No, it’s not a marketing gimmick; stores in Palm Beach County still are struggling to restock toilet paper in the face of frenzied coronavirus hoarding.

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LAKE WORTH BEACH — Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

It’s a roll of toilet paper, dangling from a drone above Publix!

Toilet paper, the perplexingly hottest product of the coronavirus panic-buying wave, could not be found anywhere Wednesday on the picked-bare shelves inside the supermarket at Dixie Highway and Second Avenue.

But high above the store’s parking lot at 5 p.m., a single roll with a dozen or so unspooled squares fluttered like a haunting and taunting ghost — just out of the reach of dozens of amused shoppers and one very agitated dog.

The 10-minute flight of the Angel Soft (not the actual brand) drone was the handiwork of Chad Rondeau, a 34-year-old pet groomer from Lake Worth Beach who says he’s just trying to offer a little levity during this tense COVID-19 outbreak.

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Rondeau said he understands the seriousness of the pandemic and he respects how his neighbors are doing their best to deal with it.

But the run on toilet paper?

The hoarders who promoted two police officers to briefly guard the supplies at the Winn Dixie up the road in West Palm Beach earlier this week?

And the rumors about the woman who sneaked into the Lantana library last week to steal toilet paper from the restroom?

"I don't get it,’’ he said. "I don't know why people are stocking up on toilet paper.’’

And that’s why he decided to string a spare roll to a drone and launch his one-man expressionist show.

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"It was a really heavy roll of toilet paper, some cheap stuff I bought a month ago at the Dollar Store,’’ Rondeau said, trying to keep a straight face as he explained his playful motive.

"I just wanted to taunt people and make fun of the whole thing.’’

Wednesday’s stunt was an encore presentation of maiden flights Rondeau piloted Friday afternoon over downtown Lake Worth Beach.

Standing by Dave’s Last Resort, he walked below the roll — making sure it cleared the heads of diners and patrons — as it flew over Rum Shack, down Lake Avenue to K Street and back.

"It felt like a brick,’’ said Rondeau, who works at The Shaggy Dog, his family’s business. "It was touch and go there for a minute before I got it going.’’

A stern warning from a deputy grounded the roll that day. But within hours, videos of the flight went viral on social media.

On Wednesday, Rondeau indulged a request for another mission. His local Publix, which usually has plenty of toilet paper, seemed like the perfect place.

The drone’s high-pitched whine prompted patrons and bag boys to look up. Carts exiting and entering the store came to a rattling halt. Cellphones, some from motorists in cars, took aim at the sky.

Even the security guard laughed.

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"That is awesome,’’ customer Scott Robinson said as he watched from outside the Publix entrance. "Whoever is doing it knows what he is doing.’’

Then along came Sienna, and momentary chaos erupted.

The lab mix barked and leaped, trying in vain to catch the roll, then broke free from her owner and sprinted into the store. A minute later, the agitated dog was corralled and the drone flew away.

"I thought it was hilarious,’’ the dog’s owner, Teri Maimone, said of the flying roll, "until she went crazy.’’

"A fun moment to loosen things up,’’ Robinson said. "Sort of eases the tension of a serious situation.’’

No one at Publix knew who operated the drone.

"We’re calling him the Lake Worth Banksy,’’ said Brooke Wesche, referring to the anonymous England-based street artist who has also been described as a vandal and political activist.

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jcapozzi@pbpost.com

@JCapozzipbpost