This Masquerade

April 23, 2020 11:58 AM

30 second T-shirt face mask.
posted by storybored (21 comments total)

I never would have imagined that my capture-the-flag headgear from high school would ever be used for anything functional.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:08 PM on April 23, 2020 [5 favorites]

There was a webcomic in the early 2000s which had instructions on how to do this as a geeky goofball thing to do, and for the life of me I can't find it (who ever said things never disappear from the internet) but now a dozen years later it might just save lives. What times we live in.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:17 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

I give up. I can’t get it to work. What’s the secret as he makes it look so easy.
posted by njohnson23 at 12:49 PM on April 23, 2020

I'm not understanding how the operation in the back happens, I'll go looking for a video that shows it slowly.. Otherwise, kinda cool looking and easily accessable so that's good.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:53 PM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

I got it to work by picking up the bottom edge of the t-shirt in the back and putting a half-twist in it before pulling it over my head. It worked (well, after a few tries) and is very secure, but 4 layers of t-shirt material wrapped around one's head is hot as hell.
posted by Westringia F. at 1:07 PM on April 23, 2020

Here's an alternate version with better views of what's happening in the back.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:28 PM on April 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

I remember when this was an "instant ninja" t-shirt folding blog post circa, I dunno, ten thousand years ago or whenever the mid 2000s were.
posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 1:31 PM on April 23, 2020 [7 favorites]

I have long been a fan of using a t-shirt as a "poor man's sleep mask". I tried doing something similar when I went to the store a little while ago, and found that eventually it started slipping andI had to re-adjust it, thus ruining the entire of point of wearing it for protection. Just a heads up :)
posted by fishhouses at 1:45 PM on April 23, 2020

I just cut the sleeves off a t-shirt, turning it into 2 masks and 1 tank top.
posted by rodlymight at 1:47 PM on April 23, 2020 [8 favorites]

I'm having difficulty processing the fact that it's now socially acceptable to wear a ninja mask in public. My teenage self insists I must try going to the bank dressed this way.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:52 PM on April 23, 2020 [17 favorites]

Coronavirus has cemented the knowledge that I am, evidently, the only human on the planet that does not own a single t-shirt. Had I only known.
posted by Silvery Fish at 2:38 PM on April 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

We spent new year's in the desert in Jordan, and got beduin headscarves as a gift from our camp host. This post has inspired me to embarrass my better half by wearing mine to the supermarket for coronavirus protection.
posted by each day we work at 2:53 PM on April 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

Coronavirus has cemented the knowledge that I am, evidently, the only human on the planet that does not own a single t-shirt. Had I only known.
posted by Silvery Fish

So? Just run out and buy... Oh. Sorry. Nevermind.
posted by Splunge at 2:58 PM on April 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have to be that guy, but it needs to be pointed out. To protect yourself and others from contracting covid19, a T-shirt mask like this is better than nothing. But that shouldn't make folks feel empowered to feel covid-proof while wearing it. Simple cotton does not prevent the virus from going in/out, so even while wearing one of these, continue social distancing as if you weren't wearing it.
posted by zardoz at 3:35 PM on April 23, 2020 [5 favorites]

Counterpoint.
posted by Mchelly at 4:15 PM on April 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

I remember when this was an "instant ninja" t-shirt folding blog post circa, I dunno, ten thousand years ago or whenever the mid 2000s were.

Previously. 🍔
posted by zamboni at 6:01 PM on April 23, 2020

Covid-19 is 60-140 nm in size. N-95 is rated to filter 95% of 0.3 micron particles. The virus is 0.06 to 0.14 microns. Masks are only to stop droplets from flying in/out of your nose/mouth.

Though these ninja masks would probably be better as two layers with a folded up paper-towel layered in the middle.

Keep your distance and wash your hands.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:11 PM on April 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

This is a trick from the 80s during the ninja movie craze. Me and my cousins would do this and run around with origami ninja stars.
posted by linux at 7:29 PM on April 23, 2020

found that eventually it started slipping andI had to re-adjust it, thus ruining the entire of point of wearing it for protection.

Where did this "adjust it and you die" notion come from? As long as you adjust without sticking your fingers in your mouth or up your nose you will probably be fine. Just be sure and wash your hands when you take it off. You're not a surgeon sticking your fingers into holes you've cut in people's bodies.
posted by srboisvert at 7:46 PM on April 23, 2020 [4 favorites]

Right--if the idea is to keep your N95 as clean and clear as possible, handling it increases risk of fouling it. It's not an all-or-nothing thing.

Cloth masks mostly protect others from droplets from the wearer; the mask will also disrupt the flow of breath so that droplets might not go as far. It's about mitigating different kinds of risk for different people, not Safe/Unsafe.

There was a webcomic in the early 2000s which had instructions on how to do this as a geeky goofball thing to do, and for the life of me I can't find it (who ever said things never disappear from the internet) but now a dozen years later it might just save lives.

Was it Real Life Comics?
posted by pykrete jungle at 9:29 PM on April 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

Was it Real Life Comics?

YES
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:22 AM on April 24, 2020 [1 favorite]