Witch Hat Is Your Favorite
Plus, why are witches and cats so intertwined?
Hi! I’m Joey, founder of Fun Fact Friyay, the newsletter for curious people. This issue is perhaps the most stylish one yet.
Today’s fact: Witches hats come from women who sold homebrewed beer.
Did you know December is National Cat Lovers’ Month? I sure didn’t, but thank goodness there’s no shortage of calendars out there for all these wacky holidays.
To celebrate, I asked Amanda from the 6 Degrees of Cats podcast about one of her favorite facts. She delivered a fascinating episode about why cats and witches are intricately linked.
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church and cats had a brouhaha worthy of West Side Story. Pope Gregory IX accused witches of hanging out with a black cat that was actually the devil in disguise. Cats were thrown off of bell towers as a result. There’s even the Kattenstoet festival in Ypres, Belgium that does this in the present day, though the cats are stuffed, thankfully.
Cat dander can cause sudden and drastic respiratory issues, a la a witch stealing a baby’s breath. Cats are also the lone cause of toxoplasmosis, an infection with a parasite that can impact both fetuses and adults.
There’s even research that hints toxoplasmosis allows cats to control human minds. It’s witchcraft, people say! One family even noted how their kids would “purr like so many cats” under an alleged witch’s spell.
A witch aspect that has little to do with cats is the stylish pointy hats they wear. (The witches, that is. Trying to put a hat on a cat would be a FOOLISH exercise.)
During medieval times, some women brewed beer at home. These “alewives” brought their potions to the market so they could make extra money for their families.
The women wore the tall, pointy hats we associate with witches today to draw attention and signal what they were selling.
How did these hates go from brew to boo? Turns out there were barely any laws about making your own concoctions at home and then selling them, and not all brewsters were created equal.
People would get sick and then accuse the women who sold them the beer of intentionally serving them poison. And only a witch would do something like that.
Meanwhile, I get sick when someone insists I try an IPA.
If you ever dress as a witch for Halloween, carry around some beer in your cauldron. It’ll be the most authentic touch you can add.
There are more spooky goodies in the 6 Degrees of Cats podcast. Take a listen here. And of course, feel free to share with the cat lovers in your life!