Mad as a Hatter

[Jake]

I just read that this phrase originated from the fact that old time hatters used to work with mercury, and that 1 in 10 would go insane as a result of mercury poisioning. Anyone else ever hear this? ....Jake

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yep ... when top hats used to be polished with mercury to attain the lustre.

bk

 

[Andykev]

Mercury was used in the felting process to make the fibers "behave" and felt better. A "mercury felt" hat, vintage of course, is one of the best available. You are right, the mercury is highly toxic, and gave the worker the symptoms of dimentia, and "parkinson's desease" type of shaking symptoms. I read this in a treatise on felting.

 

[LaMedicine]

Yes, it's quite well known in the medical world.
There are tons of substance that were in popular use in various industries in the past that are now prohibited because of the devastating long term health effects.
I'm always wondering who's going to claim foul to what, next.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Let's hear it for benzene!

bk

p.s. I use mercury all the time.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

I use that as an excuse for the way I am.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

As a fun side-note...

fftopic: Madness was a common problem in Wonderland, but for many different reasons. The Mad Hatters pal, the March Hare, was also mad, sort of. As a kid, I couldn't imagine what was so peculiar about a March Hare vs. any other hare. I later found out that people in the "oldern days" observed rabbits acting strange and hyper in the month of March every year, eventually discovering that it had to do with their mating cycles. Before knowing the scientific explanation, the phrase "Mad as a March Hare" came into being. Makes you question the symbolism of Alice in Wonderland, don't it?
NB

 

[Story]

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.

The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.

Alice: How do you know I'm mad?

The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.