227
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by someguy3@lemmy.ca to c/til@lemmy.world

Mercury poisoning of hat-makers – In 18th and 19th century England, mercury was used in the production of felt, which was commonly used in the hat-making trade at the time. Long-term use of mercury products often resulted in mercury poisoning-induced erethism among hat-makers.[1][2] In the late 19th-century United States, a notable example occurred in Danbury, Connecticut, where hat making was a major industry. Instances of erethism were so widespread among hat-makers, the condition became known locally as the "Danbury Shakes." It was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and in extreme cases hallucinations.

top 8 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] ResoluteCatnap@lemmy.ml 28 points 3 months ago

Fun fact- Mormons believe that Joseph Smith translated golden plates into the book of Mormon by sticking his head in a hat. For decades they tried to hide this and portrayed artwork with him as translating the golden plates directly, but i think it was a lawsuit that caused them to start portraying artwork correctly and owning up to Joseph Smith being a mad hatter sticking his head in a hat to receive the word of God.

Sounds kind of silly when you think about it like that but they'll of course tell you it was divinely inspired. Just like when he married a 14 year old by promising her family a spot in the highest degree of heaven.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

I never considered Joey Smith getting high offa hat fumes. I just figured he liked the smell of his hair grease or whatever they used for pomade. Fun conjecture to consider tho.

[-] ephrin@sh.itjust.works 21 points 3 months ago

If by “likely” you mean “almost certainly,” then yes!

[-] Don_Dickle@lemmy.world 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

That is just maddening ....ill see myself out.

[-] despotic_machine@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 3 months ago

There is an excellent podcast story that is both relevant and very entertaining called S-Town.

[-] makyo@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Absolutely my favorite podcast ever

[-] delirious_owl@discuss.online 7 points 3 months ago

Thumbnail looks like Johnny Depp getting it on with a hat

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

That's not from a movie or anything, that's just a normal Sunday afternoon at the Depp house 🤷

this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2024
227 points (100.0% liked)

Today I Learned

17669 readers
290 users here now

What did you learn today? Share it with us!

We learn something new every day. This is a community dedicated to informing each other and helping to spread knowledge.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with TIL. Linking to a source of info is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to spark discussion.

** Posts must be about an actual fact that you have learned, but it doesn't matter if you learned it today. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.**



Rule 2- Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-TIL posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-TIL posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS