A
hat is
a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including
protection against
weather conditions,
ceremonial reasons such as
university graduation,
religious
reasons,
safety, or as a
fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an
indicator
of social status. In the
military, hats may denote
nationality,
branch of
service,
rank or regiment.
Police typically wear
distinctive hats such as
peaked caps or
brimmed hats, such as those worn by the
Royal Canadian Mounted
Police. Some hats have a protective function. As examples, the
hard hat
protects construction workers' heads from injury by falling objects and a
British police Custodian helmet protects the officer's head, a
sun hat shades
the face and shoulders from the sun, a
cowboy hat protects against sun and rain
and a
Ushanka fur hat with fold-down earflaps keeps the head and ears warm.
Some hats are worn for ceremonial purposes, such as the
mortarboard, which is
worn (or carried) during university graduation ceremonies. Some hats are worn
by members of a certain profession, such as the
Toque worn by chefs. Some hats
have religious functions, such as the
mitres worn by Bishops and the
turban
worn by Sikhs.
Interesting
Facts about Hats
- London
black taxies are made tall so that a gentleman can ride in them without taking
off a top hat.
- In the
middle of 19th century baseball umpires wore top hats during the game.
- White
tall chef hats traditionally have 100 pleats to represent hundreds of ways an
egg can be prepared. They were invented by cuisine inventors Marie-Antoine
Carème and Auguste
- Escoffier
as a method of establishing hierarchy in the kitchen.
- Elisabeth
I had a law according to which every person older than 7 years had to wear a cap
on Sundays and holydays.
- It is
said that when John Hetherington wore one of the first top hats in 1797 in the
streets, he was arrested for scaring the people. He ended up in court and paid
50 pounds sterling.
- Trilby,
a variant of fedora, was named after heroine Trilby O'Ferral of a George du
Maurier novel.
- Process
of making felt involved use of mercury which is toxic and prolonged exposure
use can cause damage in nervous system, tremors and dementia. From that
originates phrase “Mad as a hatter”.
- Fedora was first a women’s hat than
men’s. Now it is both.
- In 1920s there was an odd custom in
America that it was common that if people wore straw hats after the 15
September they were beaten up.
- First “Dunce” hat was introduced by
medieval theologian John Duns Scotus (1265-1308). His idea was that a conical
hat funneled knowledge from God into a head of the... dunce.
- Panama hat has never made in Panama. It
is made in Equador.
- Those who supply men’s hats are called
hatters while those who supply women’s hats are called milliners.
- Vikings never whore horned helmets.
- French Magician Louis Comte was first to
pull out a rabbit from a top hat in 1814.
- First record of a hat is in a painting
in a cave at Lussac-les-Chateaux in Central France and it dates some 15.000 BC.
- There is a law in Wyoming that prohibits
wearing of a hat that obstructs a view in a theatre or some other place of
amusement.
- In Fargo, North Dakota, There is a law
that forbids dancing while wearing a hat under the penalty of jail.
- There is still a law in Kentucky that
forbids a ma to buy a ten gallon hat if his wife is not present to assist in
choosing a model.
- The smallest hat worn by men was from
18th century and it was a small tricorn hat with dimensions of two inches by
four inches and it was worn on the top of the wig.
- Fedora was named after the Princess
Fedora Romanoff from play Fédora by the French author Victorien Sardou.
