The Worst Halloween Costume: Ebola Edition [View all]

[cali]

Most people pick out their costumes when the leaves finally turn orange, but for the companies behind the disguises, Halloween is a year-long ordeal. It really ramps up in August, when businesses cull pop culture to create what are often their most popular costumes. For Johnathon Weeks, the CEO of mega-costume company BrandsOnSale, headlines inspired one of his company's most popular costumes: Ebola.


The Ebola costume, which retails for $79.99, is "actually a great deal," explained Weeks in a phone interview. "The costume comes with a white hazmat suit, with the plastic goggles, blue gloves, a breathing mask and face shield." It hit the site on October 8 and has since sold "over a dozen" units.

The description reads as follows: "The deadly Ebola virus has landed in the United States and the crisis has reached new levels of domestic escalation. You are sure to be prepared if any outbreak happens at your Halloween party. This will literally be the most 'viral' costume of the year." However, Weeks is careful to clarify that the outfit is actually not preventative, "This is not to be used as a real Ebola suit."

As for the tastefulness of the ensemble, Weeks insisted that the attire is in the spirit of the holiday. "You can go on any website for a zombie mask for an eight-year-old with cuts and scars all over their face," he said. "It's Halloween, it's one day, if people are that serious about it, they don’t know what Halloween is about."

<snip>

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/The-Worst-Halloween-Costume-Ebola-Edition/381444/