Althouse: Beyond masks... here's the new look for you — and by "you," I mean you who can afford whatever this thing is going to cost.

March 31, 2022

Beyond masks... here's the new look for you — and by "you," I mean you who can afford whatever this thing is going to cost.

I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400.

43 comments:

WK said...: Looks like the modern version of the Machine in “Princess Bride” that was used to suck the life out of Westley. I am sure this works differently.; 3/31/22, 9:23 AM
Joe Smith said...: Proving that money and common sense often miss each other in passing...; 3/31/22, 9:50 AM
One Eye said...: Had a Dyson vacuum many years ago; it was not very sturdy. I had to repair one of the hoses with duct tape.

I've had a Shark for over 10 years with 0 issues.; 3/31/22, 10:07 AM
Original Mike said...: "I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400."

I bet it gets your hair really dry.; 3/31/22, 10:13 AM
Mrs. X said...: "I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400."

Worth it? If yes, what does it do that cheaper hairdryers don't? (Not a snarky comment--genuinely interested.); 3/31/22, 10:14 AM
Wince said...: Altruism would be a Dyson Fart Purifier you'd wear on your ass.; 3/31/22, 10:25 AM
Howard said...: They need to make it look like Bane's mask.; 3/31/22, 10:28 AM
Lucien said...: Reminds me of Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” somehow.; 3/31/22, 11:10 AM
effinayright said...: "I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400."
***********************
Are you sure you didn't buy one of their vacs by mistake?; 3/31/22, 11:16 AM
tommyesq said...: "Whatever this thing is going to cost."

I thought we decided that, if it might save a single life, no cost was too high to pay!; 3/31/22, 11:38 AM
StephenFearby said...: "I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400."

Confirming the adage that (most) women are vain. (My wife has the Imelda Marcos shoe fetish.)

Of course, some men are ALSO vain:

Behind the Song: “You’re So Vain,” Carly Simon

'...Finally, after 43 years, Simon admitted to People Magazine in 2015 that “the second verse is Warren.” Their fleeting New York City romance is summed up in the following lines:

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive / Well you said that we made such a pretty pair/ And that you would never leave / But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me / I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee.

In her 2015 memoir, Boys in the Trees, Simon shares an intimate anecdote to illustrate Beatty for her readers. After staying over with the award-winning actor, Simon told her therapist about the evening to which the therapist responded “All I’ll say is, you’re not the only patient of mine who spent the night last night with Warren Beatty.”

In addition to that clarity, Simon also revealed that Beatty isn’t the only sorry subject of the song. But remaining on brand, she told People, “Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!”.

https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-youre-so-vain-carly-simon/; 3/31/22, 11:51 AM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Stupid. Only useful when the air quality index is >100. Then, just wear an N95 mask, $16.47 for 5 at Home Depot.

Wear it if you want a semi-Darth Vader look.; 3/31/22, 11:55 AM
Geoff Matthews said...: Is the blow dryer worth it?; 3/31/22, 11:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I'll just say that when I(incorrectly) thought it was broken, I bought another dyson hairdryer - the more expensive kind that also magically curls your hair. So the truth is I have 2 dyson hairdryers and a dyson hair straightener and I've well spent over $ $10.000 on that stuff.; 3/31/22, 12:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: LOL I mean $1000; 3/31/22, 12:25 PM
Howard said...: I would love to wear something like this on a hazmat underground construction site with tons of dust and VOCs. It's a supplied air respirator so don't have to suck it through the filters all day. Plus it's got the hearing protection feature built in. Of course it probably wouldn't be allowed on a hot site because it couldn't meet the fit test or decibel reduction requirements.

It would also be perfect for those home carpentry projects where you're doing a lot of cutting and you don't want to breathe in all that sawdust and you can listen to your music while you work. Again the supplied air is the real feature of this device.; 3/31/22, 12:30 PM
Ted said...: The only people I know who wore masks to purify the air they breathed pre-COVID were urban bicyclists worried about particulate pollution. And I don't think they could even use this device, since it wouldn't work with a helmet.

Incidentally, I once owned a Dyson vacuum cleaner that broke in a weird way -- the end of the wand literally snapped off. That's just bad construction. (Now I own 3 effective home air cleaners, each for a different room, that cost less to buy and maintain than 1 Dyson model would have.); 3/31/22, 12:54 PM
Dagwood said...: Does it come with a mute button?

No, not for the user to mute the headphone music. I mean to enable those nearby to mute the user's virtue-signaling.; 3/31/22, 1:06 PM
Leland said...: The piece of crap device doesn't have a microphone. Its none "air purifying" competitors in the noise cancelling headphone market have microphones which both improve noise-cancelling and allows the wearer to make phone calls. And if Dyson engineers had put a little thought into the thing; this could have great Industrial application, but not without a microphone and a plug-in option. This is what woke engineers get you; an overpriced widget that solves a problem nobody was having because cheaper, more capable options are readily available.; 3/31/22, 1:19 PM
Joe Bar said...: I'm surprised it doesn't include a bubble-shield for eye protection. Hey! Just wear a motorcycle helmet!; 3/31/22, 1:38 PM
Christy said...: Dyson saw a need and built it. It may succeed; it may not. I doubt I'll buy it, but I'm tickled to see that a company innovated. Capitalism at work.; 3/31/22, 2:05 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: Bring out The Gimp!; 3/31/22, 2:30 PM
Ernest said...: My impression of Dyson is that it is like Bose and Apple products. Beautifully designed, over-priced, well-marketed to their target groups.; 3/31/22, 2:37 PM
Static Ping said...: Oh, that's going to be a fetish for someone....; 3/31/22, 3:15 PM
David-2 said...: It's already April Fools Day in the UK - if in fact they "observe" it over there. This is a joke, right?; 3/31/22, 3:16 PM
R C Belaire said...: Someone is relatively high maintenance. As a point of reference I have a fully-adjustable sliding miter saw that cost less than $400 and I'm guessing it will be used by my grandchildren before it craps out.; 3/31/22, 3:38 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Do you like your Dyson hair dryer? I take you must.; 3/31/22, 4:06 PM
tim maguire said...: I can imagine some specific uses for it, but I don’t see it escaping that niche market.; 3/31/22, 4:07 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I note they do not mention anything about the air flow stopping virus and bacteria.; 3/31/22, 4:16 PM
Original Mike said...: $400 is the new $100.; 3/31/22, 4:55 PM
rsbsail said...: Althouse: "I have a Dyson hairdryer. It cost more than $400."

I have a towel, and I have no idea how much it cost.; 3/31/22, 5:32 PM
John henry said...: Doesn't look like a mask at all. Not in the sense of being a barrier.

It looks like it creates a big bubble of filtered air flowing around mouth and nose. Perhaps 4-5 times the amount needed for a normal breath.

The constant positive air flow keeps dirty air from getting to mouth/nose.

Since it is Dyson, I would suspect the are some small high velocity air curtains.

Comparing to a respirator or even a k95 is apples and oranges but I suspect it might be as good at preventing breathing in even small particles such as bacteria, maybe virus.

If I lived in an area with dirty air, I might considerone. Ditto if I had pollen allergies.

A lot less likely to cause problems (rebreathing, restricted breathing) than most masks worn to ostensibly protect against k in the NG flu.

John LGBTQBNY Henry; 3/31/22, 6:28 PM
John henry said...: Joe AR mentioned wearing a motorcycle helmet.

Good idea but won't work because you are breathing outside air in and out.

But it reminded me of this helmet which is pressurized with filtered air.

Similar idea to the Dyson.

https://hiconsumption.com/air-by-microclimate-helmet/

Both will protect the wearer. Since neither filters the air breathed out and provides no protection to others.

That's OK. Neither do almost any other mask. These have the virtue of being honest about it.

John LGBTQBNY Henry; 3/31/22, 6:37 PM
Josephbleau said...: I have been trained as a trainer in NIOSH/MSHA/OSHA respirator regulations. The main rule is, if your respirator is not rated for the hazard (pm10, lack of O2, poison gas or fumes, bacteria, virus),you have in your environment, you are not protected.

So according to the government, you are unprotected wearing an N95 mask in a COVID virus environment (Covid = .1 to 0.3 micron, N95 rating,3 micron at 95% efficiency), and I doubt that this Dyson is NIOSH rated, so by regulation, you are negligent for saying N95 or Dyson mitigates these hazards. I am sure that is in the Dyson fine print.

I could be wrong, perhaps this Dyson is NIOSH rated for COVID or NOx or CO, don't know.; 3/31/22, 7:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: “ I have a towel, and I have no idea how much it cost.”

But how much hair do you have? I have a lot. I prefer to air dry it but often it’s too cold or too humid to wait for that to happen. And just a towel would never get it dry, even one of those extra absorbent things; 3/31/22, 7:31 PM
ken in tx said...: They do have April Fool's day in UK. BBC once aired a famous report about the spaghetti trees in Italy for April Fool's day.; 3/31/22, 7:41 PM
Original Mike said...: "But how much hair do you have?"

Yep. Hair is a pain in the ass, IMO. Glad I've lost most of mine.; 3/31/22, 8:07 PM
Clyde said...: So put in your earplugs
Put on your eyeshades
You know where to put the cork.

Anyone for pinball?; 3/31/22, 8:15 PM
Josephbleau said...: "They do have April Fool's day in UK. BBC once aired a famous report about the spaghetti trees in Italy for April Fool's day."

How foolish, Spaghetti is only grown in some types of squash.; 3/31/22, 8:29 PM
Caligula said...: "Veblen Goods" are sometimes defined as goods that would not sell as well if the price were lower. Thus upending the usual price-demand curve.

Dyson products tend to do ordinary things in unusual ways. Which don't always work very well but, like the talking dog, it's enough that thing works at all.

Are Dyson products Veblen goods? Would sales decrease or increase if Dyson's prices were one-tenth of what they are?

(The saying is, "You get what you pay for" but surely it would be more accurate to say, "You're unlikely to get more than you pay for, but you might get less."); 3/31/22, 8:35 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: "So the truth is I have 2 dyson hairdryers and a dyson hair straightener and I've well spent over $ $10.000 on that stuff."

Prepping for the G.I.Jane 2 auditions?; 3/31/22, 11:33 PM
boatbuilder said...: I get the Warren Beatty part. What the hell does "clouds in my coffee" mean?; 4/1/22, 7:33 AM
boatbuilder said...: Every Princess need a really good hairdryer :^); 4/1/22, 7:34 AM