# Someone sent me a mask **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670 "2020-09-03T03:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/1 "2020-09-03T03:59:56Z")
First class mail, from someone named “Harriet” in Seattle (not doxxing more than that). A stick-on label for my address, which is tilted so not applied by machine. The return address is printed on the envelope. An actual stamp is stuck on, perhaps by hand. The stamp is an american flag stamp, rotated +90 degrees. An envelope with a cloth mask inside. No note. I’ve googled the sender’s name, name + “mask”, the return address (well, a street view of a house). Nothing. Someone a couple of states away sent me a mask. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/2 "2020-09-03T04:07:48Z")
Mask [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/2H7seMj.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/krsOfE2) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/3 "2020-09-03T04:19:43Z")
Well, at least it’s a nice mask. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/4 "2020-09-03T04:23:20Z")
I’m just wondering how Harriet targeted me? My surname starts with ‘S’ so I’m be pretty far down lots of lists like “dem voter” or whatever. And more generally wondering if people just get masks in the mail routinely, with no enclosed note. Also is this a Russian ploy with bacteria seeded in the mask, but I’m less worried about that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/5 "2020-09-03T04:30:22Z")
That’s weird, and spooky. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/6 "2020-09-03T05:07:56Z")
Send a letter back? Or you could have a look at Google Maps for the address - if it’s a business or some other organization, it’ll probably show up on the map. (ETA, never mind, you did that. H’m, is there a way to do strikethrough?) Also, is that a QR code on the tag? Might be able to scan that and get some info. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/7 "2020-09-03T05:15:30Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Also, is that a QR code on the tag There is a QR code on the tag, but it also says “Contrado, Made In England” which I think means it tells me nothing about the sender. It’s size XL, so Harriet thinks I have a big face I guess 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/8 "2020-09-03T05:24:17Z")
Try looking for her on Facebook. Use her name and city. Also, see if you can find her on Etsy. ---
**Author:** ![Leftwix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@Leftwix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leftwix)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/9 "2020-09-03T05:28:59Z")
Personally, I would throw it away and forget about it. I’m getting a bad vibe about the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/10 "2020-09-03T06:33:59Z")
Ask your friends and relatives. Maybe they originated the order. That is a creepy print on the fabric. Just sayin’ ---
**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:** [September 3, 2020, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/11 "2020-09-03T09:02:07Z")
My first instinct, and the best case scenario in my opinion, is that it’s someone trying to promote mask usage. If the mask had been handmade, I’d assume they also had a lot of time on their hands and wanted to share. But since it’s purchased, they could just be buying them for people. And the size would be so they can’t complain it’s “suffocating” if it’s that big. That said, I probably wouldn’t wear it. I wouldn’t know how good it was, whether they’d done something to it, etc. The risk may not be high, but I don’t take chances on this situation. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/12 "2020-09-03T14:55:28Z")
Have you tried an image search? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/13 "2020-09-03T15:34:36Z")
Good idea. Sadly a picture of the mask responded that it’s a “slip on shoe”, and a closeup of the mask pattern says it’s a “doodle”. Neither found a matching image on some web site ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/14 "2020-09-03T15:40:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > That is a creepy print on the fabric. Just sayin’ Actually I’ve seen people wearing a mask with that print often; it’s pretty common. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/15 "2020-09-03T15:44:07Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Have you tried an image search? In my experience, an image search on an object is going to show you identical images. I don’t think it’s capable yet of identifying objects. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/16 "2020-09-03T17:43:05Z")
When I get gifts of candy or baked goods from my university students, I put them on the table in the lounge for colleagues, then check back to see how they feel in 6-8 hours. A mask from a stranger? I’d toss it and forget it. Mind you, a colleague got a suspicious package in the mail, called the cops, who had the bomb squad blow it up. As far as could be determined, it was a term paper. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/17 "2020-09-03T20:26:36Z")
OK, mystery solved. It’s the daughter of a coworker who’s been sending masks all over. I belatedly realized the surname was the same as someone I’ve occasionally worked with, the last time a couple of months ago. So I sent him a picture of the envelope asking if he knew this person. “Yup, my daughter. Enjoy!” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/18 "2020-09-03T21:45:07Z")
Awww. That’s good. Wear it in good health. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/19 "2020-09-03T22:35:09Z")
Do he and his daughter get along? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670/20 "2020-09-04T04:40:13Z")
And if you are worried - iron the mask with a hot iron. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-sent-me-a-mask/919670.md?page=2)