The Hat Collection: Origins

I've had a collection of goofy hats since at least High School. I'd like to think this story is where it all got started, but as a friend pointed out recently, this post has evidence showing that maybe it started much much earlier. I almost never actually wear ther hats; I don't want to be that nerd. This begs the question though, "why own them?". I'm not entirely sure, but maybe by the end of this entry I'll have it figured out.

When I was young I had a Curious George book entitled, "Curious George Rides a Bike". (For my readers south of the border I believe it was circulated under the title "Jorge el curioso monta en bicicleta")

It was a riveting drama about a monkey and his bicycle and the mis-adventures that one can have on a paper route. Okay, I actually remember almost nothing about the story except that there's a part where he gets bored and takes the newspapers, folds them in to boats, and floats them down a river. The exciting part for a kid of around 7 years of age was the included instructions on how to make these boats.

About 10 years later I was a junior sitting in calculus class when either boredom or an overwhelming need to impress Robin, the cute girl sitting in front of me, took hold(You might remember Robin from this post). For some inexplicable reason the Curious George book popped in to my head and I started folding a piece of paper in to a boat. When completed, it resembled a small sombrero("Hat" for my readers north of the border).

It was obviously too small for a human head, so with Erik's help I soon had 9 pieces of paper taped together and began folding. The completed product fit perfectly and we were quite pleased with ourselves until moments later, in the school hallway, an authoritative voice boomed, "You know the rules, no hats on campus. Take it off or I'll take it away".

Never ones for authority, Erik, Sean S and I devised a plan and that evening fashioned 2 new hats. One was bright red, and one bright blue to match the existing white one. Friday was school pride day, and they couldn't possibly get upset with us for wearing the silly paper hats constructed out of the school colors.

The hats were kind of a hit, and we even made a few for some of our favorite teachers. Looking back, it's surprising that I didn't get picked on more in High School.

Just for everyone's amusement I went ahead and folded a new hat and took a picture with my laptop's webcam. Now that I look at this picture, it's surprising thatI don't get picked on more now.