Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is the kind of stuff that makes people think that bringing back the guillotine might be a good idea.
From the Associated Press:
MOTZA, Israel (AP) — An Israeli jewelry company is working on what it says will be the world’s most expensive coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1.5 million.
The 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds and fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer, said designer Isaac Levy.
Levy, owner of the Yvel company, said the buyer had two other demands: that it be completed by the end of the year, and that it would be the priciest in the world. That last condition, he said, “was the easiest to fulfill.”
The article goes on to state that the nearly half-pound N-99 filtered mask was commissioned by a Chinese businessman living in the United States.
Now, you can think of this in two ways:
For sheer ostentation, this it is a bit tacky. Where can you wear this thing without somebody ripping you to shreds? On a more practical note, how do you keep it clean? Is that something you can really trust to the servants?
On the other hand, it might be something like the Golden Toilet entitled “America” executed by artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2016, that was stolen last year from an exhibition in Blenheim Palace in England. That particular object was made from 227 pounds of gold.
As a piece of art, this diamond-encrusted golden mask could be considered a sardonic reflection on our society. But as just a mask, wouldn’t a regular N-95 be a lot more practical and quite a bit cheaper?
UPDATES!
Last Monday I wrote about the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota. Two later stories in the Daily Kos followed on Friday and Saturday, but remember, you got it here first at From the Dumbass Files! According to the Rapid City Journal, screening for Covid antibodies is available from an enterprising vendor at the rally. At $45 a test!
In response to a question from the Black Hills Pioneer, Ainslie [Ed.: Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie] said if people from out-of-state do get tested in Sturgis facilities and come back with a positive result, those results would fall under their home states and counties, not Meade County.
Go figure. Ride to the rally from Chicago, catch the virus in South Dakota, and you’re a Cook County, Illinois case. Nice way to cook the stats a bit there… no pun intended.
Meanwhile, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported that at the rally:
The Department of Public Safety reported that police made 84 arrests for driving under the influence or drug-related offenses during a 24-hour period spanning from Saturday into Sunday morning. That's up from last year, when 76 people had been arrested in a similar time frame.
Last Wednesday I wrote a story about our dumbasses here in Central California setting up outside dining facilities downtown. On both Friday and Saturday evenings, I took a drive down our Main Street in Visalia (with my car windows rolled up). Bumper to bumper traffic, folks jaywalking, and people predictably packed into the spaces on the street, with little social distancing and few if any masks visible.
The Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency reported a total of 10,474 cases of Covid-19 resulting in 196 deaths in the County as of last Friday— they don’t issue reports over the weekend. I will update further as events warrant, and I hope I’m wrong about what I think is coming.
Have a great day, stay safe, and wear a mask that someone won’t covet! You can get a package of five multi-ply cotton cloth masks at Walmart for $7.50 (where available).