– 1797
The
story goes that English haberdasher (hat maker) John Hetherington
first appeared in public in a top hat on this date in 1787. A riot
ensued! A crowd gathered at the sight of the hat. Women fainted.
Children screamed, and dogs yelped. A boy was thrown down by the
crowd and broke his arm.
The
story goes on that Hetherington was arrested on a charge of breach of
the peace, and he had to pay a large fine.
Sound
crazy?
That's
a clue: all these crazy over-reactions to a hat probably did
not occur. However, the story has appeared over and over again in
print and all over the internet. The reference made to this top-hat
riot story is generally given as the story's first appearance in
print in Hatters' Gazette on January 16, 1797. But
Hatters' Gazette only began publication in 1878! So the
reference could not possibly be right – and since everyone quotes
the same wrong info, most people must be quoting the same inaccurate
source.
Next
time you read something that sounds kind of crazy, consider it
unproven. Don't mindlessly repeat the story. If you have time, check
it out. See if the source of the story is reliable, and if there are
other dissenting stories.
Just
because it is in print many times over, or just because it appears on
many different websites, doesn't make it true...
Also
on this date:
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