Sometimes you can never have enough money to spend. In Pune, India, Shankar Kurhade has taken COVID-19 facemasks to a new level. He shelled out the equivalent of around $4,000 bucks for a facemask made of pure gold.
He says the metallic mask is surprisingly light-weight with few tiny holes, ensuring he has no difficulty in breathing. But when asked about its efficacy, he said he wasn't quite sure. Ironically, while ornately etched with artistic patterns and designs, it's held in place with the same elastic bands that your mask is. It took craftsmen eight days to make the mask from the precious metal. The mask weighs about 60 grams or two ounces.
While the mask is creating quite a buzz on social media, not all of it is positive. Many point out that the money could have been used to buy thousands of N-95 or even disposable masks for others who can't afford or get them.