Good news for anyone hoping to look like a lunatic: New 'Pac-Man' face mask invention allows you to eat while keeping your mask on

Americans have been asked to do — and not do — a lot of things during the coronavirus pandemic.

Stay home. Socially distance. Homeschool. Don't go to church. Snitch on neighbors. Wipe down everything. Follow orders.

The latest fight has been over face masks: Some states and localities are requiring that citizens wear them in public, and some businesses are telling customers that, like shirts and shoes, masks are required.

Many people have not taken kindly to the requirements and have even gone as far as to call mask requirements "Sharia-lite."

So as some areas and restaurants begin to reopen, what is a person who wants to go out to dinner to do if local governments require or "strongly encourage" masks?

Israeli inventors have the answer: the "Pac-Man" mask, KXAS-TV reported.

Image source: KXAS-TV video screenshot

They have created a mask that allows a person to eat without taking the mask off. The user squeezes a lever that opens a slot in the mask and allows him to eat like Pac-Man.

Inventors say that the mask makes visiting a restaurant less risky, KXAS said. But is that accurate?

The Mayo Clinic website says cloth masks "can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by people who have the disease but don't realize it." Those cloth masks, the site says, "should include multiple layers of fabric," which the Pac-Man mask clearly does not — at least at the opening.

Image source: KXAS-TV video screenshot

Live Science reported that experts do not agree about the efficacy of cloth masks. Multiple studies have given a wide range of results on how useful the masks truly are — but none of the experts cited by Live Science said a giant opening in a mask would be helpful.

Also, the masks are to cover the mouth and nose of the user. A mask with an opening does not keep the mouth and/or nose covered.