# What is this guy wearing and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** fashion-clothing\ **Created:** [February 7, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127 "2019-02-07T18:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/21 "2019-02-15T17:27:08Z")
A mask might also be more popular for someone who’s taking especial care to not catch a cold. Which is reasonable for someone who makes a living using their voice. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/22 "2020-03-22T02:28:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I hope masks don’t become a thing in the US. Well, so much for that… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/23 "2020-03-22T03:23:32Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I hope masks don’t become a thing in the US. There are some laws on the books that make masks illegal, but they were more targeted to the KKK sort of mask. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/24 "2020-03-22T03:25:16Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Allegedly, the habit started a hundred years ago during the Spanish Flu pandemic and carries on to this day. Pretty sure it was due to SARS. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/25 "2020-03-22T12:45:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why can’t he be all three, like the late Chief Justice Earl Warren? It was a \*\*\*Seinfeld \*\*\*reference. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/26 "2020-03-22T20:05:13Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Pretty sure it was due to SARS. [Cite.](https://qz.com/299003/a-quick-history-of-why-asians-wear-surgical-masks-in-public/) > [@](#): > > The custom of facemask-wearing began in Japan during the early years of the 20th century, when a massive pandemic of influenza killed between 20 and 40 million people around the world—more than died in World War I. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/27 "2020-03-23T03:28:12Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > [Cite.](https://qz.com/299003/a-quick-history-of-why-asians-wear-surgical-masks-in-public/) I sit corrected, although the first paragraph of that article backs up where I got my impression. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/28 "2020-03-23T15:54:21Z")
It’s a reasonable assumption but I recall seeing WWII photos of Japanese civilians in masks. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/29 "2020-03-23T18:50:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It was a \*\*\*Seinfeld \*\*\*reference. And mine was a _Simpsons_ reference. Bazinga! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/30 "2020-03-24T13:35:16Z")
I did! I got that reference! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127/31 "2023-04-19T16:18:58Z")
Bumped because I thought it was interesting to see a photo of Ralph Yarl essentially recreating the image from the OP. (At least the black mask on the chin bit.) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/Hsm4wH0D/MK-RALPH-YARL-OP-1-0.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/Hsm4wH0D/MK-RALPH-YARL-OP-1-0.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-and-why/829127.md?page=1)