The snow has fallen and #snowmageddon and #snowpocalypse have once again graced the Twitterverse with their abundant presence as the Midwest and Northeast hunker down in the midst of winter storm Octavia. Yes, this one is so bad she has a name.

Not only has she prompted a significant social media response, but, like many before her, Octavia has inspired the masses to rush to the grocery store to empty the shelves of milk and bread.

Why though? Why milk and bread? Combining those ingredients can only yield milk and toast, probably not something anyone would want to be stuck eating for three days of being snowed in. It’s like no matter what the chance of snowfall is, everyone in the area is suddenly overcome by an irrational urge to run to the nearest grocery or convenience store to buy milk and eggs.

This phenomenon has existed long enough for everyone to acknowledge it as a thing, probably dating back to the 1950s as Virginia Montanez of Pittsburgh Magazine found in a newspaper article from the decade.

The funniest part about this whole conundrum is the fact that milk and bread are perishable items that only last about a week whether there’s a snow storm or not. Milk especially is of no use to anyone if the power goes out; there would be no way to refrigerate it (it would freeze outside in the snow).

This is exactly why these items are always gone from the store: they only last about a week, and if there’s a chance of being snowed in, it would be wise to pick up milk and bread before completely running out in the midst of a blizzard. To be without bread and milk would be a tragedy indeed.

Instead of freaking out and purchasing milk and bread, it would be more logical to buy canned food items that don’t need much preparation in case of a power outage, and bottled water in case of a water issue. It would also make even more sense to have a small store of supplies in anticipation of any sort of situation like this.