A Minnesota Made Face Mask Makes Time’s List of Best Inventions

In addition to incredible inventions like sticky notes, Twister, snowmobiles, and handled grocery bags, there is a new Minnesota creation that's making waves.

Breathe99 is a face mask that was invented years ago by an avid runner, Max Bock Aronson, when he lived in Asia as a way to filter out air pollution during his runs. The global COVID-19 pandemic obviously showed a need for an effective breathable mask and Max's idea took off. Designed to be more breathable with long-lasting filters, this face mask has made it onto Time Magazine's list of best inventions.

B2 Filters remove 99.6 - 98.3% of airborne particles down to .1 micron at normal breathing rates. This includes common contaminants such as dust, biological aerosols, and smoke.

The B2 mask starter set is what made it onto the Time list and retails for $59. That seems like a steep price for a face mask but this set comes with the mask, filter caps, and five refills of the B2 filter. Those filters can last anywhere from a day or a month depending on how much you wear it. And for glasses wearers it might be worth a try, the B2 mask is designed with a flexible seal that "eliminates or significantly reduces fogged glasses."

The mask was also helped to be brought to life with a Kickstarter campaign, where they raised $499,393 thanks to over 4,000 backers. Check out a review of someone who backed it on Kickstarter below.

You can see Time's list of the top 100 inventions of 2020 here.