Why Are Shoppers in Finland Stockpiling Toilet Paper?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the recent stockpiling of toilet paper by shoppers in Finland due to a lockout affecting paper mills. Participants explore the implications of this situation, share personal anecdotes about past shortages, and engage in humorous exchanges about alternative materials for toilet paper.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that shoppers in Finland are stockpiling toilet paper due to fears of shortages caused by a lockout of paper mill workers.
  • Others share experiences of past toilet paper shortages, including a mention of a truck driver strike in the 1970s that led to panic buying.
  • A participant humorously suggests using leaves and sticks as eco-friendly alternatives to toilet paper, prompting further jokes about the practicality of such options.
  • Some express skepticism about the necessity of stockpiling, comparing it to other instances of panic buying, such as during snow predictions or Y2K.
  • There are playful exchanges about the quality of various materials, including glossy pages versus newspaper, and the potential for discomfort with alternative options.
  • A participant mentions the possibility of importing toilet paper from Sweden, reflecting on the local supply situation.
  • Humor is prevalent, with jokes about the absurdity of stockpiling and creative marketing ideas related to toilet paper substitutes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the necessity or rationality of stockpiling toilet paper, with multiple competing views expressed regarding the behavior of consumers and the implications of the lockout.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions reference the cultural context of Finland and past events that led to similar shortages, but these are anecdotal and do not resolve the current situation's uncertainties.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in consumer behavior during crises, cultural responses to shortages, or humorous takes on everyday challenges may find this discussion engaging.

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http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050526/od_nm/toiletpaper_dc
Shoppers in Finland raided shelves for toilet paper Wednesday in fear of it running out as a lockout of workers kept the Nordic country's paper mills shut.

Paper makers enforced a four-week lockout on May 18 following a two-day strike by workers. The dispute in the key export sector is mainly over industry's plans to scrap mill shutdowns during some holidays and on the use of outside labor. The lockout will continue at least until Monday when they are due meet again.

Someone here lives in Finland right? How's it going over there?
 
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Mk said:
Someone here lives in Finland right? How's it going over there?
He can't answer right now. He's using the mouse for something else.
 
Left or right handed?
 
Mk said:
Left or right handed?
Don't try to confuse me with "PC" crap. Mac guy, remember? One button means no waiting.
 
Did that mean anything? Sorry I didn't get it.
 
We had a toilet paper shortage here back in the 70's. The truck drivers went on strike,no way to get the TP to the stores! People went crazy stockpiled mountians of TP!
 
Some are indeed hogging tp. And I bet they're going to feel stupid once retailers start importing it.

And besides I've got 2 and a half rolls left and I get the newspaper every morning. So I'll keep on crappin' like nuthin's happenin'.
 
If you use newspaper why don't you just use leaves and sticks? They're much more eco-friendly, and throw them out the window. Instant fertilizer!
 
Oh, and with sticks you can get an even more thorough clean.
 
  • #10
inha said:
Some are indeed hogging tp. And I bet they're going to feel stupid once retailers start importing it.

And besides I've got 2 and a half rolls left and I get the newspaper every morning. So I'll keep on crappin' like nuthin's happenin'.
I hope it 's the new printer's ink. The old newsprint use to smear too easily.

Why, oh why :frown: did Sears and Roebuck have to start using glossy pages in their catalog? (That was the innovation that really started the toilet paper boom.)
 
  • #11
Glossy sounds more painful than thin newspaper!
 
  • #12
Mk said:
If you use newspaper why don't you just use leaves and sticks? They're much more eco-friendly, and throw them out the window. Instant fertilizer!

Brilliant! There's actually some flowers and stuff growing right under my livingroom's window so I'd be doing a favor to all the residents here. Maybe I could get a few % off my rent in return.
 
  • #13
... :smile: ... man, of course someone else puts up a thread about this, well, now the world knows one added interesting detail about Finland. I've been collecting leaves from my backyard in case the worst happens, I've 18 rolls left ... anyone care to send a new supply ? Stomach is feeling a bit loose so don't know how many days can survive. The horror :cry: .

But true ... one day all paper shelves had just emptied ... I may be thinking that some of my countrymen are perhaps a bit dorky, but well, what else is new ... but the real situation was a while ago when there was the possibility that liquor store clerks (we've one governmental chain holding a monopoly) might go on strike. Whoh !

... but I think they're considering importing it, don't know where, from Sweden probably, hope you've the multilayered extra soft kind :confused:
 
  • #14
PerennialII said:
but the real situation was a while ago when there was the possibility that liquor store clerks (we've one governmental chain holding a monopoly) might go on strike. Whoh !

Now that would have been a national crisis. The news shots were amusing. People were buying literally cases of vodka "just in case". I predict that a huge amount of home distilleries would have been up in no time had the strike started.
 
  • #15
PerennialII said:
... :smile: ... man, of course someone else puts up a thread about this, well, now the world knows one added interesting detail about Finland. I've been collecting leaves from my backyard in case the worst happens, I've 18 rolls left ... anyone care to send a new supply ? Stomach is feeling a bit loose so don't know how many days can survive. The horror :cry: .

But true ... one day all paper shelves had just emptied ... I may be thinking that some of my countrymen are perhaps a bit dorky, but well, what else is new ... but the real situation was a while ago when there was the possibility that liquor store clerks (we've one governmental chain holding a monopoly) might go on strike. Whoh !

... but I think they're considering importing it, don't know where, from Sweden probably, hope you've the multilayered extra soft kind :confused:
... :smile: :smile: ...
 
  • #16
Leaves work well, hmmm does Finland have Poisen Ivy?
 
  • #17
How much TP do the Finnish use?! A pack of 12 rolls can last me months! I always laugh when people start stockpiling things for the silliest reasons. Around here, they'll predict 4 inches of snow, and the supermarket shelves are cleared of EVERYTHING! It'll be melted the next day, but people run out and stock up as if they're going to be snowbound the entire winter. :eek: Or, for Y2K, in addition to everyone running out getting generators and batteries and candles, thinking we were suddenly going to be plunged into darkness, they were cleaning all the MILK off the store shelves. Yep, good plan, you're worried the power is going to go out, so stock up on perishable items that require refrigeration. :smile: Then again, I was living in MI at the time and figured if the power went out, I'd just move the contents of the freezer onto the balcony and would be fine. :biggrin:
 
  • #18
Yeah, as a rule if something is 'poisonous' or can sting you we've it :biggrin: .

12 rolls for months ... we must be doing something wrong, the closeness & "abundance" of paper mills has corrupted us :rolleyes: . Yeah, superfluous demands ...
 
  • #19
Why don't you "recycle" the toilet paper :biggrin:
 
  • #20
PerennialII said:
we must be doing something wrong, the closeness & "abundance" of paper mills has corrupted us :rolleyes: .
Sounds possible; after all ...

There lived, by a river with a dam
A Finnish paper-mill guy named Idestam
Now he's got so much money
He thought it would be funny
To make a telephone with a webcam.

I dedicate this limerick to all ye Finns out there.

Wipe away :biggrin:
 
  • #21
Mk said:
Did that mean anything? Sorry I didn't get it.
First time I've seen this thread since my mouse post. I guess it's not as relevant now that I know you're a fellow MacAddict. Just pointing out that a Mac mouse is ambidextrous.

hypatia said:
Leaves work well, hmmm does Finland have Poisen Ivy?
Yeah, but it's harmless. The poison variety, on the other hand, can give one a nasty surprise. (And confuse the hell out of the folks at the free clinic.)
 
  • #22
hypatia said:
Leaves work well, hmmm does Finland have Poisen Ivy?
Speaking of painful substitutions for TP...

http://img210.echo.cx/img210/9145/image001toiletpaper5fi.jpg
 
  • #23
That's going to hurt in the morning
 
  • #24
SOS2008 said:
Speaking of painful substitutions for TP...
Distributed by the Preparation H people in aid of expanding their client base?
 
  • #25
yomamma said:
That's going to hurt in the morning
in the morning? that's going to hurt right now!
 
  • #26
1 said:
in the morning? that's going to hurt right now!



But it sure will guarantee you're clean! :bugeye: :eek: :bugeye:
 
  • #27
Danger said:
Distributed by the Preparation H people in aid of expanding their client base?
Dang it, you caught on to my marketing plan (which evolved from the hand-held MRI and the anti-MRI helmet). Here's another one of my latest marketing ideas I put together for a client in the plumbing business:

http://img15.echo.cx/img15/5810/plumbingtruck4aj.jpg

Now I'm trying to think how to connect their services to include "arse shredder" repairs (hmm). :confused:
 
  • #28
SOS2008 said:
Here's another one of my latest marketing ideas I put together for a client in the plumbing business:
:smile: :smile: :smile: That's ingenious.

SOS2008 said:
Now I'm trying to think how to connect their services to include "arse shredder" repairs (hmm). :confused:
I can't think of many parts that would need to be repaired. A good hosing-down once in a while should do it.
 
  • #29
Cheese-grater Toilet-paper $10 for six rolls!
 
  • #30
yomamma said:
Cheese-grater Toilet-paper $10 for six rolls!
So this is where the term 'cut the cheese' comes from?