What are These Things?

[ifoz]

Does anyone know what these things are or why they show up in so much clutter?
The "ruined mask" item seems to show us what their name is, though they look far too small to be worn as masks by humans.
What do you guys think these things are, and what were they used for?

Edited June 13 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

They look kinda like a cross between a plague doctor mask and a tiki mask I can't say that I've ever really paid them much mind.

19 hours ago, ifoz said:

The "ruined mask" item seems to show us what their name is, though they look far too small to be worn as masks by humans.

I hate to say it but...small masks for small humans(children), most likely. Hard to say what the purpose would be. They could be a sort of safety measure against infections, although these don't really match the style of the other masks that are for that purpose. I'd say more likely that they may be more of a plaything to keep the kids busy and out of trouble. If that's the case, they could be patterned after some sort of creature, or perhaps mimicking actual protective gear that some of the adults might wear, similar to how kids IRL will dress up as doctors and whatnot.

It probably also depends on the context of the ruin and who likely was living there.

[ifoz]

On 6/14/2024 at 9:54 AM, LadyWYT said:

I hate to say it but...small masks for small humans(children), most likely. Hard to say what the purpose would be. They could be a sort of safety measure against infections, although these don't really match the style of the other masks that are for that purpose. I'd say more likely that they may be more of a plaything to keep the kids busy and out of trouble. If that's the case, they could be patterned after some sort of creature, or perhaps mimicking actual protective gear that some of the adults might wear, similar to how kids IRL will dress up as doctors and whatnot.

It probably also depends on the context of the ruin and who likely was living there.

I suppose the smaller ones could be, but the ones that are slightly larger and found with suits and coats seems to suggest that they may have somehow been worn by adults too.
I was thinking, what if this is just the metal part of some sort of rebreather or plague doctor-esq mask and the straps or cloth has just rotted away over time? It could explain why they're so small despite being some found around things adults would wear like full-sized coats and suits. The really tiny one on the drying rack though.. That would have to belong to a child.