Wearing Many Hats Trivia Quiz

Answer: A need for money or support

The idiom might arise from the practice of removing your hat when in the presence of someone of higher social status. It might also relate to the practice of street buskers, who held out their hat or placed it on the ground for people to put money in. In today's use, it implies a position of subservience and a bit of groveling.

Answer: Alberta

Medicine Hat is a small city in southeastern Alberta, population ~63,000. It sprang up following the arrival of the railway in the late 1800s. In 1943-46, during World War II, one of the largest prisoner of war camps in North America was established there, housing up to 12,500 inmates (mostly German) at a time.

The name "Medicine Hat" is a transliteration of a Blackfoot word for an eagle feather headdress. The city is one of the sunniest places in Canada; that region has over 2500 hours of sunshine per year.

Answer: Blonde on Blonde

Bob Dylan's "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat" originally appeared on the 1966 album, "Blonde on Blonde." Jackie Kennedy was famous for wearing this style of hat - a small, round hat perched atop the head. The "leopard-skin" part implies a more faux creation than worn by the first lady.

Some posit that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, a model and actress who was part of Andy Warhol's entourage.

Answer: Fez

Fez is the second largest city in Morocco. Despite this linkage, the hat was worn more commonly by people in the Ottoman Empire centered in Turkey. It is postulated that the red color the conical hats were dyed originated from crimson berries from Fez.

The word "Fez" comes from the word for "pickaxe," and as with many ancient cities, the origin of this name has many theories but no clear definition. Fez was established around the 8th century AD, and has over 1 million residents. The wrong answers are also hats, with homburg and Balmoral related to place names. Songkok is the truncated cone hat worn most commonly in Indonesia.

Answer: Edward VII

While still Prince of Wales, Edward VII visited Bad-Homburg and returned sporting the toponymous hat. A homburg is a felt hat with a longitudinal crease in the crown, wide hatband and curled rim. Edward VII started the homburg craze, but the men listed as wrong answers were also known to sport one. Eisenhower wore one to his inauguration rather than the more traditional top hat. Anthony Eden was so identified with the style that some started calling them Eden hats instead of homburgs.

Answer: Discworld

"A Hat Full of Sky" is #32 in Discworld by Terry Pratchett. It was intended for younger readers. Published in 2004, the book tells of young (11-year-old) Tiffany Aching's schooling as a witch. Along the way, she is inhabited by a hiver, a frightening creature that senses everything. Tiffany comes to understand her foe and ends up making peace with it.

The book also features Granny Weatherwax, the most powerful witch in the land. Of the wrong answers, at least one includes a "hat" story - there is an Ellery Queen mystery entitled "The Roman Hat Mystery."

Answer: Stephen Sondheim

Sondheim's second volume is more completely titled "Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany." Shows that are featured in this volume include "Sunday in the Park with George," "Into the Woods" and "Assassins." The first volume has a similarly long title of "Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes." Of the wrong answers, Noel Coward was British, Oscar Hammerstein died in 1960 and Lin-Miranda Manuel was just born in 1980.

Answer: Jarabe Tapatio

Jarabe means "herb mixture," and alludes to the mixing of styles in the dance. Tapatio is a demonym indicating origin from Guadalajara. As with many dances, there can be sexual overtones in the performance so it has been periodically banned by the church.

The dance dates to the 19th century, and does indeed include a sequence with a sombrero (Mexican hat) placed on the floor for the dancers to revolve around. The wrong answers listed are also Mexican folk dances.

Answer: Restraining American hat production

The Hat Act of 1731 (enacted 1732) placed restrictions on American hat production such that the colonists were forced to purchase hats from England, at a much higher price. The act sought to squelch the colonial industry, including provisions that limited the number of workers allowed to be apprenticed to the trade. Thomas Jefferson mentioned the Hat Act in a 1774 essay to the Continental Congress as an example of British overreach.

Answer: Woman With a Hat - Matisse

Henri Matisse painted his wife, Amelie, in the piece entitled "Woman With a Hat" in 1905. It was exhibited alongside some Renaissance pieces, which inspired critic Louis Vauxcelles to bemoan the presence of "Donatello chez les fauves," or "Donatello among the wild beasts." As with many phrases initially meant as an insult, it was picked up as a positive description of the broad brushstrokes and use of seemingly unnatural complementary colors in the artworks of Matisse and his compatriots.