There's a famous scene in the movie Fight Club where Tyler Durden is on an airplane thumbing through one of those safety manuals in emergency exit rows.

"An exit door procedure at 30,000 feet," says Durden (Brad Pitt). "The illusion of safety."

It's a memorable scene because it touches on the strange things humans do to make ourselves feel secure in frightening situations. Which brings me to America's latest fad: wearing masks in public.

Polls show that more than half of Americans are now choosing to wear masks when they go out, presumably to prevent catching or spreading the COVID-19 virus. What one chooses to wear is up to them, of course, but the trend is a bit surprising considering government officials spent months telling Americans not to wear protective face coverings.

"We don't routinely recommend the use of face masks by the public to prevent respiratory illness," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said on January 31. "And we certainly are not recommending that at this time for this new virus."