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npub1ra0p...9dgt 1 year ago
Penny auction at foreclosed Michigan farm (1936). At penny auctions farmers would conspire to offer low bids, resulting in a low return to the creditor. The final buyer would then return the property to the destitute farmer Hangman nooses served as a warning to squirrely bidders.
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Penny auction at foreclosed Michigan farm (1936). At penny auctions farmers would conspire to offer low bids, resulting in a low return to the cred...
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npub1ra0p...9dgt 1 year ago
The phrase "mad as a hatter" started in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hat makers back then used mercury, a dangerous chemical, to make hats. This mercury got into their bodies over time. It caused them to shake and have mood swings. They began to act very strangely. Because of this, people started saying someone who was acting crazy was "mad as a hatter." This saying was popular even before Lewis Carroll wrote about the Mad Hatter. Carroll's book just made the phrase more famous. So, if you see someone acting weird, you might say they're "mad as a hatter." It's like comparing them to those sick hat makers.
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