All the children had to wear a gas mask in case of a gas attack
by the Germans. They tried to make the masks like Mickey Mouse
faces so the children would like them. But I didn't.
They had big ears on them.
-Gerald Scarfe
Although used much more as a fashion statement in culture today,
going all the way through the hiphop scene, to the goth scene, and
many other groups in between -- The gas mask is a practical
invention that has been in use for just about a hundred years,
and are still used today... and will likely continue to be...
Gas masks were issued to all British civilians at the start of World War Two. There was a very real fear in Britain that Nazi German bombers would drop poison gas bombs. Therefore, all civilians were issued with gas masks. The bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War had shown what could happen when bombers got through. The government had planned for tens of thousands of deaths in London alone. An advisor to the government - Liddell Hart - told the government to expect 250,000 deaths in the first week of the war alone.
A true testiment that when new obsticles come mans
way, we find a way to beat it, and "filter" it out of our life...
Air born weaponry was a problem in the great wars (namely
starting April 22, 1915) so we decided it was time to engineer...
We came up the humble gas mask.
Or not so much came up with, but rather improved upon
the apparatus that miners, fire fighters, and divers previously used.
The original filters even used carbon to get rid of the nauxious gasses...
And we still use this in modern air scrubbers in industrial settings
to this day!
Although Gas Masks work a bit different today...
Here is a great video telling you how they do!
The gas mask is truly mans best friend for filtering out pollutants
in the air, and making it safe to step out side in unsafe conditions...
No one wants to breathe in mustard gas and feel their lungs instantly
start to swell, and blister.
And this little filtered guy changed all that.
Albeit quite an awesome piece of fashion...
I think the draw to it really is the history.
The fact that so much life can be supported, and allowed
just from strapping some rubber, and a filter on your face.
Boy she has got some great history, and I urge you
to read the links below!
Links/Sources :
History of the Gas Mask
More History on Gas Masks
History.com - How Gas Masks Work (Video)
Wikipedia - Gas Masks
