The most important design object of our time was more than a century in the making.

FastCompany.com published a fascinating article on the history of the mask that presidents, governors, mayors and hospitals are fighting to get their hands on.

“It’s hard to think of a symbol of COVID-19 more fraught than the N95 respirator. The mask fits tightly around the face and is capable of filtering 95% of airborne particles, such as viruses, from the air, which other protective equipment (such as surgical masks) can’t do. It’s a life-saving device that is now in dangerously short supply. As such, it has come to represent the extreme challenges of the global response to COVID-19.”

Here is a link to the FastCompany article.