DUBAI: As the coronavirus outbreak spreads panic globally with many stockpiling supplies such as food and bottled water, others have resorted to stripping store shelves of toilet paper.
With the help of videos spreading on social media showing shoppers grappling for packets of toilet roll, the washroom item has become the ultimate symbol of the coronavirus panic buying – even in the UK which is apparently the 11th biggest producer of the stuff.
Toilet paper companies are stunned and say the surge in demand could strain the supply chain, according to a CNN report.
In response to the bizarre impulse buy, many took to social media to point out the age-long bathroom appliance: the bidet.
Just Bidet!
Credit to: @MothershipSG @michaeljackson pic.twitter.com/KYbUOJ5QyW— Adit Rahim (@AditRahim) March 12, 2020
A bidet, popular in the Middle East and parts of Asia, is a bowl designed to be sat on or a water hose for the purpose of washing after using the loo.
According to a report by national daily, USA Today, toilets with a bidet squirting feature have become the most important trend of 2019 in terms of bathroom design.
Not only an answer to the coronavirus panic supply shortages, bidets could also be an answer to reducing waste – and to some – increasing hygiene.
Behavioral shifts when it comes to the environment has shown that there is an increase in pursuing a zero-waste lifestyle by opting to use water instead of tissue paper.
It is just a question of whether a habit widely adhered to in the Middle East and Asia can cross borders into Western culture.
