the.com/gas mask
A face that survives the air your enemies make unbreathable.
means A protective covering worn over the face that filters or blocks toxic gases, smoke, and airborne particles so the wearer can breathe safely.
from A plain compound of "gas" and "mask." "Gas" was coined in the 17th century by the Flemish chemist Jan Baptista van Helmont, who shaped it from the Greek "khaos" (chaos, the formless void) to name the wild, unconfined state of matter. "Mask" arrived via French "masque" and Italian "maschera," with possible roots in Arabic "maskhara" (a buffoon, something laughable) or a Mediterranean word for soot-blackened faces. The pairing rose to grim prominence with the chemical warfare of World War I, when chlorine and mustard gas made a breathable face into a piece of survival equipment.
- first responder
- Garrett Morgan's 1914 hood saved trapped miners from fumes
- horse versions
- WWI armies built gas masks for warhorses too
- charcoal trick
- Activated charcoal filters trap toxins by molecular adsorption
- baby bubbles
- WWII Britain issued sealed gas helmets for infants
- elephant inspiration
- Some early designs studied animal snouts and trunks
scott aviation gasmask — first commercially produced gas mask, introduced 1915 for wwi soldiers
gp-5 soviet gas mask — standard issue for soviet military and civilians from 1962-1990s, produced in millions