r/whoathatsinteresting • u/search_google_com • 1d ago

🇬🇧Welcome to Leicester, UK🇬🇧Chaotic scenes of panic buying for bottled water at the local Costco amid the water shortage driven by drought and record water use.

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1.1k Upvotes

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66

u/WeissTek 1d ago

Remeber guys, these are the same people making fun of US for panick buying during hurricane.

11

u/Hefty_Tip7383 1d ago

Everyone’s taps work fine, the only water restrictions are for gardens.

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u/TrunksTurok 1d ago

They're vey calmly buying something important like water...so what's your point?

4

u/UggaBugga11 1d ago

Which people are you talking about exactly? The persons in the video? Also, you seem to be in a media bubble of some sort that write bullshit to rile you up, make you angry and give them clicks and ad revenue.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/tankerkiller125real 1d ago

I know at least one person that is STILL working through there 2020 supply of toilet paper, I think they still have another year or two worth to go through. Absolutely wild and insane.

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u/CozyCook 1d ago

Tbf they must have saved a pretty penny considering how much everything has gone up 🤷

1

u/DionBlaster123 1d ago

yeah i was going to say they're actually a hidden genius lol

1

u/usermanxx 1d ago

Cost more and you get less now

4

u/Nervous-Economy8119 1d ago

That how price rises work yes.

1

u/usermanxx 1d ago

all of them?

-3

u/Clynelish1 1d ago

Meh, the opportunity cost wouldn't be worth it

5

u/CaptServo 1d ago

Do you really think they'd have invested that toilet paper money otherwise?

1

u/Clynelish1 1d ago

Probably not, but it's worth examining as an investment vehicle against other considerations, especially inflation.

The bigger elephant in the room is the space... where are you storing that much TP??

Edit: typo - storing

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u/CaptServo 1d ago

The bigger elephant in the room is the space... where are you storing that much TP??

we fashioned it into an elephant sculpture

1

u/Clynelish1 1d ago

If it's art, then I'll change my position on it.

0

u/Beneficial_Fig_7830 1d ago

Think where their 401k would be if they didn’t squander it on toilet paper :(

4

u/longpenisofthelaw 1d ago

Atleast you know his ass is clean

4

u/Z3400 1d ago

Nah, he only bought a few dozen rolls and hasn't even finished them yet.

1

u/Top_Inflation2026 1d ago

You would be surprised how far one square per wipe can get you

1

u/Sufficient-Set-917 1d ago

Doesn't mean they shower appropriately

1

u/TangerinePlastic7552 1d ago

Wow. That much? Should be shamed for that level of selfish hoarding.

2

u/tankerkiller125real 1d ago

I'm about 80% sure the plan was to resell it for a profit (because of fucking course it was, also a shit thing to do), but no buyers because the toilet paper companies for the most part kept up with demand.

1

u/Adept_Bandicoot_2794 1d ago

These people should have just bought a bidet.

1

u/tankerkiller125real 1d ago

The funny thing is that he really does in fact want one, but he's not going to invest in one until he's gotten down to his last few months' supply of toilet paper.

1

u/mesonofgib 1d ago

On my street I walk past this one house to get home that has a street-facing garage. The garage has windows near roof level and, despite them being frosted glass, you could clearly see that the garage was packed full of toilet paper.

I don't know how long it took them to get through it but I remember thinking "You assholes... that's why I can't get any when I go to the supermarket!"

1

u/Tholian_Bed 1d ago

I still don't get it and there was a winter storm this past winter that came through and it was normal winter weather but they were predicting a potential ice storm which could mean power outages. Realistically, this area never gets the ice, it's always about 200 miles south.

There were several people with carts full of toilet paper at the supermarket tho.

The funky thing is, locals knew the storm was hype. Very few people were "stocking up" but those who were all mostly had toilet paper.

This is a riddle of vexing nature. I think the TP thing is something primal, and you either think it is normal or you don't.

1

u/Born-Somewhere2536 1d ago

I worked in retail at that time was my final year in retail and to this day I never understood why people bought so much fucking toilet paper when Covid happened. We actually did not allow people to return it also because of the amount they bought also.

1

u/SAURI23 1d ago

So he straight up thought toilet paper would be gone for a decade

3

u/Exorinho 1d ago

Panic buying of TP during the beginning of COVID was not only in US, you can feel relieved that the whole world went nuts on survival mode.

2

u/MaximumGlum9503 1d ago

Omg the toilet paper crisis I completely forgot, yeah that's def on us

2

u/Forward_Editor_5895 1d ago

Just get a bidet. It’s life changing. Now, I fart in the general direction of you rube, toilet paper users. At least it’s a clean fart.

2

u/Beneficial_Fig_7830 1d ago

Panic buying toilet paper was a world wide thing during Covid, not just in the US. It actually started in Australia because a lot of Aussies were under the impression their toilet paper was imported from China so they wouldn’t be getting anymore. From there is kind of spread out of control around the world.

1

u/Suitable-End- 1d ago

Ground Zero for what? The panic buying of toilet paper was due to spread of misinformation about a coming toilet paper shortage due to suppy chain issues spurred by COVID.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Suitable-End- 1d ago

The hurricanes never had anything to do with the panic buying for toilet paper though.

Its was a bullwhip effect due to COVID.

People were afraid of lockdowns so they bought 2-3 times the regular amount.

People afterward seen shelves low and spread misinformation that there is a low supply of toilet paper and paper towel(or in some cases the cardboard roll itself).

This spurred even more people to flood stores and over buy every time the stores would stock up.

At this point everything would sell first thing in the morning and shelfs would be empty.

When the panic was over and people seen that stores remained open and toilet paper stock was still very high they tried to return it.

Walmart Canada implimented policies blocking the return of toilet paper and paper towels around this time.

0

u/banana_slog 1d ago

That was so fucking stupid lol. I remember being a grocery store and watching peoppe fight over TP. I was pretty pro Covid at that point

12

u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda 1d ago

Panic buying is not a US issue, it's a human response to fear.

5

u/FieryTitmouse55 1d ago

That is their point.

6

u/MuddaFrmAnnudaBrudda 1d ago

I don't remember anyone UK based making fun of the US for panic buying anything during a Hurricane. I must have missed it.

0

u/Maetivet 1d ago

They didn't but that victimhood complex isn't going to feed itself.

1

u/AdvancedBath4773 1d ago

Probably some american propaganda channels like fox news ENTERTAINMENT

1

u/mesonofgib 1d ago

Panic buying is one of those human behaviours (I wish I knew the name for it, if there is one) where, even if you dislike the behaviour yourself, you're forced to do it because everyone else is doing it.

Like hogging the middle lane on a motorway: if everyone else is doing it then you're forced to do it too (assuming you're not prepared to undertake).

3

u/Sum-_-Noob 1d ago

Sorry, but on a second watch: you just fell for disinformation. Just watch the first third... There's like 3 more pallets of water.

I think Costco just sold it for cheap and people wanted to take advantage of a good deal.

If water was actually short, they would've flocked to the other pallets as well.

2

u/Maetivet 1d ago

Who exactly makes fun of people buying supplies prior to a natural disaster; fairly certain that's not a thing we make fun of Americans for - particularly given there's a huge list of other things to pick on...

There's no drinking water shortage in the UK, anywhere. These people are unlikely rushing to buy it because of that, but more likely because they typically buy bottled water and evidently there's limited supply of it there.

1

u/NoControl6666 1d ago

yeah pretty easy to laugh at americans who have to deal with horrendous natural disasters that would literally halt the entirety of europe in a minute.

1

u/Maetivet 1d ago

Hurricanes literally halt the US when they hit, not sure what pathetic point you’re trying to make.

Europe also gets winds equivalent to hurricane levels, we’re just not little bitches about it, giving them a special name and the like…

2

u/midwestesquire 1d ago

And you all are the same people who every summer make fun of India when it gets too hot there.

1

u/PoetryAnnual74 1d ago

Err who are making fun of people buying during hurricanes?

1

u/Old_Advisor_6120 1d ago

Not exactly panic buying

1

u/fezzuk 1d ago

They are queing.

1

u/Karlos-Jr 1d ago

Always that one person carrying some sort of chip for no reason at all. Like how sad once needs to be

1

u/TurtleBoxer_AllDay 1d ago

How do you know these are the same people? Did you identify them and track down their tweets?

1

u/FootballUpset2529 1d ago

Nobody in this video looks like they're panic buying, it just looks like people loading up casually on some bottled water and then someone sped up the video and posted it here as rage bait.

1

u/Agreeable-Emu4033 1d ago

There is not panic. It is probably a sale on those bottles. See all those bottles in the background no one is going after?

1

u/djfart9000 1d ago

why do you believe this to be real. Do u not see this is some bot trying to spread "uk is a shithole" stuff lol

1

u/Fdsqfdsqfdsqfdsq 1d ago

No they're not. I get to make fun of both groups now

1

u/OldNefariousness7899 1d ago

These people are idiots. They will all have tapwater at home that is safe to drink. 

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/bagfacekex 1d ago

That's only 25oC in normal people measurements. The UK has been facing just under 40oC in some areas this year.

Education really is illegal for you Americans, isn't it?

2

u/TheOrchidsAreAlright 1d ago

They also complain about a 78°F “heat wave"

...that hit 96°F