Why Wasn't This Guy Wearing a Hazmat Suit?!

Earlier this week, nurse Amber Vinson was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital with symptoms of Ebola. On Wednesday, she was boarded on a plane to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, surrounded by the usual workers in full hazmat gear — and one mystery "clipboard man," who apparently wasn't fazed by the possibility of catching the deadly disease. Which could either be crazy brave or just plain crazy, depending on your point of view.

The strange sight of the one dude wearing his normal clothes amongst four other workers dressed in head-to-toe white suits was caught by viewers watching live coverage of Vinson's transport on NBC 5. As Vinson is taken out of the ambulance on a stretcher, there are the hazmat workers, all four in their white get-ups. Two of them have respirators. And there is also a man in slacks, a shirt, and even sunglasses. He walks with them as they take Vinson onto the plane, and then takes what appears to be a container from one of the hazmat workers.And it gets weirder: When Vinson has been put on the plane, one of the hazmat-suit-wearing workers comes out and gives the clipboard guy a bag — he takes it, holds it open, and then more workers come out and stuff the bag with blankets. Throughout this whole time, clipboard guy remains casually dressed as though going for a day at the office. In truth, he makes the other protected workers look a little over-the-top by comparison.

Making the matter more mysterious, no one's quite sure who clipboard guy even is. The ambulance service which brought Vinson, American Medical Response, told NBC Dallas that the guy wasn't with them. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) didn't confirm or deny that he was part of their staff either, according to CBS Dallas. It's still possible he was one of the flight crew, but, then, what was he doing apparently overseeing the transfer?

Whatever the answers, the Twittersphere responded to the mystery man with the expected array of emotions: from fear (is this safe??), to rage (what the hell is this guy doing!?), to plain old curiosity (could he be...immune?).

Of course, it's important to bear in mind that Ebola isn't an airborne disease, and the mystery man does keep away from Vinson herself. Still, my bet? Superman.