AUSTRIA (2020)- -COVID19 SHEET- TOILET PAPER ISSUE! UNUSUAL

The coronavirus pandemic has been a key concern for many months now. An original miniature sheet now reminds us how the associated measures have changed our daily lives.

One of the slogans that has become a constant companion is “Distance that brings us together”: Keeping a distance of at least one metre between ourselves and other people should help to reduce the spread of the disease. The “baby elephant” is meant to help us judge and maintain this distance correctly and that is why it is also included as a symbol on the miniature sheet.

Illustrations of other animals are shown for comparison, all representing different sizes.

However, what is particularly innovative about this stamp is the material used: in an ironic allusion to the panic buying indulged in by many anxious people at the start of the lockdown, using an elaborate process, this unique mini sheet is printed on real toilet paper and made in the same size as a piece of toilet paper. In a collaboration with an Austrian toilet paper manufacturer, a self-adhesive foil made from paper manufactured from natural fibres was bonded to the reverse side of the toilet paper in order to make it more resistant to tearing and to make it possible to detach the stamp easily. Another original feature is the perforations of the stamp, which are typical for toilet paper. However, the seriousness of the situation has not been forgotten: the supplement on the stamp of 2.75 Euro is to be used for a charitable cause.