Your Money or Your Life

The pandemic offers numerous applications of very basic microeconomics concepts and their extension to other aspects of economic life. It also creates an opportunity for better understanding of how the market works and its effects on the economy and society. Allocation of a scarce resource is the definition of economics. There have been countless examples of scarcity (toilet paper, vaccines). How do we decide how to allocate those goods, especially when the market fails? The pandemic is a classic illustration of tradeoffs. In particular, there are tradeoffs between shutting (or re-opening) the economy and loss of human life; a rational decision would compare the costs and the benefits. Lastly, there are countless examples of the unequal economic effects of the virus and their implications for public policy.

Microbial contamination of hands with or without the use of bidet toilets (electric toilet seats with water spray) after defecation

Bidet toilets (electric toilet seats with water spray) are increasing in popularity worldwide. However, the extent of reduction of microbial contamination of the hands with the use of bidet toilets after defecation is unclear. Microbe contamination of the hands with and without the use of bidet toilets after defecation was examined in 32 nursing students. Double gloves were worn on the dominant hand and four layers of toilet paper were used to wipe the buttocks after defecation, and microbe contamination of the second glove (outer glove) of the double gloves was examined. The volunteers were free to select the flow volume, wash time of the bidet, and the type of bidet. Without the use of a bidet toilet, the average value ± standard deviation of the number of microbes attached to the gloves was 39,499.3 ± 77,768.3 colony forming units (cfu)/glove; however, it was 4,146.9 ± 11,427.7 cfu/glove when the bidet toilet was used. The number of microbes adhering to gloves was significantly reduced when a bidet toilet was used (p < 0.00001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test).

Tales of a Flow Stayed By Nothing: Menstruation in Immigration Detention

When Fauziya Kassindja landed at New York’s JFK airport in 1994, she was seventeen, seeking asylum, and fleeing the brutal practice of female genital mutilation. She was also menstruating. Hours after her arrival, Fauziya was strip searched, forced to stand before a female officer “completely naked, soiled pad exposed, shamed beyond words.” She was then transferred to an off-site detention facility where she was strip- searched again. When Fauziya asked where she should place her soiled pad, the female guard responded: “I don’t know. Why don’t you eat it?” When Fauziya asked for a new pad, she was told she could ask for one the next morning. She was given absolutely nothing to stay her flow—not even toilet paper or paper towels. This was the beginning of Fauziya’s experience with immigration detention. She would remain there for sixteen months.

Predictors of stockpiling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

As a result of the spreading of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we witnessed an increase in purchases of certain products, such as toilet paper, disinfectants, or groceries. In the present study, we examined the individual and socio-psychological determinants of stockpiling behavior to determine what factors lead some people to stockpile essential products. For this purpose, we defined an explanatory model based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and extended it by social norms as predictors of behavior. The final sample included 841 German respondents (male= 197, female = 624, mean age = 36.62, SD = 12.29). Perceived barriers turned out to be the strongest predictor of stockpiling. Participants also reported increased stockpiling the more they felt threatened by infection and especially the more severe they perceived it to be. Finally, our results suggest a significant impact of social cues, showing that descriptive normative beliefs are associated with stockpiling behavior.

Coronavirus, the great toilet paper panic and civilisation

Panic buying of toilet rolls in Australia began in early March 2020. This was related to the realisation that the novel coronavirus was spreading across the country. To the general population the impact of the virus was unknown. Gradually the federal government started closing the country’s borders. The panic buying of toilet rolls was not unique to Australia. It happened across all societies that used toilet paper rather than water to clean after defecation and urination. However, research suggests that the panic buying was most extreme in Australia. This article argues that the panic buying was closely linked to everyday notions of Western civilisation. Pedestal toilets and toilet paper are key aspects of civilisation and the fear of the loss of toilet paper is connected to anxiety about social breakdown, the loss of civilisation. This is the fear manifested in the perceived threat posed by the virus.

Toilet Paper, Minced Meat and Diabetes Medicines: Australian Panic Buying Induced by COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the management of non-communicable diseases in health systems around the world. This study aimed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes medicines dispensed in Australia. Publicly available data from Australia’s government subsidised medicines program (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme), detailing prescriptions by month dispensed to patients, drug item code and patient category, was obtained from January 2016 to November 2020. This study focused on medicines used in diabetes care (Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical code level 2 = A10). Number of prescriptions dispensed were plotted by month at a total level, by insulins and non-insulins, and by patient category (general, concessional). Total number of prescriptions dispensed between January and November of each year were compared. A peak in prescriptions dispensed in March 2020 was identified, an increase of 35% on March 2019, compared to average growth of 7.2% in previous years. Prescriptions dispensed subsequently fell in April and May 2020 to levels below the corresponding months in 2019. These trends were observed across insulins, non-insulins, general and concessional patient categories. The peak and subsequent dip in demand have resulted in a small unexpected overall increase for the period January to November 2020, compared to declining growth for the same months in prior years. The observed change in consumer behaviour prompted by COVID-19 and the resulting public health measures is important to understand in order to improve management of medicines supply during potential future waves of COVID-19 and other pandemics.

Mechanical behavior of toilet paper perforation

Perforation is used in multilayer tissue products, such as toilet and kitchen papers, as part of the converting process. Perforation facilitates the detachment of consecutive sheets by the user. The compromise between the strength required to detach a perforated sheet and the strength required to break a sheet affects the perforation efficiency. In this work, the mechanical behaviors of 15 commercial papers from different European producers were studied. A morphological analysis of the materials was performed, followed by the determination of their perforation efficiency (through tensile tests). A qualitative analysis of the cuts quality, along with a quantitative analysis of the same cuts dimensions was performed through an optical system. Finally, the stress concentration in the holes and the influence of the cuts distance were analyzed using a finite element model implemented in Abaqus/Standard finite element software. The results showed that a cut distance of 2.0 mm should not be used in these types of papers, and the perforation efficiency increased with the cut distance, regardless of the number of plies in the toilet paper. The stress concentration factor was also determined to have a limit value of 0.11. Papers above this limit value tear at the perforation line, as desired.

Toilet Paper Thrones and Heated Tweets: Applying Moral Panic and Social Network Theory to Responses Over Panic Buying during COVID-19

Social networks string everyone together. In the world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, residents left their houses less often and maintained their connections online. Preparing for longer periods at home, some customers stockpiled supplies, the most discussed of which being toilet paper. When internet users came across videos of empty store shelves and people boasting about the amount of toilet paper they obtained, public contempt exploded over these supposed “panicked buyers.” From February to May of 2020, patterns of reaction against panic buying matched the description of a moral panic as presented by sociologist Stanley Cohen. The media is an agent of contagions in a social network. During COVID-19, news headlines often detailed shortages of supplies around the world. Meanwhile, social media became a platform for videos of stockpiling consumers, like those who built thrones out of toilet paper boxes. These behaviors from the media further escalated a small issue of temporary toilet paper shortage to almost a national emergency, while drawing attention away from shortages of crucial medical supplies and test kits.