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[-] spittingimage@lemmy.world 101 points 2 years ago

Nine out of ten hatters recommend that you don't do this. The tenth hatter purple monkey dishwasher.

(Victorian-era hat makers were notorious for going mad because they used mercury to treat felt cloth.)

[-] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 years ago

I wonder what secondary compounds this was creating. Elemental mercury is pretty much fine, but if it was reacting with other things to create wacky fun times...

[-] insufferableninja@lemdro.id 6 points 2 years ago

they chewed the leather to hides to soften them, IIRC. so it wasn't just getting on their hands, they were ingesting it.

I think it was mercury nitrate. Much more soluble.

[-] overcast5348@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

Is this the origin story of The Mad Hatter? 🙄

[-] spittingimage@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Could have been. I know Lewis Carroll liked to lampoon issues of the day in his writing.

[-] XTL@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 years ago

I'm kind of guessing the mad as a hatter phenomenon was known then, but don't really know.

[-] SPRUNT@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

I think the original idiom was "mad as a hatter" which was eventually shortened to "mad hatter", possibly due to the Alice in Wonderland character.

[-] darkpanda@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 years ago

Sneaky Simpsons reference here for those who didn’t notice.

[-] Taniwha420@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

I thought it was the vapours from using mercury inside that got them.

[-] Dasus@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

It's so much harder believing in six impossible things before breakfast when you're allergic to quicksilver.

this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
417 points (100.0% liked)

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