9 ms·

This isn't a "weird rule", it's just the standard for male politeness that was universal for the last 4000 years. (Give or take; essentially since hats were inv

This isn't a "weird rule", it's just the standard for male politeness that was universal for the last 4000 years. (Give or take; essentially since hats were invented.)

praptak 5y ago
Just because something has existed for 4000 years doesn't make it not weird :)
ClumsyPilot 5y ago
Its still as weired rule - think about it, why is hat the only garment that is 'rude'. Noone would get offended at yoy wearing a fur coat indoors, youd just look stupid
- GuB-42 5y ago
  I understand why someone can be offended if you are wearing a coat indoors, especially if you are invited. It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. I remember some people being quite insistent that I should take my coat/jacket off, they say something like "make yourself comfortable" but I understand it more as a polite way of saying "take off your coat, you asshole". I guess the same can be said of hats.
  - JohnFen 5y ago
    > It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. Interesting. Never in a million years would I have taken that meaning from it. I would just think that the person is cold.
    - pests 5y ago
      Even if they are cold - they are your guest, why is it so cold and why haven't you turned the heat up? I think was the implication.
- Archelaos 5y ago
  I think the difference is when people deliberately violate a rule they at least should have known vs. just showing that they are an outsider by not seeming to know it. Of course, there are all kinds of variations and cases in between. Fashion is, among other things, a communication code and a signal of conformism or dissent. Besides, the rules about wearing a hat inside can be quite complex: women have to wear a had while men have to take it off (traditional church service in Europe); high ranking men wearing their hats, while lower ranking men have to take them off; petitioners removing their hat in front of the benefactor ...
- w_t_payne 5y ago
  There are all sorts of strange and inconsistent rules that we (as a species) make up all the time. The number and arbitrariness of these rules helps keep other people in our society on their toes and uncomfortable, anxious and vulnerable to criticism and as a result, easy to manipulate and control.
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  It's not that hats are "rude". A hat signifies status. Consider the top hat - it signifies wealth. Or the general's hat - think of Wellington and Napoleon. They signify authority. It's inappropriate to walk into someone's parlour as a guest, while disporting the mark of your superiority. Baring your head signifies humility. It's just polite.
  - JohnFen 5y ago
    > A hat signifies status. In the past, maybe. I don't think it does so much now (at least in my part of the US). If it signifies anything besides aesthetics, it's signifying that the person is part of some defined group. Status doesn't enter into it. > while disporting the mark of your superiority. So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? (I'm assuming that there is such a thing -- that some hats are "high status" implies that there exists the opposite).
    - denton-scratch 5y ago
      > So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? Baring your head is the sign of humility. It doesn't matter which hat you have to doff. In the UK, a "low status" hat would have been be a flat-hat, or flat cap. It used to be a worker's hat; it was also worn by countrymen - farmers, country landowners, gamekeepers and the like - but not in town. Nowadays I often see expensive tweed flat-hats on the heads of fashionable, well-to-do townies. To me, that look is poncey.
YawningAngel 5y ago
Given that it's not the standard now, it's a "weird rule".
- CRConrad 5y ago
  Who says it's not the standard? Just because the uncultured don't know it doesn't mean it isn't.
helsinkiandrew 5y ago
Agreed, I was born in the UK in 68, I've rarely worn a hat (baseball cap if its sunny) - but always take it off when going indoors. No gentleman should wear a hat inside.
- eertami 5y ago
  >No gentleman should wear a hat inside. Maybe if this were the 70s, but this is 2021 and wearing a hat indoors is perfectly normal/acceptable.
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    I consider it rude and coarse.
    - bluedays 5y ago
      I agree it feels weird af wearing a hat inside
      - rambojazz 5y ago
        TIL in 2021 people care about other people wearing hats.
        bluedays 5y ago
        Yeah people care about things you don’t. Shocker
SAI_Peregrinus 5y ago
Last 4000 years in which society? Romans mostly didn't wear hats. Jewish men have worn the kippah (small hat) essentially all the time for much of that period. Especially indoors, in a synagogue. It's a symbol of respect for God. The "take the hat off indoors but always wear it outdoors" certainly hasn't been universal in western Europe for the last 4000 years.

This isn't a "weird rule", it's just the standard for male politeness that was universal for the last 4000 years. (Give or take; essentially since hats were invented.)

praptak 5y ago

Just because something has existed for 4000 years doesn't make it not weird :)

ClumsyPilot 5y ago

Its still as weired rule - think about it, why is hat the only garment that is 'rude'. Noone would get offended at yoy wearing a fur coat indoors, youd just look stupid

GuB-42 5y ago
I understand why someone can be offended if you are wearing a coat indoors, especially if you are invited. It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. I remember some people being quite insistent that I should take my coat/jacket off, they say something like "make yourself comfortable" but I understand it more as a polite way of saying "take off your coat, you asshole". I guess the same can be said of hats.
- JohnFen 5y ago
  > It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. Interesting. Never in a million years would I have taken that meaning from it. I would just think that the person is cold.
  - pests 5y ago
    Even if they are cold - they are your guest, why is it so cold and why haven't you turned the heat up? I think was the implication.
Archelaos 5y ago
I think the difference is when people deliberately violate a rule they at least should have known vs. just showing that they are an outsider by not seeming to know it. Of course, there are all kinds of variations and cases in between. Fashion is, among other things, a communication code and a signal of conformism or dissent. Besides, the rules about wearing a hat inside can be quite complex: women have to wear a had while men have to take it off (traditional church service in Europe); high ranking men wearing their hats, while lower ranking men have to take them off; petitioners removing their hat in front of the benefactor ...
w_t_payne 5y ago
There are all sorts of strange and inconsistent rules that we (as a species) make up all the time. The number and arbitrariness of these rules helps keep other people in our society on their toes and uncomfortable, anxious and vulnerable to criticism and as a result, easy to manipulate and control.
denton-scratch 5y ago
It's not that hats are "rude". A hat signifies status. Consider the top hat - it signifies wealth. Or the general's hat - think of Wellington and Napoleon. They signify authority. It's inappropriate to walk into someone's parlour as a guest, while disporting the mark of your superiority. Baring your head signifies humility. It's just polite.
- JohnFen 5y ago
  > A hat signifies status. In the past, maybe. I don't think it does so much now (at least in my part of the US). If it signifies anything besides aesthetics, it's signifying that the person is part of some defined group. Status doesn't enter into it. > while disporting the mark of your superiority. So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? (I'm assuming that there is such a thing -- that some hats are "high status" implies that there exists the opposite).
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    > So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? Baring your head is the sign of humility. It doesn't matter which hat you have to doff. In the UK, a "low status" hat would have been be a flat-hat, or flat cap. It used to be a worker's hat; it was also worn by countrymen - farmers, country landowners, gamekeepers and the like - but not in town. Nowadays I often see expensive tweed flat-hats on the heads of fashionable, well-to-do townies. To me, that look is poncey.

YawningAngel 5y ago

Given that it's not the standard now, it's a "weird rule".

CRConrad 5y ago
Who says it's not the standard? Just because the uncultured don't know it doesn't mean it isn't.

helsinkiandrew 5y ago

Agreed, I was born in the UK in 68, I've rarely worn a hat (baseball cap if its sunny) - but always take it off when going indoors. No gentleman should wear a hat inside.

eertami 5y ago
>No gentleman should wear a hat inside. Maybe if this were the 70s, but this is 2021 and wearing a hat indoors is perfectly normal/acceptable.
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  I consider it rude and coarse.
  - bluedays 5y ago
    I agree it feels weird af wearing a hat inside
    - rambojazz 5y ago
      TIL in 2021 people care about other people wearing hats.
      - bluedays 5y ago
        Yeah people care about things you don’t. Shocker

SAI_Peregrinus 5y ago

Last 4000 years in which society? Romans mostly didn't wear hats. Jewish men have worn the kippah (small hat) essentially all the time for much of that period. Especially indoors, in a synagogue. It's a symbol of respect for God. The "take the hat off indoors but always wear it outdoors" certainly hasn't been universal in western Europe for the last 4000 years.