Gas Mask Fashion, Part 2

"QUANTUM SHOT" #378 link Also read Part 1 How much fun can you have with a gas mask on your face? None whatsoever. And yet multitudes of people of various age and occupation donned these rubber/plastic stifling contraptions, most as an entirely justifiable part of the Cold War civil defense exercises, but some - well, see for yourself. Could there be a type of people who would adopt "gas mask fashion" for no apparent reason? - ("The Happening") History wears a gas mask Weirdest faces in masks, from history's worst nightmares: (images credit: gasmasks.net) One of the first gas masks (Zelinsky model) from 1913: Panzer driver protective mask, 1917: Red Army Chemical Weapons Protective Suit, 1930: Gas masks apparently refuse to protect capitalists: This could easily be a shot from apocalyptic movie (the sign says "contaminated") - The evolution of female beauty: You don't want even to touch these rats: Early gas masks for horses: Update: Apparently, the picture above is not really a gas mask: it's a "nose bag," a canvas sack filled with grain that enables the horse to eat on its breaks from work while it is away from a manger or pasture (thanks, Caitlin) Dogs did not escape this fate, either: (See complete history of gas mask equipment for dogs here) (image credit: gasmasks.net) Pretending to be a mushroom does not help, but wearing this full-body suit (Red Army, 1940) certainly does: More historic examples: vintage photography of people in masks, each impersonal face asking a silent question: "Why?", "What did I do to deserve this?" and "How long will this go on?" (images credit: gasmasks.net) (image credit: gasmasks.net) (image credit: gasmasks) Nurses wearing masks, 1942: (image credit: Miss Magnolia) This mysterious banquet occurs under very portentious slogan: "Why wait until 1955? We might not even be alive!" Considering this poster of atomic weather and back-then political situation, they could have been right: And looking at the next posters, I'd say these soldiers should don their masks, and quickly: This picture supposed to show the actual nuclear detonation as part of Soviet war games in the 50s in Semipalatinsk: (many soldiers perished as a result) - This is THE first Soviet atomic bomb: RDS-1 from 1949: Later model bomb (smaller and more lethal, of course): Some of the Soviet machinery of that period looked positively weird: this one TM-59 was supposed to clean up airstrips after contamination: These girls are not in the masks yet, but soon will be: Closer to our times: "Pop!" goes the pop art Modern pop art makes a good use of gas masks, making them a symbol of... well, holistic wickedness? wicked innocence? Who knows: (vector art by se7en) Gas masks end up on customized bikes: (image credit: Ben Ransom) ... in the bathroom: ... all over the street: (image credit: Blayne Scott) (image credit: Francisco Matas Rosas) or at "Burning Man" avant-garde art competitions: And we'll close with the most emphatic image of all: (nuclear fallout shelter? I only hope this is just a piece of art) (image credit: Tom Mortimer) Tome Mortimer says: "Various people have asked if it's an actual child but it's just a doll that used to be my aunts (which we keep in a cupboard as it freaks people out otherwise)" Many of the images were graciously provided by Bart from Gas Masks site, which actually has a full catalog of every gas mask model produced around the world. Other Sources: Gas Masks in Action, Gas Masks Politics CONTINUE TO NEXT PART! -> READ THE FIRST PART HERE Also read: Thermonuclear Oops List, Biochemical Oops List, Ballistic News Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook Category: History,Weird, Military Related Posts: Cold War Phones, Russian Ballistic Missile Carriers Dark Roasted Blend's Photography Gear Picks: