No, Fashion Literally Went Mad because of Hats
As fashionable as the hats were, they were killing their craftspeople. “Mad Hatter’s Disease” is a well-known consequence of 19th century hat making. The skilled hat artisans crafting these felt masterpieces became slowly poisoned by their own creations. The felt was processed with mercury nitrate, a process called secretage or carroting. Mercury nitrate stiffened the animal fur, letting it mat together in a stronger bond. Mercury wasn’t causing too much harm until they steamed the fabric. Hatmakers inhaled the vapor.
Over time, mercury built up in their system, and they became the “Mad Hatters” of lore. Mercury nitrate is a neurotoxin that causes headaches, personality changes, tremors, gastrointestinal problems, delirium, and “hatters shakes,” tremors and anxiety that come along with mercury toxicity. Danbury, Connecticut had a thriving hat-making community, resulting in an alarmingly high number of tremors and mercury poisoning symptoms, so many they became dubbed the “Danbury Shakes.”
