Empty shelves and long lines: What was with all the panic buying during the pandemic?
It was pretty common during the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to walk into a grocery store and see empty shelves—particularly in the toilet paper aisle.
Customers spent hours in lengthy lines just to get in to big box stores to stock up on necessary and not-so-necessary items alike, despite the fact that experts kept insisting there were no supply shortages. So why wouldn’t our brains listen?
In episode 4 of Life Unmasked, the team explores why we all felt the need to panic buy during the pandemic. Why was toilet paper the hot-ticket item when COVID-19 was not a gastrointestinal disease? Have our buying habits changed forever as a result?
Jon Erlichman, anchor of BNN Bloomberg’s The Open and correspondent with CTV News, joins Life Unmasked to talk about what panic buying did to the supply chain and how a province-wide shortage was avoided while University of Toronto Psychology Professor Steve Joordens explains why our brains went directly to panic buying in the first place.
Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Thursday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chemical spill could be cause of stinky water in Puslinch, Ont., new report says
People living in Puslinch, Ont. may have the answer to why their water smelled so bad last year.
Maple Leafs eliminated from NHL playoffs with Game 7 OT loss to Bruins
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Should you save or splurge on makeup this summer?
If you're wondering whether you should splurge or save when it comes to buying skincare products and makeup this summer, we got some answers for you.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Ukraine marks its third Easter at war as it comes under fire from Russian drones and troops
As Ukraine marked its third Easter at war, Russia on Sunday launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukraine's east, wounding more than a dozen people, and claimed its troops took control of a village they had been targeting.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.