Cotton was the most effective fabric out of 32 types of materials tested. 

As coronavirus numbers begin to shoot up across the American South, medical experts are reinforcing the importance of wearing a mask or face covering. Ever since the pandemic began, people have been on a quest to find the right mask to protect from the coronavirus. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute evaluated 32 types of natural and synthetic fabrics to find out how well they filtered out virus particles. The fabric that worked the best was made of 100 percent cotton with a raised fiber. However, none of the fabrics performed as well as an N95 mask.

The cotton mask worked even better when it was layered and was fitted tightly to the face. Researchers Christopher Zangmeister and James Radney, experts in measuring aerosols, used fabric squares instead of actual masks in the experiments. 

“Basically, we take a swatch of material and flow a stream of particles of a known size at it,” said Zangmeister. “We count the number of particles in the air before and after it’s passed through the fabric. That tells us how effective the material is at capturing particles.” 

Photo by Digital Buggu from Pexels

Table salt, or sodium chloride, is recommended by the CDC as a substitute for live viruses and was used in this study. The most effective fabric tested—cotton—blocked 20 percent of the salt particles. The researchers also tested other fabrics like HEPA filters, surgical masks, and coffee filters. Even when they paired these items with a layer of fabric, the outcome wasn’t much different.

Cotton fabrics with raised textures like flannel were the most effective. So if you can’t find an N95 mask, grab some of your old flannel pajamas and a sewing machine and make your own!

Never, ever, ever approach a herd of bison. 

A video showing a woman going up to a bison, only to be gored by it, was shot on June 25 at Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone National Park.

Another family camping next to the 72-year-old woman recorded the incident.

Apparently, two bison were peacefully grazing near a parked RV at a camping ground. The woman, who was visiting the park from California, kept approaching and provoking one of the animals, even taking a picture within 10 feet of them.

“I could hear the bison making noises and blowing steam out,” Jenna Larsen, who recorded the video, said. “It was just an accident waiting to happen at that point.”

Finally, it seemed one of the bison had had enough: it charged at the woman, tossing her back 10 to 15 feet up in the air. The woman stood up, however, the bison charged her again, hitting her once more.

Here's the video footage leading up to the initial attack, as well as an interview with the Larsen family who also assisted the woman afterward:

After the incident, park rangers treated the woman's goring wounds, which were multiple, before having her flown to a hospital in Idaho.

Yellowstone's senior bison biologist Chris Geremia commented on the situation:

"The series of events that led to the goring suggest the bison was threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet .... Bison are wild animals that respond to threats by displaying aggressive behaviors like pawing the ground, snorting, bobbing their head, bellowing, and raising their tail. If that doesn't make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge. To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge."

Park officials suggest people visiting should stay at least 25 yards away from large animals, like bison, elk, deer, moose, coyotes, and bighorn sheep. They recommend staying at least 100 yards from bears and wolves. 

The woman is unidentified but was reportedly released from the hospital after treatment.