Safety First! a History of the Hard Hat

[@cubfanmike]

Today, following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, a memorial for six lost workers, included a display of six hard hats. It reminds us how often hats are used to represent the people who wear them and the emotional impact

[@tomharris1457]

My wife's grandmother, Esther Bullard, designed the 3 ridge Bullard hardhat. The company is still managed by a Bullard, Jed.

[@comlitbeta7532]

Now that s what i call a claim to fame

[@gerryfedde3040]

Back in 1957 when I was working on a slash disposal crew on the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho we were issued thick fiberglass hardhats that resembled World War I helmets with a smooth top and circular brim. They came in various colors, mainly yellow and red, I think. I ended up with a red one. Fortunately, a situation never occurred where a hardhat would have come in handy, so I can't say how effective they were. However, my hardhat was great for attracting hummingbirds who evidently saw me as one giant red flower to die for.

[@jeromethemechanic6871]

Many job sites give a unique sticker to be worn on the helmet indicating you have been through safety meetings and are cleared to be on site.

[@PaulRudd1941]

You also know a person with a stickered-up hard hat isn't green.

[@michaelhalsall5684]

In Australia politicians wear a Hard Hat when annoucing a new project or promoting economic develop. The usually do this when wearing a business suit or standing away from any work area!😂

[@karenrich9092]

I just took a glance at your channel and realized I have a LOT to learn about the variety of hats in our lives and history. And you are just the guy to teach it to me - and everyone else I connect with this channel.

[@bikegames0]

While working in college, a hard hat kept me out of the aspirin bottle a few times. It’s really great that you covered this.

[@3ggztr3m3b33tz]

1:10 What's interesting to note as well is that sailors during the early 1800's would also wear hats that were covered in tar, named "tarpaulins" which were reportedly so hard that you could sit on them without it crumpling. That may well be the first evidence of sailors wearing protective equipment

[@hoyks1]

Firemen's protective helmets were probably the 1st hard hats, but they probably trace their lineage back to military helmets as a part of the uniform, as well as providing protection. They have evolved over the years from brass to boiled leather, polycarbonate and aramid composite construction and a multitude of designs.

[@haroldshull6848]

Because they're not the subject material for this video, allow me to congratulate you on your use of safety glasses for the production of this presentation.

[@SuperSmashDolls]

Fun fact: Japanese hard hats occasionally have green crosses on them. No idea why. Though English-speakers might recognize this as "that hat the hard-hat enemies in Mega Man wear."

[@lartu]

As far as I've been able to find, those crosses mark points of strength on the hat. These points are reinforced to provide additional protection against impact or falling objects. The crosses are designed to distribute the force of impact across the hat's surface, increasing its effectiveness in safeguarding the wearer's head.

[@allangibson8494]

Green crosses are also used to identify first aid trained personnel.

[@ardelljenks6579]

You might try a video on the welding helmet, While not strictly a hat It does many hat like features and is often connected to a hard hat.

[@Leidon00]

If you don't wear your hardhat you're gonna "shake hands with Danger". bon féte du travail

[@kidmohair8151]

I don't think safety is paramount for the owners of industry but it is certainly paramount for the workers and the unions that have managed to organize the industries where the hard hat and other safety equipment *is* mandatory. there are fines for not having notices about safety equipment on sites where it is required, and fines eat into profits, and reputations. more than putting up notices, and occaisionally providing some equipment. OSHA was set up because of pressure from workers and unions. not employers.

[@neilwilson5785]

Hard hat safety videos are now in my KZbin feed. Well done!

[@hathistorianjc]

Hahaha, you're welcome?

[@11C1P]

You can see in pictures of the construction of The Empire State building a few workers wearing hard hats, that was finished about the same time construction on the Hoover dam started.

[@jarvis69fr]

Great acting in the intro 😉 et j'ai appris des choses, bravo et merci .

[@arailway8809]

Hi JC, Nice work. New hires sometimes are issued red helmets. Iron heads wear theirs with the brim to the back to actually see what is coming down from above. Some mining hard hat are much smaller, as are meat packers'. The aluminum hardhat was common for forestry workers at one time. Some construction workers use a cowboy hat shaped hard hat, esp. those in hot climates.

[@worldtraveler930]

You forgot to mention the cowboy hat shaped hard hats!!! 🤠👍

[@stevewindisch7400]

I enjoy your videos, thanks for them. Oddly, a hardhat once got me nearly injured or killed. Back in the 80's I was a electronics field service engineer, and was visiting the LTD Steel mill in Cleveland Ohio for the first time. My employer had issued me a white hardhat for such occasions. As I was walking across a huge open space on the mill floor, suddenly a man was running toward me yelling and waving his arms frantically. When he reached me, he shouted: "Take that hat off, you idiot!" It turned out, that white was the color hat of Management there... and they were hated by most of the workers. The man said the overhead magnet crane was about to dump a load of scrap on me from 40 feet above.

[@murrfeeling]

The workers had gone feral, had to seal off the whole plant.

[@annettemalaski1967]

I still have mine from my road and building construction days!

[@cesarvidelac]

Here in Chile sometimes we refer to the management as "white hats", meaning somebody that is the boss but know absolutely nothing about the actual job 😂

[@janerkenbrack3373]

Though you were correct not to include it in the hard hat lineage, the bowler is worth a side mention. It was, as you know, developed to protect the heads of gamekeepers from low branches and replaced the top hat which had been prone to being knocked off in those circumstances. Its round shape and stiff construction made it popular for protecting the head against branches and light strikes. But as you've shown, it wasn't the predecessor of today's hard hats. Another good video. And every time I wonder if you'll run out of hats you bring another.

[@hathistorianjc]

merci! and I did a video on the bowler if you haven't seen it yet!

[@janerkenbrack3373]

@@hathistorianjc I have seen it. I own a bowler, so I wouldn't miss that one. No, I never wore it while hauling steel.

[@57WillysCJ]

I have the common style in orange and white as well as a logging one that has ear muffs and a screen face shield. I bought after a chainsaw kicked back in the face. I also have fiber forrestry pith helmet style which I use around home mostly because it allows good air flow. My son has a baseball helmet style out some new material. Yeah they are usefull. I use to keep one in my truck for going in to hard hat only areas. Not thrilled about putting on one worn by others.

[@MC-lk4nn]

Merci pour votre travail :)

[@drakevimes2033]

did not expect viddeo abut such hat, but it was very interesting!

[@Kitsambler]

Speaking of "hard hats", you might do a piece on the "hard hat" diving helmet, beloved emblem of old-school Navy divers.

[@scottthomas3792]

At my last job, part of the things we did involved going through narriw, low and poorly lit service tunnels. Those orange plastic helmets prevented a lot of headaches....

[@vonpfrentsch]

Well done, as always.

[@jcmartinez7527]

The tar layered hats must’ve been awful to wear in the summer… great video 👍

[@spamcannon5917]

I love my issued hard hat. It has a chinstrap and integral visor. Unlike most people, I love an opportunity to bust it out!

[@Turgineer]

I had never thought before that Hard Hat had a history. Nice video.

[@cedric041000]

J'ai rien compris donc j'attend la version Française . bon courage

[@bbyng7316]

You make me smile Mon Chapeaux. Thank you for all these.

[@nishidohellhillsruler6731]

This one time I was watching a documentary on oil rigging operations on Texas, if I recall correctly, and it calle my attention that some of the workers, in particular the foreman, were wearing hard hats shaped like cowboy hats. It was the first time I ever felt that perhaps women are right about men never growing up.

[@jerrystaley1563]

As always, I enjoyed another of your hat videos and am impressed with your attire chosen to match each hat's user. In the case of this hard hat subject, your beautiful, slim case wrist watch seemed a little out of character. Other than that, another very interesting history of the many different hats that have evolved.

[@chugachuga9242]

Oil workers by far have my favorite looking hard hats.

[@BigMoebius]

Fantastic channel, how you don’t have more subscribers is a mystery. Love your work!

[@prenomnom1695]

Merci pour cette nouvelle vidéo !

[@ww2gear276]

Top! Intéressant de voir le parallèle du marché civil avec celui du marché militaire. En particulier ici pour MSA qui fabriquait les sous-casques (liners) pour M1 américains pendant la WW2. La parentalité des modèles est frappante :)

[@TheWareek]

while working on the docks 20 years ago I saw Chinese sailors with rattan hard hats. Perfect in shape and with all the straps. BUT made out of basket work.

[@JH-lo9ut]

Wow, I would like to own one of those. There are so many cool styles of hard hats. The generic style that's most common now is by far the ugliest of them all.

[@TheWareek]

I have always regreted not going on board and buying one. Would not have cost much@@JH-lo9ut

[@awvarwymandubratius7906]

@hatHistorian Greetings! I discovered your channel only recently... within the last month, and have enjoyed your videos thoroughly. I was wondering whether you had done a video on firefighter helmets. Similar of course to hard hats, they have evolved over the years, even adapting to specialized uses, such as residential firefighting, maritime firefighting, industrial firefighting, wildland firefighting, and high-angle rescue, to name a few specializations (forgot to mention aircraft rescue firefighting). Thank you for considering my request, and I tip my hat (a Balmoral, a Top-Hat, and a cavalier hat) to you.

[@everest9707]

Thanks for another interesting video. Regarding reasons for not wearing safety helmets, I can recall a relative saying that the workers in a factory in Portugal, would not wear them because they thought that it made you more likely to go bald!

[@jimmyjazz7992]

You should do a video on the Fireman’s helmet!

[@saadbinanis9978]

Hello mate, I just wanted to say I'm glad that I've found this channel. Getting insights on very interesting hats, it's admirable that your making videos for a very niche topic. Can we get a video on Brimless hat or some would say Docker's hat?

[@hathistorianjc]

thank you! And I'll bear that one in mind for the future.

[@ve2vfd]

Planifiez-vous faire un vidéo sur le casque de pompier? J'imagine qu'ils sont reliés au casque de construction? Les variations entre le casque Américain utilisé ici et le style Européen sont intéressantes. Do you plan on making a video on firefighter's helmets? I imagine they are related to the hard hats? The variations between the American style used here and the European one are interesting.

[@Dr.K.Wette_BE]

Not mandatory (3:22) workers proudly wear them smiling for the photograph. Mandatory : "Nah, it's for sissies !" 🙄 As usual ! (safety belt in cars, masks during covid...) Very interesting ! (cette fois ci j'ai remarqué que c'était la VO ! 😅)

[@Halogen511]

Omg I'm glad I found your channel. I love hats!! Here's some ideas I'd love to see you cover: the Shako (marching band hat), jester hat, witch hat (possible Halloween special!) Keep up the amazing work :D

[@zachgates7491]

The balaclava is another.

[@3lli0]

Could you make a video on the history of the fire fighter helmet, please?

[@johnmarler7404]

Kind of a nitpick, but it’s Bakelite. Bake-light.

[@charlescourtney4402]

Great video!

[@andrewfischer8564]

you missed the bicycle style and the face shield

[@everydayjoe7087]

Thanks, very interesting

[@alexeysaphonov232]

Well, as an idea I suggest a fireman's cap.

[@flamenice3055]

Hey! Awesome content! I’m wondering if you’ll do a video on the Homburg hat or pork pie hat

[@hathistorianjc]

I'll get around to it eventually

[@meganw6007]

We may see another further maturation and evolution of the hard hat in coming years… I just saw this video, that some companies are shifting from hard HAT wearing towards full on helmet adaptations, for various safety reasons. kzbin.info/www/bejne/npjWXqOOmct_qNU

[@oduffy1939]

I don't know how you missed French mining helmets from the late 19th century. They were made of steel and had a wide brim but had no padding and required the miner to wear a cloth on his head to wear it.

[@LuanHerreira]

Kipah and sthreimmel next please

[@hathistorianjc]

I'm planning the Kippah eventually

[@parrotraiser6541]

Coal miners in Britain used to wear helmets with lights, first candles then electric. I don't know when that started. Now, even archaeologists wear hard hats on site, though I'm not sure against what threat they're aimed. Pigeons?

[@randelbrooks]

Do Firemans helmets

[@QwertiusMaximus]

Can you do a history of race car driver helmets?

[@randelbrooks]

And now the Firemans helmet

[@BaronessErsatz]

As my late mother would say, "I may get into Dutch for saying this, but the orange becomes you!"

[@zachgates7491]

What will you do when you run out of hats? Shoes?

[@hathistorianjc]

Hahaha, I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

[@inregionecaecorum]

Have you ever seen a group of engineers in the middle of an open field wearing hard hats and hi viz jackets? It does not get more ridiculous than that.

[@Fgeri623]

I don't know how it came about, but in Hungary the Bowler hat is called a Hard Hat, just like the tuxedo is called "smoking"! 😅 So if you visit Hungary, be careful if you want to go to a ball or construction site!

[@stephenandersen4625]

My company was one of the Six Companies

[@JohnNickels-g3b]

Some company supplied hard hats are of such poor quality the adhesive of the stickers degrades the hat

[@BIG-DIPPER-56]

And the difference between a "Hardhat" and a "Bump cap" would be ?

[@DavidLee-df888]

I work as a warehouse picker and everyone is issued a bump cap. As far as I can tell, a bump cap is a fabric baseball cap with an internal plastic shell for the protection aspect but externally looks like a baseball cap. Whereas a hardhat is an all-in-one hard shell with the internal suspension system and exposed plastic shell on the outside.

[@BIG-DIPPER-56]

@@DavidLee-df888 Thanks 👍

[@craigkdillon]

I had always assumed that hard hats developed from firemen helmets. I guess I was wrong. So, where did Firemen helmets come from?

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

A good idea for a video

[@justayoutuber1906]

Protect your head. You only have the one.

[@Philobiblion]

The pick of the dam labor team is interesting. Four black guys and what looks like a white foreman.

[@JCabrillos-xc3eg]

You're doing great honey 😘👍

[@amesbancal]

Au fait on a le même prénom c assez rare

[@hathistorianjc]

C'est vrai qu'on en croise pas beaucoup

[@jeancharlesbancaldesissart5412]

@@hathistorianjc En fait une élite...

[@amesbancal]

Comment es-tu bilingue ?

[@hathistorianjc]

Père français, mère américaine

[@amesbancal]

@@hathistorianjc alors pourquoi un accent British ?

[@amesbancal]

@@hathistorianjc au fait n'oublie pas le keffieh des bédouins

[@hathistorianjc]

Ai-je vraiment un accent britannique en anglais? J'ai tendance à penser qu'il est plutôt américain...

[@jeancharlesbancaldesissart5412]

@@hathistorianjc tu parles comme un anglais. Une question pourquoi cette thématique du chapeau ? un intérêt particulier ? original en tous cas. Bravo

[@1joshjosh1]

Nowadays your hard hat has to be attached to your collar so it doesn't fall off. A lanyard sort of thing. And your safety glasses are not foam lined. 😂

[@behindthespotlight7983]

My hardhat (white Brody style with rechargeable light) saved me from taking a huge cherry tree branch , angled just right to penetrate my head. This was just 2 weeks ago. WEAR YOUR PPE🦺⛑️🥽