From where does the expression Being mad as a hatter come?

Question

What is a hatter, and why is he mad?

Answer 1

In the Middle Ages, hatters (the name for people who made hats) often worked with mercury to cure the leather for hats. Over time, the fumes would affect their brains and often cause them to become senile ("mad").

Answer 2

The origin of the proverbial expression mad as a hatter is uncertain. It may derive from

Robert Crab, a 17th century eccentric who gave all his goods to the poor and lived on leaves and grass.

Mercury poisoning suffered by many hatters in the 18th century and 19th century, when mercury was used in the manufacture of felt. Absorption of mercury through the skin can cause Korsakoff's syndrome. These hatters so afflicted were also known as mad hatters.

An adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon word atter meaning poison, closely related to the word adder for the poisonous Crossed Viper. Lexicographers William and Mary Morris in Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (1977) favour this derivation because "mad as a hatter" was known before hat making was a recognized trade.

Lewis Carroll used the phrase for the character of The Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This character is also known as The Mad Hatter.

In Batman's rogues gallery, one of the more-or-less famous enemies is Jervis Tetch, a delusional man obsessed with hats. Due to both his insanity, or madness, and obsession with hats, he is deemed 'The Mad Hatter.'

Answer 3

In olden days, when hats were still made by people, the hat makers, or hatters, would often get crazy from the fumes of some of the materials they worked with. This is why there is a Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

Answer 4

A hatter is someone who makes hats.

In days of old, the chemical mercury was often used to treat various materials that were used in the making of hats; and prolonged exposure to mercury (which is toxic) could cause the hat-makers to go crazy.

Answer 5

probably form a character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...

Answer 6

making hats from felt and caused from the dyes and chemicals