The phrase ’mad as a hatter' is often associated with one who is crazy, which is odd because crazy people are known to have crazy hair, crazy eyes, even crazy signs, but rarely crazy hats.
Regardless, the most well known use of the phrase is of course “the Mad Hatter” from the classic children’s book Alice in Wonderland. What most people don’t know is that Lewis Carroll never actually referred to the famous hat-wearing friend as the Mad Hatter. He was simply called “the Hatter'. However, the creepy cat character did refer to him as being mad, alluding to the popular phrase. And Mr. Carroll, did not coin the Hatter. He merely adopted it because it was a common saying of the times.
You see, in the 19th century, felt hats were the baseball caps of the day. Higher quality hats were made from beaver fur and cheaper hats were made from rabbit fur. Mercury was brushed onto the cheaper furs to make them matte more easily. The fibers were then shaved off and turned into felt and later dipped into acid to harden it.
Here’s where things get a little crazy. Hatters typically worked in poorly ventilated workshops, forcing them to breathe in these toxic chemicals. At the time, the dangers of mercury exposure weren’t well known. We know now that mercury can cause kidney and brain damage, trembling, loss of teeth, slurred speech, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and personality changes. So as you may have guessed, 19th century hatters, more than often, started to act a little cuckoo.
Over time, as more hatters went off the deep end, the phrase mad as a hatter grew in popularity. And what started as mercury poisoning in the basement of a hatter’s workshop is still alive and well today on the fronts of restaurants, tea shops, clothing boutiques, design companies, and even hat stalls.
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