Items

• 
  2020-03-06T14:57

  A Sign of Things to Come

  Early March 2020. We were out of toilet paper and stopped at the grocery store to get some. We sort of knew things were about to get crazy but this scene really cemented it for us. About a week later, LAUSD shut down for “two weeks.”
• 
  2020-03-06

  Pandemic Street Art: skubzmope says DON'T PANIC

  Graffiti of a toilet paper roll and the text, "DON'T PANIC"... People were panic buying items like toilet paper when the pandemic really started to take off in infection and death rates and quarantine/lockdowns were initiated in the spring of 2020.
• 2021-04-05

  The Holderness Family's Corona Culture Parodies

  The following music videos cover different aspects of the 2020 COVID-19 experience through a family's hilarious parodies of popular songs. In "Wash or Dang Hands" (March 2020), "End of the Roll" (April 8 2020), and "Quarantine (is Not Quiet Over)" (May 4 2020) the Holderness family uses humor to lift the spirits of people affected by increased sanitization, toilet paper shortages, and a longing for the pandemic to end. The videos take the everyday pandemic experiences of millions of people to produce funny lyrics that resonate with listeners because of their light-heartiness, and truthfulness. While all fun and games, these songs also help people to begin to crystalize their thoughts about Corona Culture and develop a better understanding of their experiences and the experiences of the world they live in. "Quarantine (is Not Quiet Over)" in particular serves as both a much shared expression of hope and a sort of prophecy for the future. It expresses the fatigue the world is experiencing due to the demands of COVID-19 and also expresses wishful hope (and doubt) that 2021 will see the end of the pandemic. These songs merit more study because of their immense cultural value during the Corona era.
• 
  2020-03-19

  Toilet paper being cleared out dubbed with Walking Dead zombie noises

  A video meme making fun of the panic buying of toilet paper in march of 2020. Appears to be a Costco. Dubbed with zombie noises from The Walking Dead. I feel its important for videos of these events to be preserved as well as the social/ popular response to events like panic buying
• 
  2020-03-01

  Covid in the Last Frontier

  The object I choose was the first "mask" I ever wore during the start of this pandemic. During the time, I was in Alaska, and when news of the spread of Covid hit, we (the state) went into lock down almost immediately. The object I submitted has more of a symbolic nature, as it signified a new world that not only were we not prepared for, but one that would become a new norm. At the beginning, it was hard to secure masks, as they were going as fast as toilet paper, so we had to make due with what we had, hence the bandana. What made things relatively difficult was the strict lockdowns and what time of the year they specifically happened. In Alaska, it is crucial soak up as much sun as possible in the late spring and summer due to the long, dark, and cold winters that often lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder, or Seasonal Depression. Not being able to leave your house, and having summer activities closed down made it difficult to soak up the sun and energy we needed. But as humans always do, we found a way, through homemade masks and long, socially distanced walks. I currently reside in Florida now, and the atmosphere was and still is completely different than the one I faced in Alaska. It was an eye-opening experience to live in two states during this pandemic, and how each state handled the virus in their own way.
• 
  2021-01-24

  Grabbing for Groceries

  Grocery shopping is part of nearly everyone’s life. We’re used to going into a store at most hours of the day and night and finding what we need. Many of us eat out quite often so don’t stockpile food supplies at home and don’t cook at home very often. So grocery shopping pre-pandemic was a relatively easy and boring task. With the pandemic came restaurant closures and restrictions and people started eating at home more often. People started buying greater quantities of food and other grocery items (particularly toilet paper!), which led to shortages and quotas on the purchase of particular items. The grocery store became somewhat of a combat zone, with people battling each other for items and viewing others as the enemies who either were going to steal their food or give them the virus. The entire grocery shopping experience changed precipitously for most individuals and reflected a major shift in how society acquires and shares its food.
• 2020-09-13

  Covid Procedures

  While this pandemic was spreading, we had to take some drastic procedures so that it doesn't become more of an issue than it is. From basically March to August we had to quarantine ourselves indoors. Everyone over-prepared for it thinking that they would need 10 boxes of toilet paper. In September people stopped following the quarantine rule and started going about the day just like they used to. For the students, they had to do remote learning. They had to do calls instead of actually showing up to school. If people would go anywhere outside of their houses they would have to wear a mask, and stay at least 6ft apart from other ppl who are not your family.
• 2020-01-12

  Clean bum

  Everyone needs to get a bidet! That is my pandemic hack. While everyone was out panic buying toilet paper me and my family were sitting pretty. A few years ago, I was invited to a symposium in India. My dad came with me for his first trip after retirement. I had never seen a bidet in my life and I sure as hell was not about to try it. But by the third day we were there, my dad confessed to me that he had been using the bidet and he loved it. I figured if my dad was willing to try it and admit to me that he tried it, I might as well try it out myself. Let me tell you! This invention is not common in America. I went forty years without ever even seeing one. By the time we left India I was hooked. A clean butt every day all day! Yes! I procrastinated on buying one when we came home but eventually, I ordered two. They stayed in that Amazon box until… that is right. Until the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. We watched on the news of mayhem at the grocery stores and fights over TP! Getting close to our last few rolls we decided it was time to break those bad boys out and install them. Ahhhh heaven. Warning though, teaching kids how to use this is a learning curve. Some minor flooding was involved. Once the shelves were stocked again, we did end up buy a huge box of toilet paper for the boys. But toilet paper still disappears from the store shelves whenever there is a new shut down. We are pretty proud of ourselves whenever we can’t find any toilet paper!
• 2020-03-23

  Corona-cation

  We started hearing about the coronavirus in March 2020 so my family started stalking up on canned foods, toilet paper, and all of the essentials. We stocked up just in time too because as the week went on, everything we had bought started having a limit on the amount you can buy and they were going out of stock in almost every store. We had to stay in our house for about 4.5 months and i couldn't see any friends in person, only through a screen. When i finally saw only one of my friends months later after quarantine started, it didn't feel real. It was almost as if she was a ghost or something. I was happy to see her though and since then my family and I has been very careful about getting the virus.
• 2020-12-14

  My 2020 Thanksgiving

  This Thanksgiving of the year 2020, was different among all of my Thanksgivings in many ways. My family and I did not have our usually gathering this year. My grandparents were not able to due to COVID-19 the global pandemic, we did not want to put them at any risk. It also did not really feel like Thanksgiving at all, since we were not in school in person, I still cannot believe we have been doing school online since March! Wow how time has flied by. This year it was really hard for me to get into the fall spirit, yes I carved pumpkins, made pumpkin pie, and drank many iced pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks, nothing made it feel like Thanksgiving. Growing up I have always craved that feeling of leaving school, walking out those doors, knowing your not going to go back for a week. Oh how amazing that feels. But this year, that never happened. All I had to do to leave school was close my laptop, that's it. I was already at home, nothing had changed. Even though we did not to anything jurastically different it still did not feel like Thanksgiving, not even one bit. I never ever in a million years thought I would say this, but, I miss school, I want to go back so bad. I can not wait, I can not wait. To whoever is reading this probably years from now, please never take anything for granted, not even toilet paper. Yeah, toilet paper, it was impossible to find it anywhere, and even if you did, it was really bad, like worse than public restroom bad. Well, anyways Thanksgiving 2020 was a total bust and I can not wait for the day to come when everything goes back to normal, no more limits on how many people can enter a store at a time, no more temperature checks, getting to eat inside at restaurants! Never thought that would be something I would not be able to do, and the thing I know we all want most, is no more face masks. Yes, we have to wear face masks these little peices of paper that we wear on our face that cover our nose and mouth to help us maybe not get the virus. Half of my 8th grade year is gone already, and oh boy, I can't wait to go back to normal, I just really can't wait.
• 2020-03-23

  A day in my life during a pandemic

  So when this whole thing started people knew what it was but no one really thought of it. Nothing really changed besides that people started to use sanitizer and things like that to stay clean. After a while there were rumors that things were going to close down. Then those rumors became true, school started to go online and everything started to close down. People were buying toilet paper and necessities and it was hard to find those things in any stores, masks were mandated and everything was closed and we were on a mandatory lockdown. I am a person that loves going to restaurants and taking out food just wasn't good, so i was trying to make food a lot at my house and I have almost burnt down my house multiple times. Life was really boring and you couldn’t see friends or family. U would facetime with relatives and friends all the time because of this. That is basically what happened from my perspective of the pandemic.
• 2020-12-11

  COVID AROUND THE CORNER

  It was in February of 2020 and that's when things started to change. It was a morning, I don't remember the exact day, but I was watching the news and I heard that resturants, stores, and almost everything was closing in China due to a virus that was rapidly spreading. It was chaos, airports were closing and no one was allowed into the USA from China. Later on in March, the virus started spreading here in the USA too. Schools had informed us that we would close for a week and then we'd most likely return after that. Meanwhile, grocery store shelves were close to empty and toilet paper was gone, no one could find any. Then, my parents got a call from my school saying that we weren't going to go back to school for a month or so, but eventually we never returned for the rest of the year. It was a hard ajustment. Currently, it is December of 2020 and we still don't know when we will go back to school or even when this virus will be gone for good.
• 
  2020-12-08T16:36

  COVID-19: Behind the Lens of a University Student

  Each photograph was taken at random and coincidentally during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
• 
  2020-04-15

  How COVID-19 Caused a Shortage of Toilet Paper

  As the pandemic began, the shortage of toilet paper became quite severe. Several people were unable to get get a hand on a package of toilet paper, leading them to desperate measures of cutting up paper towels in order to substitute the toilet paper.
• 
  2020-03-17

  Video - Toilet paper fight erupts at Coles in Melbourne

  HIST30060 I have chosen to upload this article because I distinctly remember when the public fights about toilet paper begun to surface on social media. Initially, I found it hilarious. And then scary. And then kinda sad. And then eventually some combination of all three, alongside a healthy dose of embarassment at the fact Australians would behave in such a way. While I personally never felt the panic that led to hoarding goods, I know many people who did, and I also remember my housemates and I resorting to using paper towels as toilet paper for a short while because it was impossible to find in the shops near our house.
• 
  2020-03-25

  The Battle of Costco

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assignment. Again, like many other memes I encountered, this one comments on how the events of this year will be studied, but more importantly how they will be remembered (as emphasised by the almost commemorative nature of the statues). Humorously depicting parents and two children racing with an overflowing trolley full of food toward the check-outs as though it were a battle scene, this meme seeks to ridicule the absurdity of purchasing and hoarding mountains of food during the lock-down period. It suggests that violence in the isles and the toilet paper crisis that saw people literally fighting each other in order to obtain toilet paper will not be looked upon favourably by future historians or students. The way that the figures are carved in stone and the title of ‘The Battle of Costco (2020 A.D.)’ positions the audience to view the image in reference to other major historical conflicts and to find this one, humorously, falling short.
• 
  2020-05-17

  Funny corona beer meme

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assignment. This meme uses symbolism in order to compare the pandemic to disastrous world events. The background depicts an atomic bomb exploding into a mushroom cloud and is overlaid with photographs of an empty toilet roll (alluding to the rush on toilet paper that occurred early in 2020), a bottle of Corona beer (a company unfortunate enough to share a name with the virus), empty shelves (from where people had panicked bought), graphics of the virus and the muppet Elmo wearing a mask, looking into the middle distance. The combination of these graphics suggests that in the future, ‘corona’ will be inextricably linked to the virus and that just saying its name will induce traumatic flashbacks. This suggests that the collective experience of wider society this year could be deemed a sort of shared trauma. It is noteworthy that the vast majority these memes, this one included, do not make light of personal hardships faced by people in order to be malicious and the events alluded to (such as the food hoarding) are not “serious” (like, for example, the economic crisis or the coronavirus death toll) but more trivial inconveniences.
• 
  2020-03-21

  (HIST30060) Empty Footy Games and Empty Supermarket Shelves

  (HIST30060) As an avid footy fan, it was upsetting and very strange to see the 2020 AFL season starting without being able to attend the game at the MCG, or there be anyone in the seats when watching it on tv. This post reflects this strange moment in AFL history, but also the coinciding rush on supermarkets, particularly toilet paper, leaving lots of shortages and empty supermarket shelves. I still don't understand why seemingly everyone in Victoria and Australia decided they needed to stock up on toilet paper, but it was definitely an aspect of a very strange and stressful period at the start of the pandemic.
• 2020-10-20

  Tales From TheVarus

  This video was made by a YouTuber known as Internet Historian. It is satirical/journalistic in nature, and seeks to document events and incidents that occurred during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-20

  A Sight to Be Seen

  The photograph that is attached is a picture that I took while in the grocery store on March 20, 2020, and I remember the sight and the moment vividly. Much like the rest of the nation, I wasn't really sure how to make meaning of the recent events that were taking place across the world and, beginning in March, starting to take place in our very nation. COVID-19 was still something I didn't quite understand, but what I did know is that it was coming, whatever that meant. My apartment is roughly three blocks from this grocery store, so naturally I went there often to buy things that I needed. On this day, earlier in the morning, I remember showing up to the front door and there were massive crowds of people not only outside, but in the aisles as well, and especially in one specific aisle. I began to ask myself "why is everyone cramming into that specific aisle? There isn't even food over there on that side of the grocery store." Come to find out, these people, much like people across the nation, were mobbing the stores and buying massive amounts of...toilet paper? Yes, exactly - toilet paper. I decided that I wasn't going to get what I needed in these crowds, so I left, aiming to come back later that evening. The attached picture is on my return trip on the night of March 20, when I walked down the aisle that everyone was clustered into in an attempt to see the aftermath. Every shelf that had toilet paper that morning was completely empty, which was a sight that I can't say that I have ever seen before. I was left not only amazed, but confused as to what prompted these people to collect toilet paper in the face of a global pandemic. If the nation were shutting down for a period of time and a national quarantine was on the brink, wouldn't canned foods, water bottles, and various other items take precedent over toilet paper? Just a thought. This event made my mind up that the year 2020 was going to be a year that would not be forgotten, and this picture, to me, stands as a picture of the very moment I had that realization.
• 2020-10-08

  Cursed year, Covid era 2020

  I would say its pretty safe to assume that the majority of us were unfazed the very first time we heard of a virus breakout in wuhan, even though having played the mobile game Plague Inc. you would know that because of the dense population distribution china & india are two of the best places for a virus to start from. I would say other than the zombie movie like “leaked” videos that surfaced on social media no one really took it seriously until about march. That’s when I want to say the real pandemic fear started to creep in, there were multiple new cases showing up everywhere around the world, this is when things really started to get crazy, to begin with there was a weird shortage of toilet paper worldwide, not only that but grocery stores were a nightmare, it was the prepare for an apocalypse. People lost all sense of rational thinking & started hoarding food in a very animalistic selfish way. For a whole month everytime you go grocery shopping the shelves were almost empty, drinking water was scarce ,finding toilet paper was almost impossible. Personally as a 20 year old fit healthy male that wasn’t surrounded by any family or elders in the area I couldn’t care less If I got it, I was naïve& selfish for thinking that way, I had just suffered the lost of close friend to a car accident so I wasn’t in the best headspace. months go by… and I received news that three of my uncles & aunts got it, it was during that time that school was turning to online classes & terrible would be an understatement for my academic performance at the time, I was very busy & too into my head that a couple days went by & I got a follow up news that my uncles actually passed away, he was one of the kindest souls to me & I cannot think of one bad memory of him, yet I felt a void , I wasn’t sad nor that I cried & that in a way did more damage , It was just the countless deaths around me this year that had me completely numb emotionally, it just all felt so unreal, more than that is the long distance & not being able to travel back to comfort my dad through his hardship was the hardest part. To God we belong and to God we shall all return إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ‎, On a more positive note my cousin said on her birthday “I am not counting this year in my age because I didn’t use it”.
• 2020-10-05

  Preparing for after the pandemic

  When COVID shutdowns first occured, I had pretty good momentum going in all aspects of my life -- work, school, relationships, time management, and overall satisfaction that I was doing what I needed to do to succeed. The chaos associated with COVID kind of threw all of this into a storm, uncertaintly and doubt in many aspects. I assume that this was the case for many people, and we will never forget about the toilet paper shortage back in spring. However, as we have become acclimated to temporary health precautions, there are two ways that most people will transition from the virus difficulty to normalcy - farther along or further behind where they have started. Many take this time to do less engaging work, relax, and watch episodes of Netflix for hours on end. While this is perfectly acceptable, I chose to look at it as an opportunity to become a better person and hit the ground running when society is back to normal. This means sticking to a workout routine, learning how to cook among many other new skills, being more productive and working more efficiently virtually, and being a better academic. I believe that the pandemic was a great learning experience and it has taught me to deal with challenges in a way that I wouldn't have considered otherwise.
• 
  2020-02

  Hoarding toilet papers in Japan

  Between the end of February to the beginning of March, people started to hoard toilet papers. This was caused by an SNS post, which was fake, stating “Toilet paper is made mainly in China, and due to the COVID -19, the importation of toilet paper will be very limited and the stock will be gone”. This post itself did not cause a huge hoarding situation. What caused the hoarding was the feeling of fear and anxiety. Because of COVID-19, people were put into a different situation than so-called normal, and on TV, there were people lining up to buy toilet papers where you can see that the store is having limited stock left caused people to think “I need to get some too”. However, the reality was that most of the toilet papers that are sold in Japan are made in Japan, and if everyone does not hoard, then there will be more than enough for everyone. Even though the news said that all toilet was made in Japan, people still were hoarding because other people were and felt like if they do not buy one, they will not get the toilet paper for a while. My mother was also hoarding a lot of toilet papers, and now we probably have a stock that will last for months. The image is an example of how stores looked like in the toilet paper section, where there were no toilet papers.
• 
  2020-07

  Jewish Melbourne - my Facebook profile picture for the lockdown

  I wanted to convery my feeling when the Victorian government told us we are going back to lockdown again. I made this from my youngest daughter's toys, including a mock mini toilet paper distributed as a promotion by supermarket chain Coles.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Coronavirus shoppers

  This comic shows how much of an impact the coronavirus had on grocery stores and shoppers. It also shows how people could have overreacted to the fact that they can't find toilet paper or foods like spaghetti sauce. The main focus of this comic though is the doctor who is looking at the other row of shelves. The shelves are labeled, "face masks," "test kits," and "ventilators." This shows how not only food was a shortage, but also very important medical supplies that were needed to keep people alive. This is important to me because it shows the different struggles between everyday necessities, and what people need to stay alive.
• 
  2020-03-14

  The Toilet Paper Chaos

  Me and my family would go to the store to get grocieries, the shelfs were basically empty and had nothing on them. We needed toilet paper but there really wasn't any there, so we had to improvise and get paper towels which were about gone. The meme says a lot about the pandemic because it was a hassle to go to the store and get groceries cause there wasn't anything there.
• 
  2020-08-22

  The Shift Due to COVID

  Before news of the coronavirus broke, there was no idea of social distancing. Everyone would lay on top of each other and connect. But, with COVID, there was a dramatic shift and people quickly became scared of each other. I think this video is important because it can offer hope for people that one day we might be able to sit next to each other and talk without any fear.
• 
  2020-08-18

  Toilet Paper

  Although this pile of toilet paper may seem insignificant to most, it actually represents a time of struggle and perseverance. During the pandemic, some household necessities become scarce such as hand soap, hand sanitizer, and most importantly toilet paper. "The great shortage of toilet paper" was a common joke used during the early days of the virus. I think it represents the lack of materials and resources that we had during this pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-03

  Emptiness Around Us: Empty Ledge

  An empty shelf at Target in Niskayuna, NY in early April. The shelf here is normally fully stocked with toilet paper, flushable wipes, and facial tissue. The note explains a purchase limit of 1 product per guest, although there was none to be had in the store.
• 
  2020

  Journal From the Year 2053. Humor

  This one will appeal to all historians. It is written like an opening paragraph in a serious literary work which makes it funnier. The joke is about all the hoarding of the toilet paper that went on when Coronavirus first hit. Finally, 33 years later, the last of the toilet paper stash is about to be used up.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Buy a Corona, Get a Free Toilet Paper Roll

  The photos show the antinomy of what the media said people should do (not go out, quarantine) vs what people actually did (go out, pictures were taken at a bar). It highlights the irresponsibility but also the humor found in the middle of uncertainty. This was taken in a bar that had a very special, special- Buy a Corona, get a free toilet paper roll. At this time toilet paper was hard to find in stores, and in this point in time, I needed it. People also were not buying Corona beer because they believed it was related to the COVID pandemic. Please note that after this night, I did quarantine and realized how serious the situation was. I do not reccomed going out during a pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Limited Supplies

  I live in Brooklyn, NY, one of the “hot zones” for the coronavirus right now, and necessities like toilet paper and baby wipes are extremely hard to find. My grandfather had to send us a package, from Florida, with toilet paper, gloves, and baby wipes for my three year old sister, who needs them out of necessity.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Boonville,IN: City Hall 10

  These photographs were taken to document some of what people in Evansville and its Tri-State region saw and experienced as the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic came to the area in the spring of 2020. Many of these images represent literal signs of the time, while others figuratively depict signs of the pandemic.
• 
  May 1, 2020

  Boonville, IN: City Hall 7

  These photographs were taken to document some of what people in Evansville and its Tri-State region saw and experienced as the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic came to the area in the spring of 2020. Many of these images represent literal signs of the time, while others figuratively depict signs of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-27

  Senior Pictures Capture the Feeling of Graduation Day

  This is the story of a 2020 high school graduate, Nicholas Reyan, in Pennsylvania. His mother owns a photography studio--one that takes the senior pictures you see in yearbooks. This year there was no graduation, so they set out to create photographic representations of what graduating now is like. Enjoy!
• 
  2020-03-15

  Coronavirus Meme Collection

  This is a collection of memes about the Coronavirus. Some good, some not so good, and some viral. Mostly good though. Humor is what helps us cope with stress and difficult times, so it is important.
• 
  05/22/2020

  Nancy Campbell Oral History 2020/05/22

  University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Public History Seminar Covid 19 Project
• 
  05/12/2020

  Auri Rahimzadeh Oral History 2020/05/12

  This is the second interview in a collection by Glennda McGann
• 
  03/30/2020

  Al Bailey Oral History 2020/03/30

  University of Cincinnati, Public History Practicum, Dr. Wingo
• 
  03/30/2020

  Deborah Miller Oral History 2020/03/30

  Title: Interview with Deborah Miller by Kristin F. Miller Creator: Deborah Miller and Kristin F. Miller [the following was added by the transcriber and curator of this item] Deborah Miller, long time resident of the northern Kentucky, Cincinnati area discusses her knowledge of the Coronavirus pandemic and how she feels being immune compromised herself due to recently undergoing treatment for cancer. For this reason, she was happy to be told to work from home at the end of March and talks about social distancing, masks, and cleaning at the office. She does not see society undergoing long term change as a result of the pandemic. Date: Interview Date – 03/30/2020 Description: Deborah is a tri-state area native born in Northern Kentucky and currently residing in Cincinnati, Ohio. Deborah was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2019. In this interview, Deborah reflects on issues she has encountered as an immunocompromised person during the coronavirus pandemic so far, as well as offering encouraging words for society. Type: Oral History Geography: Location – Cincinnati, Ohio Additional Information: This submission is in partial fulfillment of course requirements for Dr. Rebecca Wingo at the University of Cincinnati. Additional metadata fields include: Interviewer: Kristin F. Miller Interviewee: Deborah Miller Duration: Sixteen minutes and fifty-nine seconds Subject Headings: Illness, Work-From-Home, Family Life Tags: shopping, grocery, toilet paper, work, good deeds, helping, Contagion, change, Vietnam, relationships
• 
  2020-07-07

  Canvas from creative places

  Here's an artist who got stuck in Peru due to COVID. He couldn't go out to buy paper or canvas, so he used the cardboard from toilet paper rolls. I'm even slightly surprised his toilet paper had cardboard rolls, because a lot of times that part is left out to save costs. Anyway, the digital art he created is pretty interesting, but it's hard to find out more about the artist because he's a self-described as: "@burst_ is an anonymous cryptoartist with an emphasis on post-neoexpressionism and digital art 🖼👾 he creates dystopian-hybrid-organic abstract artworks as well in a digital as physical form..."
• 2020-05-24

  Toilet Paper Is Your Prize!

  Of course, you've heard all about the toilet paper shortage, the hoarding of it, and the bare shelves where toilet paper used to be. This is a humorous meme offering toilet paper as the prize--if you can grab it with the big claw. These games are notoriously difficult to win with, too.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus... Jeff Schendel

  A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science
• 
  2020-03-31

  Plague Journal, Day 18: What if the war comes?

  I've been keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's my latest entry, discussing my father, parsimony, war, and toilet paper.
• 
  2020-03-20

  The Coronavirus Effect

  This TikTok video features Jon Stich creating coronavirus inspired artwork for Politico. This art piece features a figure on a hoverboard carrying a pack of toilet paper. The toilet paper is streaming out of the package and in the background are two other figures that appear to be homeless. Near the figures in the background are a tent, a shopping cart, and various bags. This scene takes place in front of buildings with iconic San Francisco architecture. The art speaks to the increased inequities of coronavirus on vulnerable populations. There are portions of the population hoarding toilet paper, while there are others without access to these basic necessities. How will COVID-19 impact San Francisco's homeless population?
• 2020-03-16

  First week of lockdown

  As a historian, the past three months have seemed more of an interesting project than reality, but I've not been sick. I know a few friends who were ill, and one mural friend who died, sadly, due to COVID19. I wonder what the future historians will say about this period in global history. I'm very glad it's not as deadly as Ebola, or as easy to contract as first believed. I took these photos on March 16, the day before things closed in TX. It was amazing to see so many things shut down so quickly, and my home state, Michigan, was really hard hit so I've been mostly concerned for family there. Now that it's the middle of June I'm less concerned and just trying to do one day at a time, although it has been nice to find toilet paper again. I even created a post for the historic site where I work discussing historic toilet paper, or lack thereof, to make history a bit more relevant. The post got quite a lot of attention. It's odd times but I feel a bit closer to the people we talk about since their fear of disease has become more understandable now.
• 
  2020-03-13

  Empty Shelves at Target

  When I went to Target to get Clorox wipes for my team, I saw the empty shelves of what should be products. It's important to record the item shortages and panic buying
• 
  2020-04-16

  Humans of Covid-19 AU: Jesse Burns

  “Broadcasting is classified as an essential service, so we still have to work as much, if not more, as before. COVID has changed the entire way we approach stories; in particular, we can’t be close to someone when we interview them. Without being able to shake hands, the interactions can be quite awkward. At first, I think people were struggling. The bushfires were all about a team effort, and that was so fundamental to getting everyone through. But with corona hitting, and the toilet paper saga, it was each man for themselves. This was a big blow to a lot of people. There have been some really somber days, with huge numbers of people losing their jobs overnight. We all felt it. A reminder of our sympathetic, compassionate nature as Australians.” Instagram post on Jesse Burns, journalist, and his experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.
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  2020-03-17

  Costco Lines Are Outta Control!

  When the pandemic hit, and even just before, people ran to the stores and cleared out all the cleaning supplies, bottled water, hand sanitizer, canned food, rice and beans, rubbing alcohol, toilet paper, and paper towels. Costco is a big membership warehouse store with large quantities and good prices, so people flocked there. This video is typical of all of Southern California's Costco lines. The lines circled around the entire 150,000 square foot store! We watched the news footage in amazement. Shot by journalist @mrmarkpotts for the LA Times. I cut off the last few minutes and sped it up to 250%, but it took him 7 minutes to walk down the line. The apocalypse was surely nigh!
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  2020-04-08

  Empty Shelves

  The photograph shows a woman standing next to empty shelves at a Walmart. This is very true for the COVID-19 pandemic as nearly all of the stores went out of stock for certain things, especially toilet paper. In fact in my personal experience, there was no food available at the Walmart next door.