this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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Science Memes

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231
Hmmmmm (mander.xyz)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago

The mask is to prevent vomiting on this flower, it is a Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest flower that exists. It needs flies for pollination, which itattracts with a strong smell similar to a decomposing corpse.

https://wl.vern.cc/wiki/Rafflesia_arnoldii?lang=en

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Do it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I just noticed the joke! I've seen this pic a half dozen times now and I just noticed the joke!

I don't know if the joke is too subtle or I'm just dumb.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Haha, it's probably your device screen. It's subtle.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 7 months ago (5 children)

I don't know what this picture is about, but why vent holes on a mask!? Companies that sold these specifically to counter pandemic-era infection should be fined...

[–] Duamerthrax 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Masks like these existed before the pandemic. This one was likely designed for sanding wood or general dust, so clean exhaust isn't necessary.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

It's used for venting out breath so it won't fog up the glasses, good for dusty environment, definitely not for when you're sick.

[–] CommissarVulpin 14 points 7 months ago

It’s probably for the smell. The plant is rafflesia arnoldii, which smells of rotting meat to attract flies as pollinators.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If it's like other masks I've seen there is a flap or rubber gasket in there that acts as a one way valve. The US military uses M-50s and that's how they work too

It's normally closed. When you breathe in the air is drawn through the mask filter. When you breathe out the pressure pushes the flap open. When your exhale stops there isn't enough pressure to keep it open and the flap seals up again.

[–] venoft 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Why would these be sold to counter infection?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

That's entirely my point, though I probably didn't make it well. Maybe not this particular one, but all throughout the pandemic I saw people wearing similar Amazon/Facebook/AliExpress ones with vent holes, many stylized in other ways.

In other words, they sold products with specific aesthetic choices that made them less suitable for protecting yourself and others (obviously the entire reason mask sales skyrocketed during the pandemic), but made them more attractive to consumers exactly when we needed to protect each other. That's profiteering.