Time - USA (2020-11-30)

102 Time November 30/December 7, 2020

BEST INVENTIONS 2020

STYLE

MASKS THAT DO MORE

Various

When it comes to stemming the spread of COVID-

19, there’s probably no more important item than

the face mask, which, according to the CDC,

prevents respiratory droplets from traveling into

the air—and onto other people—when we sneeze,

cough, talk or raise our voice. It’s certainly the

one consumer product that defines 2020.

And while any number of variations could

be considered a “best invention,” three

impressed us most. From top: B2 Mask by

Breathe99 is a flexible, rubber-like face

piece that holds two replaceable filters

that remove about 99.6% of particles—

and the mask is machine-washable

($59.99 mask; $7.99 filters). [MSK] by

Petit Pli uses a fabric made of recycled

plastic bottles woven into a patent-

pending origami-like pattern to create

a comfortable fit that works for every

face ($38). RunMask by IAMRUNBOX

uses the materials associated with

athletic clothes—organic cotton,

spandex and polyester—to create a

mask that stays cool and comfortable

during workouts ($39). —MARJORIE KORN

SUSTAINABILITY

INDUSTRY, POWERED BY THE SUN

Heliogen HelioHeat

Creating the tons of

steel and concrete we

use to build our world

requires a massive

amount of heat—and

most of it comes from

burning dirty fossil fuels.

HelioHeat cleans up that

process by using the

power of the sun. Here’s

how it works: A field of

100,000 motorized,

computer- controlled

mirrors concentrates

sunlight in the direction

of a 40-m-tall tower,

“like a giant magnifying

glass,” says Heliogen

founder Bill Gross.

There, a hot spot gets

up to 2,000°F, where the

heat can be harnessed

to melt steel or make

cement or electricity.

Future iterations of the

tech, says Gross, could

use the sunlight to create

hydrogen to power zero-

emission automobiles.

—JESSE WILL

PRODUCTIVITY

THE ROLL-YOUR-OWN

WHITEBOARD

3M Post-it Flex Write Surface

It’s about time someone killed off the dry-erase board—
the heavy, smudge-filled fixture of offices everywhere.
The Post-it Flex Write Surface is just the dry-erase slayer
we’ve been waiting for. Available in 3- to 50-ft. rolls,
the Flex Write is effectively a whiteboard sticker that
you can unroll, unpeel and slap wherever. “My son’s
calculus class got some and covered a whole wall,”
says Amy Hester, a 3M product developer. Thanks to
some next-level office-supply science, the Flex Write
Surface ($36 for 3 by 2 ft.) works with either dry-erase
or permanent marker. “When you spray water on the
permanent ink, you can actually see it lift and wash
away,” adds Hester. —J.R. SULLIVAN