Many people who abided by mask-wearing protocols during the pandemic have adapted to protect themselves and others from the contagious viral pathogen on a daily basis.
While various parts of the world still have varying levels of safety and health mandates in place, many people opt to wear masks, even though a particular establishment or other public places no longer require them.
Curious to hear why strangers would volunteer to wear a face covering, Redditor VerySlump asked:
"What’s a non-covid reason that you like wearing a mask for?"
Some people like that masks are a partial disguise.
Hiding Idiosyncrasies
"Whenever I’m concentrating or working on a task I tend to stick my tongue out or leave my mouth open and I really like it when people don’t see that."
– Conscious_Fondant634
What Loose Skin?
"Covers my double chin."
– Catlover2727
"Made me realize the top half of my face looks gooood. Chin waddle not so much."
– Unique-Drawer-7845
Covering Pimples
"Hides my acne."
– gabrielcutler21
"Thank you! A few years ago this tailgating lady confronted me and called me a druggie and I assume it was because of my acne and it really took the wind out of me. I really don't look like a methany... I hope?"
– shewholaughslasts
Self-Consciousness
"It hides my teeth."
– salmonsensual_69
"Same! Overbite checking in. I am considering getting braces while wearing a mask is still a thing."
– Blijerd
It's A Look
"Black mask goes hard with my outfit and hairstyle."
– pineapple_boiii
Half The Effort
"Don’t have to put on a full face of makeup. Fill in my eyebrows, put on mascara and I’m good!"
– tofueggs
Some prefer masks as a block from social stigmas.
Leaving A Shadow
"Nobody notices if I didn't shave."
– paulfromatlanta
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Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...For The Introvert In All Of Us
"Allergies, and so I can ignore people."
– FightingBlaze77
"Took awhile before I found someone saying they can ignore people. For me it's more of I can fly under the radar of people I know. Sunglasses mask combo is complete anonymity!"
– deepdalecobra
Protection From Olfactory Assault
"Nasty smell in subway."
– ChristianaDarkness
"I agree. Smells in general."
– butterandsaltforever
Masks Make Me Look Attractive
"When this all started I noticed women making eye contact with me more than normal. The I figured it out, I'm a 6 foot tall guy in decent shape, nice hair, and a face like a chimpanzee. With the mask I look like I could be attractive."
– AUSTRALIA_IS_MADE_UP
Talking To Myself
"I can talk to myself without people seeing my mouth move."
– Weak_suicide
Workout Performance
"Same. I can 'lip sync' along to my Spotify while at gym and no one can see 😂"
– ChenzyHouse
Warmth
"I was in New York a month ago (I live in Florida). It wasn’t cold enough for New Yorkers to wear scarfs yet, but it felt like it to me because I live in the south. So wearing a face mask was a handy way to warm my face without looking like a tourist lol."
– selfmade117
Viral pathogens aren't the only things floating in the air that can wreak havoc when entered through your nasal cavity.
When The Pollen Count Is High
"I have pollen allergies, mask helps a TON."
– UnclePiccolo
Outfit For Lawn Mowing
"I wore a mask to cut my grass due to bad grass/weed allergies before Covid and now I wonder if my neighbors think I’m just insane wearing a mask cutting the grass now."
– Escalante81
A Shield For All Occasions
"I haven't had a cold for nearly 2 years IT'S BEEN AMAZING"
– fluffofthewild
Extra Protection
"I'm a fresh heart transplant patient and I'm required to wear one in public for the first year. Not strictly COVID, but literally any pissbaby infection that most anyone can shrug off could kill me at this stage. 🤷♂️"
– MikoRiko
When I was a kid, I always found it unusual that people in Japan always wore masks out in public.
No one bats an eye.
Turns out they were on to something. Many cultures outside the U.S. have employed the use of masks to prevent the spreading of the cold or flu or other infectious pathogens way before COVID-19 wreaked global havoc.
It's nothing for them in endeavoring to protect others and themselves from a nasty bug.
Personally, wearing masks actually trained me not to rub my nose in public, which is how I've been prone to getting sick in the past when my hands weren't always clean. So even if I don't have to, I wear one to make remind me that I don't have an itchy nose.
What are your non-pandemic reasons for wearing a mask?
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Reddit user Purple_Pineapple_752 asked:
"If God gave you his powers for 1 hour, What would you do?"
So here's the thing, Reddit has no chill.
Like none.
So every random whim, thought, or chip on people's shoulders certainly came out in the comments.
And honestly... it's delicious.
Some Redesigns Needed
"Redesign human knee and shoulder joints. Because, seriously, I've got some bug reports that have been ignored."
- m_sporkboy
"You’ve got my vote! As a nearly 30yr old with chronic arthritis, I’d say thank you!"
- RiskyBisc
"Yup. Tore my ACL the other month in college football and am now a 'house potato' according to my dad."
- Bu11tproofTiger
"Both of my shoulders are reconstructed. My hips are finished as well an I'm in my 30s ."
"I think the human body needs to be made of better quality parts at this point lol"
- lolparty247
GiphyGame Time
"Elected politicians, and candidates for office can no longer lie."
"Intentionally or unintentionally, every thing they express will be truth. If they try to lie, it will come out truth."
"This is not meant to be wholly benevolent."
"No half truths. No vagaries. The plain and objective truth, or silence. Those are their options."
"And it applies to all elected politicians, officially government sponsored ones (MPs) or otherwise, like say the elected spokesman of the IRA."
"Let the games begin."
- AlphaTangoFoxtrt
"This is actually terrifying."
"Imagine you are elected. You want to know the nuclear launch codes? No worries, just try to state the first character in the sequence."
"You cannot lie. So what you say will come out as correct. Now just have someone write it down."
"Want the password to the white house twitter account? No worries, just get someone to vote you into some form of office. Could be you and joe-no-body, it doesn't matter."
"Privacy would end overnight."
"No no no, you want them to not be able to tell intentional lies. Then at least it's limited to things they know. And just for good measure, give every elected official a strong sense of questioning their own knowledge."
- UFO64
"I feel like this power will end up being a monkeys paw. You try to do good but it has an equal/opposite reaction..."
"You make it so politicians can't lie, and the followers just accept it and still vote them into power."
"Make it so people have critical thinking and aren't easily misled by conspiracies and propaganda, then I dunno, maybe we find out we needed conspiracies in our life and we now no longer question anything.. Idk.."
"You remove corruption and it has some unforeseen knock on impact where now South American or African countries become super powers and a new cold war erupts with new players."
"Yeh monkeys paw... Beware of this power..."
- splashbodge
GiphyToast Technicalities
"Create various images on toast and have fun watching believers react to them."
- CaptchaSolvingRobot
"But technically... they would be right because it was you as God!! You!!"
- SonOfARemington
"I’ve often wondered how many people eat their Jesus toast without ever bothering to check."
"Extending the thought, how many people actually do check their toast only to think to themselves, 'Hey! It’s Keanu Reeves!' ”
- smeeding
GiphyCan We Vote For This Person?
"1st of all, I would make it so that everyone napping always wakes up refreshed. All naps now last 23 minutes but feel like 4 hours of perfect sleep."
"Nothing is addictive."
"All men are given perfect recall about everything their wives have said or done."
"All women obtain positive body images."
"Taco trees."
"People who are cool never have their shoe laces come undone. A-holes have their laces break every Friday."
"Dogs stay small puppies for 3 extra months and come out potty trained."
"Turtles can play trumpet."
"America switches to metric with no fuss."
"The internet makes sense to everyone over 70....but they chose to avoid social media anyway."
"Corn syrup goes away."
"All religions announce simultaneously that God is kinda... but not exactly gay."
"Every swastika owned drawn or tattooed is slowly burned away over a week. It hurts really bad and is replaced by a picture of a teddy bear blowing a very startled looking Nick Cage."
- Ethandrul
"You had me at trumpet turtles and taco trees."
- fallen87angel
"I also choose this god."
- PBnBacon·
GiphyAssuming I'm Still Interested
"Assuming I’m still really interested in Earth, get us back to zero or a good starting point."
"Remove all trash and pollution everywhere. It just ceases to exist."
"Complete all municipal separated storm sewer projects instantly."
"Instantly create storm water gardens wherever necessary. Instantly eliminate lawn culture and convert to lawn alternatives to eliminate run off."
"Instantly convert all power generation to safe thorium nuclear and renewable. Instantly convert all sea shipping to clean nuclear."
"Instantly convert all cars to electric. Create charging stations at every residence."
"Instantly convert all heavy construction equipment to a safer fuel (I don’t know what yet). Instantly put solar panels on every structure/house. Instantly create bike lanes everywhere. Instantly create bike culture of the Netherlands everywhere."
"Upgrade everywhere to high speed rail systems similar to Japan. Switch all roads to permeable pavement."
"Instantly perform major upgrades on every structure, road and bridge everywhere. Have all work go to new construction and maintenance."
"Instantly install field drains and timer stadium lights in all playing fields."
"Instantly process all rape kits in all police stations."
"Instantly repair all playgrounds and park features everywhere."
"Automatically register everyone to vote. Create 10 new states out of Texas and California. Instantly pass political reform."
"Legalize all drugs. Instantly create more treatment centers."
"Instantly cure all ailments that are in recovery in hospital and would cure naturally. Instantly move those patients back home."
"Instantly kill all patients who would die naturally. Instantly inform all families."
"Instantly remove all graveyards and eliminate practice of saving dead. Create new ritual of donation to science or turn into tree."
"Instantly create depression cure. Instantly create obesity cure. Instantly create formula to grow/repair existing teeth."
"Instantly change taxation rate to post WW2 for businesses. Instantly change view of all workers to pro-union."
"Instantly identify and eliminate all political corruption. Have everyone just realize all this exists."
"Eliminate all religious belief everywhere. Instantly create belief in helping neighbors, being a good person, and creating a heaven on earth."
"Eliminate all mosquitoes. Bring back bees."
"Is time up? Was that an hour?"
- winnower8
GiphyOne Solution To The Fossil Fuel Issue
"Having given it some thought:"
"Easy parthenogenesis for all humans, regardless of their biological sex and mental identity."
"And the natural ability to self terminate pregnancies. And self. That would wipe out a whole bunch of angst and repression in the world."
"The ability to fly, as someone else suggested, at fairly rapid speeds. This would vastly change society, no more cars, planes, elevators, stairs, possibly no more country borders, it would be nearly impossible to enforce. The demand for oil would plummet and the environment would be healthier."
"Extra longevity, with senescence happening only a few years before death."
- CanadianJogger
GiphyGenderqueer Garlic Bread
"Make an easily accessed and super powerful source of electrical energy that's renewable and environmentally friendly, it's also easily accessed (this could just be 100% efficient solar gen, or a generator that somehow turns heat back into useable energy? I dunno I'll be god, I could figure it out)."
"Cure All Diseases"
"Humanity now has the ability to magically transform themselves freely to look however they choose, provided it's still anthropomorphic."
"I'm genderqueer; this would make it so all the non-cis people wouldn't need expensive drugs and surgery, or suffering, although I guess we'd be dealing with a few furries but y'know that's fine with me."
"Reverse earth's environmental damage back to pre-industrial while maintaining all the infrastructure changes."
"Finally, all major US and Canadian highways are underground and infinitely maintainable, AND there's also Bullet Trains that run underground with them along the WHOLE interstate/400 Series and Extension/Trans-Can that way I NEVER HAVE TO DRIVE AN HOUR TO WORK AGAIN."
"AND all Cities with populations over 10K have more-than-adequate 100% free public transit that's also so efficient the busses/trains/trolleys/whatever are never late."
"OH one more thing: Since everyone is gonna be sexy because of the Shapeshifting, everyone is either pansexual, or ace, and the people that are ace aren't seen as weird and are completely respected in their orientation. And we all have an innate sense both to locate each other and to locate garlic bread."
- someBrokeCanadian
GiphyThe Timer
"I would set a timer for 10 years and then everyone dies and the earth explodes. I would make everyone aware of the timer."
"I think that would eliminate a lot of bullshit around the world like war and hate, and would make for a really good last time alive until we all die together."
"Am I a weirdo?"
- DoobieMcBeast
GiphySky Farm
"Erase COVID"
"Curse everyone whose name was listed in the Pandora Papers to spontaneously explode somewhere in public and just let the media chips fall where they will."
"Create a sky-dwelling jellyfish that eats carbon fumes and whose tentacles contain a chemical that makes you feel total euphoria for 8 hours straight."
"See how long it takes humans to turn them into a carbon-sucking, drug-producing sky farm animal."
- NebulaPlural
"I am 100% on board for carbon-Hoover-jelly-sky-fish-farms."
"Magnificent."
- sinskins
Giphy"Because Who Wouldn't?"
"I'd get rid of all mental impairment diseases and conditions. Alzheimers, Dementia, the severe mental impairment that some kids are born with (Not sure what the various conditions are called)."
"I would make humans and other animals immune to cancer. I would extend healthy human lifespans by another 50 years, and dogs and cats can also live as long as humans."
"I would then give humans the ability to research and cure other diseases and ailment so that mankind could eventually have treatments for such things as they come along. I say this because I only get an hour and things will appear in the future that can't be predicted (even with God's power)."
"And lastly, I'd of course, give my self a bigger dick, because who wouldn't?"
- ClownfishSoup
GiphyOh you didn't honestly think we were going to get through an article about god-like powers and NOT have someone use it for penises... did you?
Come on now.
You're not THAT new on the internet.
You know how people are around here.
What would YOU use your god-like powers for now that you've read some of Reddits ideas? Let us know in the comments.
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