling trolleys with packs of toilet paper as soon as they realised lockdowns might be ordered. Major supermarkets eventually instituted 2 packs per person limits. A black market emerged online. There were many many memes, videos, articles, as well as serious analysis of this phenomenon. The irony is that toilet paper is in fact produced in Australia, so it was never going to run out. So this was an opportunity for us to think about human irrationality and panic; local and global manufacturing (and ignorance of this); enjoy humour as a response... and so much more. Also an opportunity to think about what people used before toilet paper was the norm - squares of newspaper, leaves etc! Suddenly ads for bidets appeared in our newsfeeds as well! -
2020-03-19
Pandemic shopping
This is a photograph of the checkout lines in a Ralph's grocery store in Sherman Oaks, CA. It took 15 minutes to find a parking space in a multi-level parking structure, and the wait to pay for groceries was 45-60 minutes. The photo was taken just after the announcement that schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District would be closed; the volume of people shopping increased after that. -
2020-03-17
Toilet paper aisle at Stop and Shop
Toilet paper was among the first items to be bought out of almost all grocery stores/drug stores. It seemed to be the number one item that every household was trying to get their hands on. In this picture one can see the effects of the toilet paper shortage striking the United States. -
2020-03-17
Paper Product Aisle at Walmart in Lexington, SC
Empty paper products aisle at Wall-Mart in Lexington, South Carolina illustrates the panic buying that occurred throughout the region as fears of the pandemic spread and as news of the changes in lifestyle became more apparent. -
2020-03-13T19:43
The toilet paper aisle
Photo of empty toilet paper shelves in a grocery store. -
2020-03-13T19:43
Bare shelves at the supermarket
Shoppers have been stocking up in preparation for uncertain days ahead.