Gas mask

A gas mask is a mask worn on the face to protect the body from airborne pollutants and toxic materials, and also known as a respirator. The mask may cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face, and will always form a sealed cover over the nose and mouth.

Gas masks in popular culture

Although their purpose was to protect the population in WWII, gas masks also have a sinister, faceless image. The 1940s comic book hero the Sandman wore a gas mask as part of his first costume, in part to protect himself from the sleeping gas he used on criminals, but also to inspire fear in them as well.

Related Topics:
1940s - The Sandman

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Sid Wilson, DJ for the band Slipknot, who comprise of nine masked members, is known to be a collector of gas masks, and wears a variety of different types on stage. Although Wilson is the most prolific wearer of gas masks amongst bands, numerous others have worn them for publicity shots etc, and Jason Miller, singer for Godhead, uses an Israeli civilian type to filter his voice.

Related Topics:
Slipknot - Godhead

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The unsettling appearance of the gas mask was also featured in the 2005 Doctor Who episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, in which an alien infestation of wrongly-programmed "nanogenes" in 1941 London transformed people by turning them into gas-masked zombies.

Related Topics:
2005 - Doctor Who - The Empty Child - The Doctor Dances - Alien - Nanogenes - 1941 - London - Zombie

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In the video game Metal Gear Solid, a boss called Psycho Mantis wears a gas mask.

Related Topics:
Metal Gear Solid - Psycho Mantis

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