A truck carrying toilet paper crashed and caught fire in Texas this morning.
At around 4:30am on Wednesday morning the 18-wheeler truck lost control on a westbound lane of Interstate 20 in Texas and subsequently caught fire.
All westbound lanes of the interstate were closed while crews attempted to remove the wreckage.
The Texas Department of Transportation told Dallas TV station WFAA that the toilet rolls “burned extensively” in the fire.
Authorities confirmed that the driver was not hurt in the incident.
Toilet paper has been in short supply in recent weeks, amid the coronaviruspandemic.
Shops regularly ran out of the product, as customers stockpiled toilet rolls in anticipation of restrictions around travel.
Dr Steven Taylor, author of the 2019 book ‘The Psychology of Pandemics‘, told The Independent that stockpiling toilet paper doesn’t make logical sense, but stems from heightened levels of disgust.
“One thing that happens during pandemics, when people are threatened with infection, is that their sensitivity to disgust increases. They are more likely to experience the emotion of disgust and are motivated to avoid that,” he said.
“Disgust is like an alarm mechanism that warns you to avoid some contamination. So if I see a hand railing covered in saliva I’m not gonna touch it, I’m gonna feel disgust. And that keeps us safe.”
According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, upwards of 199,092 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 4,361.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended a two-week ban on gatherings of more than 50 people as part of the battle to contain the spread of the contagion.
