You may have felt lucky when you snatched up eight packs of 24-mega-roll toilet paper, but if your neighbors start repurposing t-shirts and other items to wipe their butts, you may not feel so lucky when your sewer starts backing up. At least, that's the scenario playing out in Redding, California.

The governor frightened Californians into thinking more than half of them would soon be infected with the Wuhan coronavirus, so it's a little understandable that residents in the Golden State might start planning for the worst. “Out of an abundance of caution," is how our political leaders start most of their sentences these days. It sounds like mixed-messaging to tell Americans we should prepare for the worst but to also stop hoarding toilet paper. But I digress.

The city of Redding, some 150 miles north of Sacramento, announced that waste management employees responded to an incident of sewer back-up as residents have begun using shredded t-shirts to wipe their butts and flush the material down the sewer.

"Remember," the city of Redding instructed residents, "if you use anything other than toilet paper, Bag it. Don't flush it." The city even published a YouTube video to help walk residents through the process. The city warns against flushing materials other than toilet paper down the toilet, even materials advertised as "flushable."

COR Wastewater Management responded to a sewer backup from shredded t-shirts being used in place of toilet paper. Remember, if you use anything other than toilet paper, Bag it. Don’t flush it.https://t.co/BoEGROWBUi pic.twitter.com/375u7s0h6A — City of Redding (@cityofredding) March 19, 2020

My money was on bitcoin, but maybe toilet paper is the currency of the future.