The Mad Hatter

"Why is raven like a writing desk?"

                                               

This loved character is familiar from Lewis Carrol's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" -books, made even more famous by the Disney and Tim Burton's movie. Originally Lewis Carrol named "The Mad Hatter" just as a "Hatter." But hey,  he and his friend The March Hare are maaaad. And there is actually an explanation for that!

The Hatter is always on a never-ending mad tea-party, or in a Disney version an "un-birthday party", which is by the way an excellent idea, because you have only one birthday in a year, but 364 un-birthday days.. Oh the amount of the champagne! Or in this case, the amount of tea. (Luckily tea is very good with a rum.)

Anyways, the reason why The Hatter and The March Hare are always sipping tea is an interesting story. One day The Hatter wanted to sing for the evil Queen of Hearts. The Hatter loves singing. Unfortunately The Queen of Hearts wasn't so pleased of his talent and claimed him for murdering the time. Obviously The Hatter was sentenced to death, off with his head!! Luckily The Hatter succeed to escape the blade. Because of this ,The Time himself halted himself for the respect for The Hatter. The Hatter and The March Hare we're always about to live in 6pm, in a tea-time. The mad tea-parties are full of riddles, changing places in a table and questions with no answers, which was a bit nerve-racking to Alice.

Later, in "Through the Looking-Glass" The Hatter (named as a "Hatta") has become a messenger for the White King, he was against the evil Queen of the Hearts.

So why is The Hatter acting a little bit weird? Besides of drinking all that tea? Before all the hat makers were a bit like The Hatter. The hats were made by using some mercury for curing the felt and the poor hat makers couldn't help breathing the poisonous fumes. This caused them neurological damage, also confused speech and distorted vision. 

Although, the symptoms also are increasing shyness, loss of self-confidence and a will to remain un-noticed. This certainly isn't within The Hatter's behavior, so I blame the tea. Maybe he also liked the tea with a rum.  

Johnny Depp, who played The Hatter in Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland, seems to believe The Hatter being a victim of a mercury poisoning. According to Johnny Depp, the reason for The Hatter's orange hair and pinkish eyes is the huge amount of poison coming out of his body.

Inspired to the story full of imagination by Lewis Carrol? Want to learn how to prepare some eyebrows on your own? Here you go.