Why Did We Run Out of Toilet Paper in 2020? The Great Pandemic Wipeout!

Hello everyone!

You’re all most welcome to this event. As always, we’ll kick things off with an informal chat over delicious food in the first hour—perfect for getting to know each other. In the second hour, we’ll dive into our new topic: The Great Wipeout of 2020—the legendary toilet paper shortage.

Looking forward to seeing you all and hearing your thoughts on this bizarre moment in history!

Introduction:

Of all the things to panic-buy during a global crisis—why toilet paper? In early 2020, grocery store aisles turned into battlegrounds, and TP became more valuable than gold. Was it rational preparation, mass hysteria, or just a weird social experiment we all unknowingly participated in?

Let’s unravel this bizarre phenomenon—why people hoard, how supply chains crumbled under the pressure, and what we’d do differently (or the exact same) if it happened again.

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Discussion Questions:

1. The Psychology of Hoarding
   • Why do humans panic-buy? (And why wasn’t it something more useful, like canned beans?)
   • Would you rather have extra toilet paper or extra pasta in a crisis?
   • What’s the strangest thing you saw someone hoard in 2020?

2. The Supply Chain Struggle
   • Was there really a shortage, or did we just create one?
   • Why didn’t manufacturers just make more TP faster? (Spoiler: factories aren’t that flexible.)
   • How did companies react—did they adapt, or just roll with it?

3. The Social & Cultural Madness
   • Did social media make it worse? (Looking at you, viral shopping cart pics.)
   • What were the funniest or most absurd TP-related moments you saw?
   • If history repeats itself, what ridiculous item do you think people will panic-buy next?

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Key Takeaways:
• Humans are predictably irrational under stress.
• Supply chains are way more fragile than we thought.
• In a crisis, fear spreads faster than facts—but memes help.
• Next time, maybe we should stockpile critical thinking instead?