Things We Saw Today: Scream Your Way Through a New COVID Test

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the US entering lockdown due to the coronavirus, it understandable if you just want to stand alone and just …. scream. Whether we are screaming inside our hearts (always) or into a pillow or into the void in Iceland or in our own home, screaming feels like the new global pastime. And now in a wonderful bit of synergy, a Dutch inventor has invented a COVID test that uses your scream.

Peter Van Wees has created a test that sounds honestly much nicer than getting a swab stuck up your nose. Here’s how it goes: The subject stands inside an airlocked cabin and screams or sings (hell yes I can get my opera on too). According to Van Wees, “If you have coronavirus and are infectious and yelling and screaming you are spreading tens of thousands of particles which contain coronavirus.” Those particles are collected in an air filter from the cabin and then analyzed for COVID. And the process takes about three minutes.

I think this is a great idea and I think we need to institute this tech in a lot of places immediately. Like for instance: airports. Instead of potentially letting people on a plane with COVID, why not install screaming boxes right before airport security to administer this test! If you’re like me, you’ll be ready to scream just because you’re at the airport and this won’t just be good for public safety, it will be therapeutic.

And heck, why not use this in our pre-established public infrastructure where they already have lines and many people ready to scream for hours? I’m talking of course about the DMV. Renew your license, get a COVID test, and get your rage out. This sounds perfect. If we can’t have the dogs that smell COVID, just let us put all the screaming we are already doing to good use.

(via: Reuters Science, image: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)

Here are a few other things we saw today:

• Boogie‘s Taylor Takahashi on His Unusual Path From Personal Assistant to Leading Man. (via The Hollywood Reporter
• The George Floyd Justice in Policing bill has passed the House. (via Huff Post)
• Here are the chapter titles for Zack Snyder’s Justice League. (via /film)
• See more

  David Lynch getting his second vaccination shot today!! pic.twitter.com/YjBCwMsh0U

  — 🏳️‍🌈 Ms. Marya E. Gates🦩 (@oldfilmsflicker) March 4, 2021

• Why Disney is right to charge extra for Raya and the Last Dragon. (via Variety)
• How do you, ya know, get a skeleton out of a person? (via Altas Obscura)
• How studios are grappling with the racism and misogyny in their back catalogs. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
• See more

  First official @cw_kungfu photos 👇🏼 meet the Shens 👀@olivialiang_ @tzima8 @tankhenghua @ShannonNikkiD @jonprasida https://t.co/T50cGyBQ4z

  — Eddie Liu (@eddieliuwho) March 4, 2021

What did you see today?

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Jessica Mason

Jessica Mason (she/her) is a writer based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on fandom, queer representation, and amazing women in film and television. She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author.

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