Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and long-lasting goods. These are the things that we know coronavirus panic buyers want. They buy them in packs. They buy them in pallets. And supermarket shelves end up empty.

But not completely empty! Some poor items get left behind. Things that even panic-driven preppers don’t want. What are these things? We’re so glad you asked. Bored Panda compiled a list of the things that get left behind on supermarket shelves, from Hawaiian pizza (pineapples and ham, anyone?) to chocolate hummus. So scroll down and leave a comment below about what unwanted goods you’ve seen left behind in shops.

From what we’ve seen so far, strange brands and peculiar foods like weird-flavored potato chips (not to mention Corona beer) seem to get left behind. But what flies off the shelves like hot buns is toilet paper. But why is that?

#1

Image credits: julianaillari

#2

Even in such shortages nobody wants Pineapple Pizza

Image credits: Philotroll

#3

Image credits: AlexAmigo

Well, this mass buying of products is related to two things: anxiety (buying things tricks us into thinking we have things under control) and the fear of missing out (or FOMO). Massively buying TP obviously doesn’t make sense. It has more to do with herd mentality than with rational thinking.

“What you've got to remember is that when 50 packs of toilet paper rolls disappear off shelves, you really notice it because they take up so much room. It's much more noticeable than say 50 cans of baked beans or hand sanitizer disappearing," Professor Debra Grace from Griffith University told the BBC.

#4

Image credits: brandonw1971

#5

Poor Takis! No one wants them

Image credits: Bugster527

#6

Image credits: josephjrose

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Nitika Garg from the University of New South Wales explained that seeing this scarcity makes us believe that the missing product is much more valuable than it really is.

"They think if this person is buying it, if my neighbor is buying there's got to be a reason and I need to get in too," she said. Garg also pointed out that people believe that TP can be used for pretty much everything: from tissues and napkins to “makeshift masks.”

#7

The only produce left at my local grocery store is onions because nobody wants that trash

Image credits: biz_o_scaring_cats

#8

Even in the apocalypse nobody wants ham and pineapple

Image credits: Fightingdragonswithu

#9

Image credits: TehGriz

Dr. Rohan Miller from the University of Sydney believes that because we’re not used to scarcity or shortages, we want to maintain the same lifestyle during the coronavirus crisis. “The rush to get toilet paper is just this sheep mentality to maintain that status. I think people want to make sure they have some comforts in their lives if they're going to be shacked up with their family for a long time," he told the BBC.

"Toilet paper doesn't really matter—it's just so far down the survival list compared to other things like food or water—but it's just something people cling to as a minimum standard."