One of the ways to reduce the chance of getting infected with the coronavirus is to stay away from your face. But yes, that is still quite difficult. Because if you really pay attention to it, you will notice that you are actually very often on your face. Research has shown that people touch their faces about 23 times an hour, reported Editie NL earlier this month.
There must be something to think of against that, Daniel Reardon thought. Daniel is an astrophysicist, among other things he studies gravitational waves. But not during the corona crisis.
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Last Thursday, the 27-year-old scientist was not in college, but in home isolation. And what does a physicist do when he is bored? Then he will build something. If he made an electronic field around his face and put magnets on his wrists, could a device prevent him from sitting with his hands over his mouth and eyes?
The Australian went to work, but unfortunately achieved the exact opposite: the device appeared to make continuous noise, except when he came with his hands to his face.
Magnets in both nostrils
Daniel decided to change tack and put magnets in both nostrils, writes The Guardian. He also did two on the outside. And he shouldn’t have done that, because of course those magnets got stuck.
Things went from bad to worse when he used even more magnets to get the magnets loose again. “I tried to pull them out, but there’s a ledge at the bottom of your nose that you can’t get past,” he discovered.
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Pulling out with pliers did not offer any relief: the pliers also stuck to the magnets. “Then it got a little painful.” His roommate, who works in the hospital, found everything so hilarious that she took him to the hospital. Two doctors, who were happy to laugh about it, were able to pull the magnets off.
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#coronaheros
Daniel’s story has now gone viral on social media. “Daniel Reardon tested the hypothesis that smart people can do very stupid things,” someone on Twitter said. And: “We thank astrophysicist Dr. Daniel Reardon for his sacrifice in this difficult time,” concluding with the hashtag #coronaheros.
The Australian has promised to do more useful things. Meanwhile, the comment on Twitter continues. “Thank you very much Dr. Daniel Reardon for your commitment to science and much needed laughter.”
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