Not too many years ago, hatters used mercury. Mercury is toxic and causes symptoms which appear similar to 'madness'. Unfortunately, that is why so many of them seemed to go crazy prior to their deaths. Hence the phrase "as mad as a hatter".
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries hat makers were known as 'hatters'. At that time it mercury was used in the hat making process, but mercury is very toxic and can cause illness which makes the sufferer appear crazy or 'mad'. So many hatters had mercury poisoning that the terms 'as mad as a hatter' and 'mad hatters' entered into common parlance.
Mercury. Hatters in the old days used to use it quite a bit, thus the term "Mad Hatter."
In the eighteenth and ninrteenth centuries felt hats were cured using mercury. Mercury is extremely toxic and poisoning by this substance causes symptoms similar to 'madness'. Many hatters of the time were made ill or even killed as a result of mercury poisoning.
The old hat making process involved intensive use of the element mercury (called quicksilver back in the day). Mercury fumes are incredibly toxic, and can cause severe neurological damage. The phrase mad as a hatter comes from how many hatters (hat makers) would die or go crazy at a young age due to mercury exposure from their work.
Mercury exposure causes Mad Hatter's Disease, also known as mercury poisoning. This condition stems from inhaling mercury vapors while hatmaking, mainly due to the use of mercury nitrate in the felting process. Symptoms of mercury poisoning can include tremors, irritability, and memory loss.
There weren’t hatters in Ancient Rome. Many women wore wigs as part of fashion.
after contact with the skin, it proceeds to continually rot the brain and therefore "mad hatters" got the nickname as the went mad because they were in contact with mercury for a prolonged period of time
The connection between these statements lies in the historical association of mercury exposure with hat making. In the past, hatters used mercury compounds in the felting process, leading to mercury poisoning and symptoms like brain damage and speech issues. The mention of the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse at the tea party in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" likely references this historical context of mercury exposure among hatters. The characters' eccentric behavior and nonsensical speech could be interpreted as a nod to the effects of mercury poisoning.
hatters do have tools they have pools and hammers
The Mad Hatters was created in 1935.
Danbury, Connecticut was noted for its hat industry. The industry used a procedure called "carroting" to finish the hats, which involved an orange-colored, mercury-infused solution. Many of the hatters who worked on Danbury hats developed mercury poisoning, which causes drooling, twitching, and difficulties in clear thinking and speech. These hatters became known as the Danbury madmen.