The microscopic whiskers can stop bacteria in a face mask or filter out water droplets in a hospital's air conditioner.

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The suspect behind SARS, a coronavirus, is smaller than that but comes encased in water droplets that get caught outside the mask.

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Not so China's poorer interior, where the dark colour of colas is associated with the dark tea traditionally used to mask the sediment in the local water.

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Water features have a practical purpose as well: They mask unpleasant sounds like traffic or noisy neighbors.

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Water gushed through the hole, so Sherman wore a snorkeling mask.

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Wearing hard-hat, paper mask, and gloves I walked around Ground Zero with ministry students giving bottles of water, Red Bull, and chewing gum to first-responders working the pile.

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