Enquiries have been so often addressed to me, as to whether any answer to the Hatter’s Riddle can be imagined, that I may as well put on record here what seems to me to be a fairly appropriate answer, viz: “Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!” This, however, is merely an afterthought; the Riddle as originally invented, had no answer at all.— Lewis Carroll
As noted in The Annotated Alice, given that later editions “corrected” the word “nevar” as “never”, the subtle wordplay with the reverse spelling of “raven” was lost on most of his readers.
The card or label on the Hatter’s hat reads “In this style 10/6”. “10/6” means ten shillings and six pence (or half a guinea), the price of the hat in pre-decimalised British money and acts as a visual indication of the hatter’s trade. (There were 20 shillings to the pound, 12 pence to a shilling … thus 10/6 = 126 pence.) With inflation analysis up to 1974, 126 pence equals about $23.83 in 1974 US dollars, around $105 in Oct 2008 spending power. So this was likely to indicate a nice — or merely unreasonably priced — hat. Given the price, and size/appearance of the hat (exceedingly large), it is unknown if this was a joke, or if the hatter was charging 10/6 for the hat. He may have simply just forgotten to remove the price, or was borrowing the hat from his inventory to wear. It is mentioned during the trial of the Knave of Hearts that his hat is not his, but not somebody else’s, implying that it is therefore to be sold.
Although the name ‘Mad Hatter’ was undoubtedly inspired by the phrase “as mad as a hatter,” there is some uncertainty as to the origins of this phrase. As mercury was used in the process of curing felt used in some hats, it was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during the hat making process. Hatters and mill workers often suffered mercury poisoning as residual mercury vapor caused neurological damage including confused speech and distorted vision. It was not unusual then for hatters to appear disturbed or mentally confused; many died early as a result of mercury poisoning. However, the Mad Hatter does not exhibit the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Principal symptoms of mercury poisoning are “excessive timidity, diffidence, increasing shyness, loss of self-confidence, anxiety, and a desire to remain unobserved and unobtrusive
so I was reading Through The Looking Glass and in that story Alice meets the kings two messengers, Haigha and Hatta who are actually The March Hare and The Mad Hatter. So I looked up Haigha (pronounced Hare, by the way) and the explination came up with the name of John Heywood who was a famous proverbist/poet/writer in the 1500’s and he wrote the proverb “Mad as a march hare” which is referring to the mating season of rabbits when the females and males have like “battles” basically, whatever. THIS lead me to look up his other famous proverbs, he basically created every proverb ever? hahaa here are his most famous:
What you have, hold. Out of sight out of minde. Look ere ye leap. (look where you leap) Two heads are better than one. Beggars should be no choosers. (beggars can’t be choosers) All is well that ends well. A penny for your thought. Rome was not built in one day Better late than never. The more the merrier. This hitteth the nail on the head. (you hit the nail on the head) The moon is made of a greene cheese.
I don’t know why but I’m really excited about this. haha
“In your heart there’s a spark that just screams,
For a lover to bring a child to your chest,
That could lay as you sleep and love all you have left,
Like your boy used to be, long ago,
Wrapped in sheets warm and wet.”—neutral milk hotel