When face masks were scandalous

Monday, August 15, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we examine how the new climate bill will cut emissions; discover that face masks, long before COVID, served a more exotic function; find the mysteries below Iceland’s rumbling volcanoes; travel through post-U.S. Afghanistan … and learn why a simple shower or dog walk can spur creativity.

ORONOZ/ALBUM

Over the past few years, form has followed function for face masks—the stronger the better to fight a crippling pandemic. But centuries before N-95s, black velvet and more exotic materials shielded upper-class faces from prying eyes and opened the doors to baroque social rituals.

And yes, face masks had their critics, even then. Self-appointed moralists called the masks scandalous, saying wearers lived “in all kinds of voluptuousness and pleasure.” Nat Geo History looks at Europe’s mask subculture of the 1500s—and safety-minded people today might chuckle while they hook the strings of their plain white masks around their ears.

Read the full story here.

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COURTESY OF RAHUL MISHRA

Pictured at top, masked women depicted in a pilgrimage in a 1601 painting; above, “Butterfly People,” by Indian designer Rahul Mishra, is among a virtual exhibition of more than 100 contemporary face masks from around the world, Nat Geo reports.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS BURKARD

Mysteries lurk below Iceland’s restless volcanoes (above, tourists flock to the latest eruption in southwest Iceland)

How the historic climate bill will drastically reduce U.S. emissions

Live animal markets in San Francisco accused of mistreatment

How has Afghanistan changed since the U.S. left? We traveled the nation to find out.

Strange moth flights revealed for the first time

Five ships set sail 500 years ago on the first round-the-world voyage. One returned.

IN A FEW WORDS

This new legislation is expected to speed the transition to clean technology so much that non-polluting energy—solar, wind, nuclear power, geothermal energy, hydropower—could supply up to 81 percent of the country’s electricity by the end of this decade.

Craig Welch

National Geographic reporter

From: How the historic climate bill will transform the U.S. energy landscape

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY SAUMYA KHANDELWAL

An enduring divide: When a fence went up after 1947’s sudden demarcation of India and Pakistan, many border towns were cut off. In these aging hamlets, roads are still unpaved, and there are no high schools nor hospitals. “We are the forgotten people,” says 70-year-old farmer Jodh Singh, from Mammi Chak Ranga village (pictured above). He spoke with Nat Geo ahead of today’s 75th anniversary of Partition, the separation of India and Pakistan.

Related: Map shows how India was split

Hear a survivor talk about Partition’s toll

ON THE BORDER

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY EVGENIA ARBUGAEVA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

With the reindeer herders: The Nenets, from Russia’s Arctic, migrate 800 miles a year with their antlered herds. That’s gotten harder, with climate change and a giant natural gas field. In recent years, one herder told Nat Geo, “our reindeer were too weak for the long journey.” Nat Geo Explorer Evgenia Arbugaeva, herself a native of Russia’s North, took this image of a family at play on the Yamal Peninsula. It was recently featured in our Photo of the Day archival collection.

SEE VINTAGE PHOTOS

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELIZABETH CECIL, THE NEW YORK TIMES VIA REDUX

The power behind a shower: Science has an explanation why you may get some of your best ideas while taking a shower—and has tips on how to ignite creativity elsewhere during the day (like while walking the dog). One cognitive neurologist tells Nat Geo that, in a shower, “ideas bounce around, and different thoughts can collide and connect.”

TURN ON THE WATER

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Jen Tse, Heather Kim, Allie Yang, and Anne Kim-Dannibale. Do you get better ideas in the shower or while walking the dog? Let us know at david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails!

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When face masks were scandalous

When face masks were scandalous

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