[pepsionice]

This started up around 8 to 10 years ago....when some flu episode started up and folks were coughing a good bit. The face mask routine has become accepted now.

I’m still waiting on statistics to prove it’s a good habit.

[cuban leaf]

When people are packed together like sardines everywhere you go, I suppose it IS a good idea.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

face masks were commonplace in the 1950s in Yokohama...

[Vigilanteman]

Actually, longer than that. I lived in Japan 1977-79 and again in 1988-2002. It is considered a polite way of going about your daily work without infecting others. Then as well as now.

Sneezing broadcasts infectious germs far and wide. Masks prevent that. So does sneezing into a handkerchief or elbow but neither is as effective as masks.

[Jimmu]

I lived in Japan for 10 years beginning in 1976 and the germ mask is common. In crowded trains and buses millions of people young and old , either to avoid spreading germs or to avoid inhaling germs. Its not considered weird there at all. They sell them in many different colors and some imprinted with graphics, cartoon characters or even photos. It is a tradition that goes back at least to the ‘50s.