John Lennon was right, and so is Peter Switzer who wrote, "My media mates are bullshitting the Coronavirus and it’s a disgrace. I really don’t want to write this, but my sense of social obligation and my fear that the infodemic about the alleged pandemic means I have to criticize my mates in the media.
But I guess as an experienced player in the space who was schooled by an old-fashioned regime, I have to scream that this Coronavirus bullshit has to stop! The excrement that has been passed off as news has resulted in actual fisticuffs in supermarket aisles over toilet paper, for God’s sake!" (to read the full article, click here)
Anyway, the toilet paper shortages have been dealt with - see below:
P.S. While we are on the subject, and for your personal edification, let me tell you that it was the Chinese - who else? - who invented toilet paper in the fourteenth century, and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper for use by the Chinese emperors. However, it wasn't until 1857 that the first factory-produced toilet paper was made, by the American Joseph Cayetty, who named his product 'Therapeutic Paper' and sold it in packs of 500 sheets. Before the invention of toilet paper, different areas of the world used many different things. Public toilets in ancient Rome provided a moist sponge on the end of a stick, while the wealthy used wool and rosewater. In Viking-occupied England, discarded wool was used, while in the Middle Ages this had been replaced by hay balls. In Hawaii, meanwhile, coconut husks were used - ouch! -, while the early Eskimos used snow and tundra moss. Wealthy people around the world often used hemp and wool, with lace being used by the French royalty. British lords used pages from books (which reminds me last time I went to Bali I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels; I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time). In the United States, newspapers and telephone directories were commonly used, as were other books. The Old Farmer's Almanac was actually printed with a hole punched through the corner of each page so that it could be hung in outhouses, and the Sears catalogue was widely used until it was produced with glossy pages, after which its use as a hygiene product became unpopular. This just about exhausts this subject short of also telling you that it was my job as a small boy in Germany to cut into quarters the pages of the daily newspaper, DIE BRAUNSCHWEIGER ZEITUNG, for aforementioned use by the family. I took a fiendish delight in shuffling the quartered pages before hanging them on the nail on the wall so that no one could ever finish reading the complete article which may have accounted for some of the groans emanating from the toilet. Now you can go back and worry about the coronavirus again!
P.P.S. At close of trading today, all the banks are down: ANZ -4.73%, CBA -3.67%, NAB -5.54%, WBC -4.05%. These drops make BHP's drop of -3.68% look almost benign! Oh, and WOW (Woolworths) went UP +0.72%. Must be all that toilet paper they've been selling! :-)
