So, you have to go out and resupply. How would you dress or appear so that people would give you a wide berth? You don’t want some fool getting in your face and sneezing, mask or no mask. But, then again, you don’t want to get so bizarre that some dragnet picks you up. And even short of that, you want to be able to conduct business seriously. Is there some happy medium? Or should you just go “bizarre” and hope the authorities give you a pass?
I know this might generate humor, but I am also seeking some serious answers.
One thing that should work pretty well is for you to avoid other people…give wide them berth. If everybody has that simple rule in mind, there will “spaces between us”. Otherwise, run to daylight.
Foil hats seemed to work back in the early ‘60s!!! :-) Most folks stayed well away from ANYONE wearing a foil hat!!!
“You don’t want some fool getting in your face and sneezing”
You think you are different and somehow special? What if you are the fool? What if the fool is your brother, your friend, your neighbour?
Poke a skunk until he hoses you. Nobody will want to come within MILES of you! ^__^
Anon — at 13:25----“What if you are the fool?” And what if I am? All of us here on the wiki are well aware of what can happen in close quarters during an infectious outbreak. Most of us here know that we need to keep away from others, whether WE have the flu, or just in case OTHERS have the flu. Strangers, mothers, brothers, sisters. We don’t know for sure WHO might be carrying the virus, simply because THEY won’t know. It’s better to avoid direct face-to-face in close proximity JUST IN CASE. Unless, of course, you have a wish to become infected….
Actually, “FW”, I think you have a good idea. I have a few local skunks around that I could bag anytime that I wish. Besides, they owe me! I have been feeding them for years because my German Shepherd doesn’t always clean up her evening meal. Bag one, save their scent sack, squeeze a little on some coveralls, store those outdoors, and when I go to town I can clear the room (or the line). Obnoxious and antisocial, indeed. But I live to see another day.
Oh, and by the way, I won’t be “the fool” sneezing on anybody, because I will be wearing a mask. Any sneeze I could possibly generate would be caught by the mask. And, if you are not exercising proper distancing and hygiene habits during a pandemic, you are not only a fool, you are criminal. It is just like not wearing “protection” with a first-time sex partner. Neither of you knows what the other is incubating, for sure.
Well if you want people to avoid you, you could always wear a sign around your neck that says “I am diseased”. That may keep folks at a very safe distance ;)
Just eat a lot of garlic, and wear a string of it around your neck. I guarentee you will get social distancing and some very strange looks. Or store you going out outfit in some valerian powder from pills. You will reek like an old stiff sweat sock.
Maven
Using the term ‘fool’ to describe others in such a situation is foolish. I did not make any comments whatsoever about social distancing, but now you come to mention it, if this goes H2H, a mask will be unlikely to give you any protection. Unless you live in a biohazard lab, there are a million other ways that the virus will be passed on. If everyone has hidden away, where do you think the supplies are coming from?
Or pile on the layers like a michelin tire to look like one of the homeless. I don’t mean to demean them, but people do avoid them, and if you mutter a lot. boy will they give you a wide berth.
I’ve heard that when Carol Burnett was young, she used to act “crazy” on the street when alone, so as to keep people from getting too near her. She’d twitch and jerk and carry on, and it not only worked, but the “act” turned into a comedy career.
There’s a product called “rape repellent” that you can purchase online at self-defense sites (or you could pre-Y2K—I’m presuming it’s still available). You spray it on yourself if you feel threatened by someone, and they RUN because of the stench. Then you use the antidote which removes the offensive odor from your person. Just a thought!
Dress in multiple layers of clothes, (as per Lily’s great post above), don’t bathe for a few days to allow to BO to build up, wear dirty clothes, have unkempt hair and/or a old icky hat with twigs and leaves it. Look crazy. Do not act drunk of under the influence-attracts robbers. But keep ID on you in case someone calls the cops!
Anon: A mask is better than nothing, just like a condom. : )
And during the recent SARS outbreak masks were somewhat effective, even among the general population of those countries affected. And businesses that are preparing have as part of their plans the stocking of masks. Etc. Etc. Etc…………..
“Fool” defined: “A person lacking in judgement or prudence”. Does that sound like somebody who forgot to put on some kind of mask during a killer pandemic?
Years ago when I had fibromyalgia I used Valerian to sleep because I ached so badly. It really really reeks of filthy , sweaty socks. It is very cheap and and old jacket stored in a plastic bag with a few opened pills. Wow. I also notice I tend to distance myself from people who smell of mothballs. We have one lady who uses them all over her house, and if you get anywhere near her, whew. But mothballs aren’t the healthiest, while valerian is non toxic., internally and externally.
I think that no matter what we do individually the results will be hit or miss. Responsible and reasonable adults usually exercise polite social hygiene but there are a few that have grossed me out by blowing their nose in a restaurant, while in line at the grocery, etc. Sure, they blew it into a tissue, but still … gross … take it to the bathroom or outside please, not while you are standing behind me or while I’m trying to eat.
But even if you keep the personal space issue together you may not be able to control all of the surfaces that you will be forced to touch. Some doors won’t open without turning of a door knob. Even if you lean into a door to open it you may be picking something up on you sholder. Money … cash … will be just grosser than it already is.
In situations like that you can only have so much control. I think it will be a matter of logical risk assumption and giving wide berth to everything else. If my kids are starving … and I’m prepping to avoid such an event … then I’ll risk the germs. The consequences of one are just as bad as the consequences of the other.
Amusing thread, the 1st thing that came to mind is inflating a latex glove and pulling it over the top of your head.
If your going out to re-stock your supplies and you look or smell or act too offensive, will the storekeeper let you stay long enough to complete your errand? They might believe your acting/smelling so weird because your delirous with fever from the flu.
Maven
I’m not entirely sure of the population of the US but I think it is around 290m. How many masks would be needed for each person? Say a minimum of 10? I wonder how many the US Government has in stock. I would think those that they do have will go to essential workers.
Multiply that by the world population of 6.5bn and supplying masks to everyone starts to look a bit doubtful.
What about the ‘fools’ that don’t get the masks or can’t afford to buy them?
Anon: Wraps, scarves, anything is better than nothing. You don’t want those moist droplets from a sneezer hitting your face in that area, nor do you want your sneeze to have the ability to project droplets to another. Believe me, if we have a pandemic, the public and the authorities will improvise. I believe I read that in Taiwan (or China) during the SARS epidemic they used the cups of dismembered bras as masks. And take the Japanese, they are fanatical about the use of masks during even minor outbreaks of flu and colds. Slovenly, slipshod habits will be quickly censured by all concerned when the next pandemic hits.
A client who was an alcoholic and evidently incontinent used to come into our office. An appointment was made with a lapse before he came, because he was so verbally obnoxious to anyone he met. There was a fifteen minute period after he left when we aired out the office. A difficult, obnoxious and really crummy individual, and one given a wide berth. Nothing I would recommend. There are plenty of people in this world that I avoid now that I think of it. All you need to do is get some halloween makeup. Dark shadows under the eyes, the possibilities are endless.
If we do have a pandemic, I plan to take emergency vacation from work. However, there is no guarantee that my request will be approved. I can stay out for only 3 days sick without a doctor’s release. I have been thinking that if I have to come to work I am going to wear a mask and gloves and carry a spray bottle of bleach water. I will refuse to get close to anybody and walk in wide circles around them. I will spray anything that holds still long enough and refuse to touch anything that has not been thoroughly disinfected. I figure this will get my leave request approved in short order. The same tactic might work for keeping people away from us as well.
You might also get a psych consult and evaluation. I think a lot of people are going to get mighty imaginative depending on the situation they are in.
Hillbilly Bill - That might very well work. They might send you for that psych evaluation. Just don’t let them send to the rubber room - the facility might not have preped.
Someone should print bumper stickers for people:
“If you can read this, you’re too close.”
That’s easy if you have a teenager. Just tell them, “No you cannot see your friends you’re running errands with me all day. Now go put on your scariest Goth/Punk/Wiccan (or whatever look they have that makes adults cringe) and make sure you have a scowl on your face and you stay right by me.” That is guaranteed to give you plenty of space almost anywhere. Gee I wonder if those masks come in black? The teenagers would love them! ;-)
Older thread, closing for speed purposes.
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