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How wartime propaganda encouraged Brits to wear masks

Although wearing face masks in many situations is now compulsory, COVID-19 has exposed scientific disagreement on their efficacy. The British government has been, accordingly, ambivalent. But a short propaganda film released during the Blitz reveals that masks were not always as contentious as they are today.

Words by Jesse Olszynko-Grynwords by Caitjan Gainty

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About the authors

Jesse Olszynko-Gryn

Jesse Olszynko-Gryn is a historian of science, technology and medicine at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He is Co-Principle Investigator on an AHRC-DFG-funded project exploring the contested use of drugs in pregnancy and the risk of birth defects since thalidomide. His first book will reconstruct the remarkable transformation of pregnancy testing from an esoteric laboratory tool to a commonplace of everyday life.

Caitjan Gainty

Caitjan Gainty is a writer and historian of medicine at King’s College, London. She writes about a broad range of health-related topics, from snake oil to medical AI, and was honoured to be named the 2021 recipient of the Sir Paul Curran Prize for excellence in academic journalism from The Conversation. Caitjan is currently working on a book called ‘Healthy Scepticism’, which tracks the dynamic history of health scepticism across the millennia and especially focuses on its value for positive healthcare change. Together with Agnes Arnold-Forster, she runs the Healthy Scepticism project.