Following is a transcription of the video: Narrator: The US is used to making and selling more than 7 billion pounds of toilet paper a year. So how did shelves end up looking like this?

But grocery stores and other retailers usually keep only several weeks’ worth of toilet paper in their warehouses, meaning ...

The result was that stores started rationing toilet paper. The cause, as Walter Cronkite reported at the time: “unfounded rumors of a shortage has caused excessive demand at retail outlets.” ...

Demand for these products is natural, as health experts say they help protect against infection. But over the past week in Japan, unfounded rumors have led to panic buying of toilet paper ...