tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post411767313997949684..comments2024-03-19T00:38:30.163+00:00Comments on Tracing Rainbows: I’m Mad As A HatterAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494078135251214182noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post-43279778963591459872011-06-26T21:12:54.615+01:002011-06-26T21:12:54.615+01:00Thanks for the comments - especially all this fabu...Thanks for the comments - especially all this fabulous information from anonymousAngelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13494078135251214182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post-30994499129378487282011-06-26T20:05:13.074+01:002011-06-26T20:05:13.074+01:00The felt hat industry has been traced to the mid 1...The felt hat industry has been traced to the mid 17th century in France, and it was probably introduced into England some time around 1830. A story passed down in the hat industry gives this account of how mercury came to be used in the process: In Turkey camel hair was used for felt material, and it was discovered that the felting process was speeded up if the fibers were moistened with camel urine. It is said that in France workmen used their own urine, but one particular workman seemed consistently to produce a superior felt. This person was being treated with a mercury compound for syphilis, and an association was made between mercury treatment of the fibers and an improved felt. Eventually the use of solutions of mercuric nitrate was widespread in the felt industry, and mercury poisoning became endemic. (reference) Dementia and erethism were indeed a common ailment among 19th Century hatmakers. <br /><br />The crazy Mad Hatter of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is becoming widely associated with the effects of Mercury on behavior as well as physiology. Mercury was used to process the felt hats used in England around Lewis' time. Erratic, flamboyant behavior was one of the most evident alterations caused by mercury. (Others included excessive drooling, mood swings, various debilities.) (reference)<br />But Lewis Carroll did not invent the phrase, although he did create the character. The phrases 'mad as a hatter' and "mad as a March hare" were common at the time Lewis Carroll wrote (1865 was the first publication date of Alice). The phrase had been in common use in 1837, almost 30 years earlier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post-26023585160581976892011-06-24T22:25:03.739+01:002011-06-24T22:25:03.739+01:00My great grandfather was a court milliner....he re...My great grandfather was a court milliner....he remained perfectly sane...his great grandaughter however...!<br />Jane xJane and Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08102086552682194819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post-55454916639807703982011-06-24T20:46:02.784+01:002011-06-24T20:46:02.784+01:00LizBeth - How on earth do you do ANYTHING in that ...LizBeth - How on earth do you do ANYTHING in that sort of heat?Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13494078135251214182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341483723976821096.post-40340633027988871242011-06-24T19:59:21.951+01:002011-06-24T19:59:21.951+01:00I never knew that about the hatters. Something ne...I never knew that about the hatters. Something new today. . . . . . Love the jacket. Easy to see why you've become the resident costume designer! Not a good day for jackets here, though; already headed for 108F this afternoon. ~LizMyBulletinBoardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07961091298654325887noreply@blogger.com