by Emily Connor
One of the things that has always confused me most about Japan are the cold masks. You know, the masks that you see doctors wearing throughout the hospitals in the US (and the rest of the world, too, I'm sure)? Many people in Japan choose to wear them on a daily basis to protect themselves from pollution, allergens and sicknesses from those around them. Sick people also wear them as a courtesy to keep germs away from people nearby.
Don't get me wrong; I think they're a great thing at times, especially in a metropolis like Tokyo where everyone is surrounded by thousands of people every day. What I don't understand is when people don't even bother to wear the masks properly in the first place. Those of you who have been to Tokyo and witnessed this up-close probably understand what I'm saying, but for the rest of you I will explain a bit better.
Cold masks are made in several different sizes depending on if you're a female, male, and have a large or small face. It's pretty self-explanatory and never too difficult to figure out the appropriate size to fit your face. Despite this, I see so many people walking around with huge gaps between their faces and the sides of the masks, obviously meaning that the mask isn't doing its appropriate job. A friend of mine once summed it up well: ''Those would have to be some pretty lazy germs to not figure out how to penetrate through the huge gaps on the side of that mask.'' It's not as if masks are a grand fashion statement or anything, so if you're not going to bother to wear it properly, I really don't see a point.
Not only do some people wear masks with huge gaps on the sides, some people don't even bother to pull the things up around their noses. If that's the case, then the person just looks like they have a feeding bag strapped to their face and there's no way on Earth that they are being protected from the germs or allergens, or whatever it is that they were afraid of in the first place. Maybe by having a cold mask halfway on their face, it's just a sign for people not to come around them. I honestly have no idea.
My favorite thing though is when people wear cold masks, sunglasses and a hat all at the same time. It's really a phenomenal look and quite aesthetically appealing. I always assume when I see a cold mask-sunglass-hat person strolling by that they're either famous and trying to go undercover, or that they just really want to look famous. I think that most often it's the latter, because wearing such a combo only draws more attention.
Be sure to try out the face mask look for yourselves if you ever make it to Tokyo. Everyone should experience it at least once.
One of the things that has always confused me most about Japan are the cold masks. You know, the masks that you see doctors wearing throughout the hospitals in the US (and the rest of the world, too, I'm sure)? Many people in Japan choose to wear them on a daily basis to protect themselves from pollution, allergens and sicknesses from those around them. Sick people also wear them as a courtesy to keep germs away from people nearby.
Don't get me wrong; I think they're a great thing at times, especially in a metropolis like Tokyo where everyone is surrounded by thousands of people every day. What I don't understand is when people don't even bother to wear the masks properly in the first place. Those of you who have been to Tokyo and witnessed this up-close probably understand what I'm saying, but for the rest of you I will explain a bit better.
Cold masks are made in several different sizes depending on if you're a female, male, and have a large or small face. It's pretty self-explanatory and never too difficult to figure out the appropriate size to fit your face. Despite this, I see so many people walking around with huge gaps between their faces and the sides of the masks, obviously meaning that the mask isn't doing its appropriate job. A friend of mine once summed it up well: ''Those would have to be some pretty lazy germs to not figure out how to penetrate through the huge gaps on the side of that mask.'' It's not as if masks are a grand fashion statement or anything, so if you're not going to bother to wear it properly, I really don't see a point.
Not only do some people wear masks with huge gaps on the sides, some people don't even bother to pull the things up around their noses. If that's the case, then the person just looks like they have a feeding bag strapped to their face and there's no way on Earth that they are being protected from the germs or allergens, or whatever it is that they were afraid of in the first place. Maybe by having a cold mask halfway on their face, it's just a sign for people not to come around them. I honestly have no idea.
My favorite thing though is when people wear cold masks, sunglasses and a hat all at the same time. It's really a phenomenal look and quite aesthetically appealing. I always assume when I see a cold mask-sunglass-hat person strolling by that they're either famous and trying to go undercover, or that they just really want to look famous. I think that most often it's the latter, because wearing such a combo only draws more attention.
Be sure to try out the face mask look for yourselves if you ever make it to Tokyo. Everyone should experience it at least once.
Aren't those masks supposed to protect against "snot splatter"? As far as I know snot or any kind of particle the size of a small (or large) droplet doesn't turn corners.. therefore it doesn't really matter if there are any gaps on the sides while wearing a mask.
You can't use surgical masks to stop you from inhaling bad air. You need a respirator for that. With that in mind, I don't think people wearing these masks do so to filter the air they breathe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgical_mask
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respirator