Source: Google Trends

The signal: As toilet paper continues to be wiped from shelves around the world, people have reverted to an alternative that has existed for hundreds of years: bidets. The bathroom fixture that washes your “under area” is already commonly found in countries like Italy, Japan (over 80% of toilets fit the bill), and Argentina… but is especially rare in the United States.

But just as COVID has forced us to ditch tradition and open our minds up to new solutions (think telehealth, remote work, home-schooling, virtual museums, and more…) — bidets have found themselves on our front doorsteps (thanks Amazon!).