The use of masks has become a crucial aspect of stopping the spread of COVID-19. Research also shows that masks are at least somewhat helpful in slowing down the spread of the disease. However, despite all the expert warnings, some people believe that masks limit their freedom altogether and refuse to wear them even in public places.
A young YouTuber Allen Pan thought of solving this problem of protection in the most American way – with a weapon. He developed a device that throws personal protective equipment: a sort of gun that fires masks directly onto its targets’ faces. This is somewhat an ironic answer to all those who insist on not wearing one (a very widespread trend in several countries besides the United States).
To show how it works, Allen Pan has published a video of the tests carried out on his YouTube channel.
The mask gun has brake line, a solenoid valve, an 800 PSI CO2 canister, a spray paint pistol grip, and projectiles with magnets attached. Pan fixed four magnets to the straps on the back of the mask so that they’d tangle together on impact and added sticky strips to the inside of the mask’s surface for even more adhesive power.
After torturing a variety of mannequins, trying to equip them with masks, Pan tested the device on himself. He managed to correctly shoot the mask from a fairly close distance. He also took his device to Huntington Beach, which is one of the most anti-mask cities in southern California – to give the public a chance to try it out.
Obviously, this is an experiment that is not intended for mass use, but it is still a quite striking exercise that arose in response to a problem derived from the pandemic. It certainly proposes something that many would like to have when faced with someone who refuses to wear a mask.
