# When you see a person out in public wearing a paper breathing mask, what do you think? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318 "2015-12-13T13:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/1 "2015-12-13T13:01:57Z")
For the first time in my life, I wore a paper mask while out in public. I’d just left the doctors office and had to go to the pharmacy and then to the hospital for an X-ray. I got a few stares and it got me to wondering. Do they think I’m wearing the mask to protect myself or to protect them? When I stopped to think about it, I realized that my first thought when seeing someone with such a mask on was that they were probably germ-a-phobes, but I was actually wearing the mask to protect other people, not myself. So I bet my “first thought” all this time, was way off base. And so I thought I’d ask you guys. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/2 "2015-12-13T13:13:10Z")
Looking out for others is not as widely understood, practiced, or recognized, as I should like. I would expect that nearly everyone’s first or only guess would be that the mask-wearer meant to protect themselves. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/3 "2015-12-13T13:15:11Z")
My first thought would be that the person had an airborne illness and wanted to avoid spreading it. As I understand it, masks are often used for this purpose in Japan. My second thought would be that it was to protect against some occupational hazard (they work with something very dusty, say), and that they were on their way from one job to another and hadn’t bothered to take it off. I’ve never heard of people wearing a mask to protect themselves from others’ infections. It sounds horribly impractical: You’d have to wear it all the time, every day. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/4 "2015-12-13T13:21:47Z")
They’re probably japanese? ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/5 "2015-12-13T14:06:08Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They’re probably japanese? bingo ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/6 "2015-12-13T14:21:48Z")
I think they decided to wear one for some reason. It’s none of my business why. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/7 "2015-12-13T14:27:22Z")
they may be imuno compromised. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/8 "2015-12-13T14:36:12Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > they may be imuno compromised. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/9 "2015-12-13T14:41:49Z")
They just robbed a bank ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/10 "2015-12-13T14:48:28Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They’re probably japanese? Or East Asian in general. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/11 "2015-12-13T14:56:02Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They’re probably japanese? > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Or East Asian in general. that was my first thought the one and only time I’ve seen it around here (a young lady, glimpsed only briefly in profile) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/12 "2015-12-13T15:00:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve never heard of people wearing a mask to protect themselves from others’ infections. It sounds horribly impractical: You’d have to wear it all the time, every day. I guess you weren’t following the H1N1 (“swine flu”) news, for example. It’s debatable how much good it does (IIRC, people like CDC and Mayo Clinic were saying, essentially, it can’t hurt). Anyway, I think the idea was just to wear it out in public crowds. Not at home, and probably not in a small workplace. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/13 "2015-12-13T15:04:36Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Or East Asian in general. I associate this practice specifically with Hong Kong. I don’t know why; I’ve never been there. Maybe because of the avian flu scares they’ve had there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/14 "2015-12-13T15:10:25Z")
I’d think “Chinese tourist”, unless the ethnicity was evidently wrong for that. If it was I’d think “WTF?” but not worry about it other than finding it strange. Everybody I’ve seen wearing a paper mask outside a medical environment was a young woman who looked like she could be from China. Seeing images of streets in China where people (usually again young women) are wearing paper masks is pretty common in the news and in documentaries. Oh, and a lot of them wear them wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/15 "2015-12-13T15:10:26Z")
Paper breathing masks are how people advertise their sexual availability, right? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/16 "2015-12-13T16:03:57Z")
Like others in this thread, I assume that (1) they’re from eastern Asia, and (2) they have a cold. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/17 "2015-12-13T16:09:51Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They’re probably japanese? > [@davida03801](#): > > bingo More likely Chinese or Korean. There are very few recent immigrants from Japan in the US. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/18 "2015-12-13T16:20:51Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > They’re probably japanese? Or think they are turning that way. On the side of town I used to live on was a lady you would often see out and about. Usually walking down the road or waiting at a bus stop, but once in a great while I see her in the distance at Walmart or the like. One day I have to go the emergency room. Fortunately they have lots of seating space so everyone can spread way out from each other. Well, shortly after I get there, here comes mask lady. She positions herself away from others about as best as she could. Awhile later another lady with a child comes in. She scans the room, sees mask lady, and chooses a sitting location NOT near mask lady. Well, this pisses off mask lady to no end. Apparently this highly offended her and she let the second lady know it in no uncertain terms. Well, mask lady WHAT are we supposed to think? Either you have cooties and nobody really wants that shit or you are in danger from our random cooties and nobody wants to hurt you. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/19 "2015-12-13T16:40:34Z")
Kooky. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318/20 "2015-12-13T16:51:23Z")
I’ve never seen someone else wear one in public, but I often wear a mask on airplanes. I bought a bunch of face masks during some disease scare, thinking I probably wouldn’t need them, but if I did, they might be hard to come by. Then I had this box in the closet. And one day, I had to fly somewhere despite having a cold. So I wore one, in an attempt to avoid spreading my cold. I hadn’t been some comfortable on an airplane in years. I realized that I get dehydrated on airplanes, despite drinking a lot of water (and needing to get up and pee) and that a lot of the symptoms I thought were “jet lag” were actually dehydration. So now I often wear a mask on an airplane. I always tell my set mates, so I don’t freak them out. (No, you aren’t sitting next to typhoid Mary, just a weird lady.) Asians show zero interest in my face mask, others are usually glad they didn’t have to ask me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-a-person-out-in-public-wearing-a-paper-breathing-mask-what-do-you-think/740318.md?page=2)