Coronavirus FAQ: What Does It Mean If I Can Blow Out A Candle While Wearing A Mask?
The candle test is one way to assess (roughly) the effectiveness of a mask. If your mask passes the test, you can help it do an even better job with some simple hacks.
Each week, we answer "frequently asked questions" about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."
Can you blow out a candle with your mask on?
That question became ... a thing ... this month when Bill Nye (aka "The Science Guy") made a TikTok.
In it, he dons various types of masks that people are using during the pandemic, as he puts it, to "prevent particles from my respiratory system from getting into the air and then into your respiratory system" — in other words,
