Do you worry about the X-virus?

[marc_101]

There have been a bunch of epidemics and pandemics -- many that may have been lost to history. COVID was the latest big one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...:Pandemics-Timeline-Death-Tolls-OWID_9818.png
But let's worry about something else...

 

[Misty Avich]

I think it's more like we have never experienced that kind of reaction or restrictions. For example, lots of people die of the common flu every year. That's considered to be normal, we don't shut everything down and force people to wear masks when the flu season begins. Seems odd.

I used to point that out, but people argued that covid was much more deadly than flu.

 

[Mary Terry]

I still don't understand why so many people rushed and scrambled to buy toilet paper for a respiratory illness. Other people must be built differently to me.

People hoarded toilet paper because suddenly everyone was stuck in their homes and using a heck of a lot more TP than usual at their homes. Companies that make TP stopped production because their workers were quarantined and there were supply chain issues. Suddenly, there was a lot less TP available in stores. Imagine that your spouse and your three kids who normally use toilet paper at their jobs or at school are suddenly spending all their time at home. That's lot more TP that is normally used at home.

There was a lot of joking around on this forum during that time about where and how to find TP! Someone got a bidet, maybe @Gerald Wilgus?

 

[Outdated]

There was a lot of joking around on this forum during that time about where and how to find TP! Someone got a bidet, maybe @Gerald Wilgus?

I joked about going on a dating site - Have toilet paper I'm willing to share with the right lady.

 

[Aspychata]

I resorted to coffee filters when l ran out of TP. That was bizarre being told you could only buy so much toilet paper. Like there was no backup plan, except not to eat fiber. It was an eerie time. Like a preview of if the world was coming to an end, you suddenly became dependent on paper products.

 

[Outdated]

I resorted to coffee filters when l ran out of TP. That was bizarre being told you could only buy so much toilet paper. Like there was no backup plan, except not to eat fiber.

You can always step in the shower and wash yourself.

 

[Mary Terry]

I resorted to coffee filters when l ran out of TP. That was bizarre being told you could only buy so much toilet paper. Like there was no backup plan, except not to eat fiber. It was an eerie time. Like a preview of if the world was coming to an end, you suddenly became dependent on paper products.

I was worried about clogging up the toilet with stuff like paper towels and coffee filters. In fact, I did stop up the toilet with a brand of toilet paper I'd never used before - a brand that is "fluffy" and thick. Fortunately, husband was able to use the plumber's snake (?) thingy to unclog the drain and we didn't have to try to find a plumber.

 

[MNAus]

Australia will just slam it's borders shut again, no problem. That worked superbly well, except for in Sydney and Melbourne where corrupt politicians kept making exceptions for foreigners with money. Half of Hollywood spent 2020 and 2021 in Australia. The rest of the country had a great time.

In Adelaide we only had 3 weeks of lockdown, and then thanks to an outbreak scare we locked down for another week late in the year. The person responsible for that small outbreak was jailed for breach of quarantine. I wish the lockdown lasted longer here, I really enjoyed it and I wish the world was like that all the time.

One of my household had an medical emergency and encountered someone infected. This was fairly early in the whole thing. We were told by NSW Health we couldn't leave the house for a couple of weeks and actually had the POLICE!!! stood in the drive way asking us if we're OK and checking if we were dead already or something. They looked super confused when I came to the door with a beer in my hand and they saw the kids jumping on their beds.

 

[MNAus]

I was worried about clogging up the toilet with stuff like paper towels and coffee filters. In fact, I did stop up the toilet with a brand of toilet paper I'd never used before - a brand that is "fluffy" and thick. Fortunately, husband was able to use the plumber's snake (?) thingy to unclog the drain and we didn't have to try to find a plumber.

I hope he asked the plumber first.

 

[Mary Terry]

I hope you asked the plumber first.

Hubby had a plumber's snake stashed in the garage for emergencies.

 

[Aspychata]

That's a hilarious story @MNAus . Maybe next pandemic, buy up snakes for toilets, since lord knows what people will be using. Lol

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I had enough issues with covid I cannot take chances with vaccines always worried about getting a reaction leading to transverse mylitis. I like walking.

 

[Aspychata]

I am not against vaccines, it's just that l didn't feel it was for me in this particular case. And it was scary to realize that a lot employers mandated vaccines as a condition of continued employment.

 

[thejuice]

Whatever the media tells me to worry about I'll worry about. That's why I often take media breaks. Most scares turn out to be a.damp squib though (touch wood)

I suppose there's no harm in stocking up on some effective masks and anti viral gel just in case.

 

[The Pandector]

Well in my whole lifetime, and in my parent's, and even grandparent's, we have never experienced anything quite like covid (the pandemic). We've heard of viruses come and go in our lives but never have we ever had to all be shut indoors and wear masks. I don't think a major global pandemic like that has actually happened since the Spanish flu 100 years ago. My grandparents said that the last time they've had to strictly live under government guidelines like that was during WW2.

I understand why you say you’ve never seen anything like Covid, but I think you’re confusing two issues. In the past human lifetime we have seen countless viruses come and go, many of them as bad as Covid. What we haven’t seen before is such a wild authoritarian crackdown in response.

Am I worried? No. Do I try to be prepared? Yes. Gram and Gramps lived their lives knowing that wars happen, so always had a small stock of essentials they rotated through, and I do the same. Just seems prudent. Living in the wilderness for years, I honed my instinct to have a stockpile of TP and food.

 

[Misty Avich]

The thing I hated most about the pandemic was the rules. I don't digest rules very well, I often forget myself and then become alarmed when barked at by a shopkeeper that I'm not standing in the right place. And you know me and rules - I HATE rules, written rules that is. So hard to remember and not instinctive.