[yellowstuff]

I imagine that just like my grandparents who lived through the Depression hoarded ketchup packets despite being financially secure, as soon as N95 masks are freely available I will keep a stash handy for the rest of my life, regardless of whether I ever face another pandemic, or official organizations advise against it.

[jerf]

One intriguing question that I can't answer today is whether or not this global pandemic is the exception, or whether 100+ years without a global pandemic is the exception.

Not to mention, you look out over the next 50-100 years, you gotta be concerned about biological warfare. Having a population that knows how to handle a pandemic keeps the non-science-fiction viruses at bay pretty well.

[eridan2]

But we had influenza pandemics in 1957 and 1968, plus the swine flu in 2009...

[en-us]

That is exactly why I already had masks. I've kept a small stash since the Ebola epidemic.