An Arkansas florist has responded to the reported temporary toilet paper shortage by offering a hilarious take on floral bouquets.
The company is replacing the flowers with toilet tissue, local news KWQC reports.
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Blossom Events & Florist says the idea started as an online joke but quickly became an in-demand item. The $75 toilet paper bouquet is now a viral sensation and requests are pouring in from all over the nation. For now, however, the florist is only selling to locals.
Meanwhile, folks across social media are sharing images of the bare shelves at grocery stores, noting their need for simple items as the rest of the country stockpiles on food, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper amid the global spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Many retailers, including in Australia and the U.K., are rationing products and limiting sales of hygiene products.
Psychologists believe panic buying is “retail therapy” for those seeking to manage their manic emotions during a perceived crisis, CNBC reports.
“It’s about ‘taking back control’ in a world where you feel out of control,” said Paul Marsden, a consumer psychologist at the University of the Arts London. “More generally, panic buying can be understood as playing to our three fundamental psychology needs.”
Meanwhile, Sander van der Linden, assistant professor of social psychology at Cambridge University, noted the cause of the “fear contagion” phenomenon sweeping the nation during this health crisis.
“In the U.S., people are receiving conflicting messages from the CDC and the Trump administration,” he said. “When one organization is saying it’s urgent and another says it’s under control, it makes people worry.”
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There are currently more than 201,000 confirmed cases and 8,000 COVID-19 related deaths around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The respiratory disease reportedly began in Wuhan, China, in late December. It has since caused a global health pandemic.
Coronavirus cases have been reported in at least 35 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).