Hats that Never Really Were Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

In "Top Hat," American dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) comes to London to appear in a show. He seeks to win the heart of Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) away from competitor Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes). The "Cheek to Cheek" number is an all-time classic. "Top Hat" was Astaire-and-Rogers' most financially successful motion picture; its box office was number two in the world in 1936.

Answer: Theodor Geisel / Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat is a tall human-like cat dressed in a distinctive red-and-white hat and red bow tie. Theodor Geisel wrote the story in 1957 on a challenge to create a reader for small children better than the "Dick and Jane" series then in widespread use. Geisel claimed to have created the story from the first two words he found on the approved list of words which rhymed: cat and hat. The story was made into a curious live-action motion picture in 2003.

Answer: The Sorting Hat

The Sorting Hat once belonged to Godric Gryffindor; it sorts incoming students into Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin houses. The Hat says "For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all. There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see. So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be."

Answer: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

The title of Dr. Sacks' book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" was descriptive of his treatment of a man with visual agnosia. In such cases, it is not the ability to see something that is obscured but the ability to recognize what is being seen. Perhaps his best known work is "Awakenings" (1973) because it was made into a 1990 movie with Robin Williams.

Answer: Curious George

Curious George is a brown African monkey brought to a large city by the Man in the Yellow Hat where they live together and have adventures. The adventures are normally of the sort where George gets into trouble from which the Man in the Yellow Hats extracts him at the last moment. The man is never named. The characters were created by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey in 1941 and have been continuously in print ever since.

Answer: culinary arts

The subtitle of Jones' book is "A Novel of Epicurean Adventures." It follows the career of young Jean-Marie Gallois, a boy from the provinces, who comes to Paris to become a chef. His missteps, his set-backs, and his triumphs. The title is a reference to the toque (the towering white hat) earned and worn by chefs in some French kitchens.

Answer: Felt workers suffered from mercury poisoning which mimicked lunacy.

Carroll never called the Hatter "the Mad Hatter" but subsequent versions of the Alice stories certainly have done so. In the 19th Century, mercury was used in the manufacture of felt hats. Mercury is a neuro-poison which causes slurred speech (as in drunkenness) and memory impairment. Carroll was personally familiar with the asylums in which the worst of such cases were kept, having visited one.

Answer: You Can Leave Your Hat On

This mildly-erotic ballad describes a woman taking off her coat, her shoes and her dress to entertain her lover. Joe Cocker's version was used in the 1986 film "9-1/2 Weeks" during a striptease. Tom Jones recorded it in 1997 for the movie "The Full Monty." The title derives from the expressed notion that you can take it all off but you may leave your hat on.

Answer: A Hat Full of Sky

"A Hat Full of Sky" (2004) is a humourous fantasy novel written especially for younger readers. In it, an 11-year-old witch is sent by her witch teacher (Miss Tick) to a more senior witch (Miss Level) to complete her training in the craft. She finally returns to her village to take the place of her grandmother as the local witch. Although she is given a hat as a symbol of her role, she declines it in favour of making the sky her hat.

Answer: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem "Der Zauberlehrling" (1797) was adapted rather directly by Paul Dukas in his orchestral composition "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in 1897. This was, in turn, adapted by Walt Disney as one of the segments in "Fantasia." The sorcerer, Yen Sid, sets aside his wizard's hat which is taken up by his young assistant (Mickey) who seeks to use magic to get all his chores done. Difficulties ensue, until the sorcerer's hat is returned.