Couldn't sleep last night, so went down a rabbit hole of face mask history.

So researchers have known since at least 1919 that masks, when constructed properly and used appropriately, protect people from respiratory infections. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30082047 

Homemade mask use became so widespread that people think this cat in Ireland (circa 1920) is wearing one.

(It might be fur, but it kind of looks like a mask, right?!)
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cat-spanish-flu-mask/

Simple masks protected healthcare workers during a 1924 plague outbreak in Los Angeles ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2595158/) and during TB outbreaks in the '30s and '40s ( https://www.jstor.org/stable/3458307 ).

More on that here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-0948_article

However, it was also clear by 1919 that confusing messaging and inconsistent compliance among the general public eroded mask effectiveness https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362453/?page=1

A century ago, people made the same mistake of covering one's mouth but not the nose: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200508.769108/full/

All that to say, we have a new story on how to make masks that everyone will want to wear.

@heroinebook contacted engineers, physicists, psychologists, and fashion designers to find the best tips for building better masks for the #COVID19 crisis https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/how-to-make-coronavirus-masks-that-everyone-will-want-to-wear-cvd/ v @NatGeo

But in all seriousness, the Irish cat is wearing a mask, right?!
https://twitter.com/MoNscience/status/1281909515726786561

Masked cat, the og?

Fact check: Cat pic was taken in Dublin, California (not Ireland). That’s sleep deprivation for you.