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I still see wearing masks while driving alone in a car...

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That's most probably me. I have become so used to wearing a mask I often forget to take it off when I get in the car.

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A TV crew in Japan recently followed a guy from morning to evening (going to work, having lunch, meeting a client, etc.) and he confessed that deciding when and where to use the mask several times a day was too much of a stress and in the end, it was much simpler to keep it on all the time.

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People also just walk around with it around their chin, or just under their nose. I think that behavior is a symptom of the same social pressure.

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Yeah, that's what I do sometimes when I'm on the train. A face-saving move (no pun intended)? I know it's useless and looks silly.

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Interesting article and really enjoy (as always) the images! In my years living in Hong Kong before the pandemic (but after SARS), there was a ton of mask wearing already, albeit only the surgical mask variety. Sadly, a lot of my students were pushed off to school by parents with a mask when they really should have stayed in bed! But there were benefits: I remember wearing them at several doctor's offices, no doubt helping me avoid illness well before I understood the use on a COVID pandemic level.

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masks shed 4000 microns per month. 4000.

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we tolerated smoking, second hand smoke, and pollution for generations; nary a mask in sight.

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