-----Original Message-----
From: andrew fildes
>>>The Mad Hatter in the Tea party - Alice in Wonderland - was mad, I think,
>>>because hatters used mercury and it caused brain damage. That takes it
back
>>>to the mid-1800's. People used mercury mouthwashes in attempts to cure
>>>venereal disease (the pox) back to Elizabethan times - they did notice
that
>>>their teeth fell out!
>>>AndrewF
Hatters used to form hats in large vats of mercury. The somewhat maleable
fabric/material could be shaped, and would then hold said shape, under the
'weight' of all that liquid mercury into which it was immersed.
Unfortunately, as you note, it had 'somewhat deleterious' effects on the
'hatters'.
Jim, 'where's my Stetson'
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