# Do you plan to keep a souvenir mask? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855 "2021-04-12T17:13:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/41 "2021-04-13T16:04:21Z")
We have a couple of “I voted” masks we bought from Democrats Abroad. We will keep them. Not sure about the others. ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/42 "2021-04-13T16:07:01Z")
I’ve got some beautiful handmade cloth masks, def gonna keep those. I think we will need them again someday sooner than you think. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/43 "2021-04-13T16:42:14Z")
I’ve always had some masks laying around at work, they are nice for when you are blowing out a husky or other hairy doublecoat, and the hair is flying everywhere. Now I’ll just have a whole lot more masks. Before the pandemic, if an employee came to work with the sniffles, it wasn’t really something that I would make any deal about. Now, I would ask them to wear a mask. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/44 "2021-04-13T16:52:10Z")
I was thinking the same thing- I may start wearing them more often in public for allergy and/or pollution type reasons now that I have a stock of them. Hell, I may start wearing them if I or someone else at work is particularly coughy as well. Why not, if I have a shitload of them from the pandemic on hand? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/45 "2021-04-13T18:48:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > My N95 masks got used up early in the pandemic. We’ve been on cloth ones ever since. I’ll have to restock my N95 masks post pandemic when the price drops back to normal. We also occasionally wore them when delivering Meals on Wheels to protect both us and the people we delivered to, since many of them were frail. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/46 "2021-04-13T21:08:29Z")
I don’t anticipate this being over in the sense of masks disappearing, especially with the political controversy over masks and the anti vaccine movement. Besides, I like the fact that I haven’t had a cold since this started! I bet that for years to come, we see masks in every crowd, and I will often be wearing one of them. In fact I doubt they become rare again. I expect to see some every time I go out, forever. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/47 "2021-04-13T21:34:59Z")
You’ll probably need it again in five years. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/48 "2021-04-13T21:37:36Z")
When I posted the OP, I hadn’t considered the possibility that masks would be here to stay – but I now think that’s probably true, and a good idea. We’ll look more like Japan in that regard, where people wearing masks in public is fairly common. When this started a year ago I had a supply of N95’s already on hand, given out by my employer during a period of particularly awful (forest fire related) air quality. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/49 "2021-04-13T23:37:45Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > You’ll probably need it again in five years. or, the way things have been going, you’ll probably need it **for** the **next** five years. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/50 "2021-04-14T02:52:19Z")
There are a few around here we’ll likely keep, such as the ones my now-late DMIL made and sent us, and my own pathetic attempt at making one (the kitty fabric is cute). Not sure how DH will feel about keeping the Milwaukee Tools neck gaiters or the face shield (construction-grade). My own face-shields (cheap ones from Amazon) are basically expendable as they get scuffed up. As for the daily-wear plain white Hanes reusable masks, haven’t decided yet if they’re worth keeping if/when they cease to be necessary daily wear. The boxes of disposables might migrate from under sinks to a box on a shelf, but most likely will be kept. I’m sure I’ll eventually use all the hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, and disinfectant wipes I accidentally squirreled too much of (didn’t intend to wind up with this much, just lost track of what I already had). ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/51 "2021-04-14T03:19:22Z")
I have a couple I’d keep even without being concerned that I might need them at some point. They have personal designs and memories attached to them. They’re tiny things, not exactly difficult to store - why would I get rid of them? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/52 "2021-04-14T05:40:32Z")
I made one on these, otherwise, no. [4pmgc6.jpg (500×661) (imgflip.com)](https://i.imgflip.com/4pmgc6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/53 "2021-04-14T05:49:44Z")
I’ll keep whatever I have left, plus probably get some spares as prices drop. I only have two cloth masks, both of which I only ever wore over a better mask for aesthetic purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/54 "2021-04-14T19:45:35Z")
I think you will continue to see mask wearing in public for years to come, even if it’s not mandated. Throughout Asia, mask wearing continued well after the SARS epidemic was well over. Somewhere between 30-50% of people in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul wore masks regularly in public pre-Covid. There were several studies to identify reasons why and they varied from: - personal health protection fear of catching something; - health protection of others when they themselves were feeling sick; - warmth on cool days; - shyness, introverted; - avoid being hit on by guys; - etc. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855/55 "2021-04-14T20:45:45Z")
I think @Omar_Little is right. Perhaps there won’t be as many people sporting them here in the USA, because we happily don’t have as much pollution as China, but there are plenty of reasons to hold on to them as he mentioned. I think I will always be packing them in my airliner kit now too. I have picked up colds from the runny-nosed kid in the seat ahead of me who sneezed all over me. Plus, what if I have to travel/work when I think I might be getting sick. It seems like a courtesy to wear a mask now that we know they work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-plan-to-keep-a-souvenir-mask/939855.md?page=2)