This video was mesmerizing. Convert a sheet of paper towel into a face mask, using origami. For such a time as this, right?
The entire time I wondered, Who thought of this? The final scene of the video reveals its creator. (Of course, it would be someone brilliant like that.)
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It May Not Be As Bad As You Think
Immediate thoughts: Make sure your hands are clean before you start this project or you could contaminate yourself. This is a lot of palaver for a disposable mask. But so, so clever!
Seriously? That gal has a Ph.D.? I wonder what her colleagues would say about her failure to publish her next article because she had to make so many masks….Just kidding, of course, though the old “publish or perish” rings in our ears frequently….. Then again, I did watch the whole thing, so what does that say about me? Too much time on someone’s hands, for sure. Not saying whose….
But does paper actually block germs?
The mask creator has a Ph.D. and teaches industrial design in Poland. I can go to Sam’s Club and buy surgical masks by the box. My friends in Kosovo (four little countries and about 500 miles south of where this woman teaches), however, have greatly restricted ability to even leave their house, and product availability is very limited. Same for friends in Chile and Peru: enforced lockdown and severe limits. In Poland, being able to make a mask yourself from commonly available material might be a godsend and considered well worth the time of someone with the ability to design it. I have a doctorate in an entirely different, not hands-on, field, and there is NO WAY I could have designed and created that comfortable-looking mask. I don’t know what a paper towel will stop, relative to droplets on which viruses piggyback, but it seems reasonable that it would be as effective as a simple cloth mask or bandana mouth covering so commonly used where I live.
An MD in my city conducted and published a controlled experiment of a number of common home-made and commercial masks and they ALL stopped transmission of viruses at a 95% level or higher, several at 98-99%. If the origami mask stops ANY viruses, that’s better than stopping no viruses or going without a mask. I think this woman made a contribution to humanity that could make a significant difference in people’s lives where they don’t have the options and advantages we do. Thanks for sharing, Steve!
The design is brilliant. The design could carryover onto a cloth mask of the same size. It could even be larger and have a pouch for a filter. As the writer above suggested, necessity is the mother of invention. In this case, a design like this using simple materials could save lives.
Think of good design being similar to good plot construction in fiction. The arc of the plot leads to the conclusion of the story. If it is done well enough, it is a surprise. The arc of her design led to a useful object – a mask – a surprise.