# Are there any documented cases of a man actually eating his hat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212 "2005-09-12T05:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/1 "2005-09-12T05:43:30Z")
It seems like it’s been a pretty popular bet for quite a long time. Surely at least one guy with more stubborn integrity than luck has made it. How would someone go about this? Would it be a health concern? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/2 "2005-09-12T06:10:23Z")
Werner Herzog ate his shoe once after a casual declaration. 😉 If I remember correctly, the prop was made out of licorice – unless I’m confusing it with the shoe that Charlie Chaplin ate. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/3 "2005-09-12T06:36:09Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Werner Herzog ate his shoe once after a casual declaration. 😉 > > If I remember correctly, the prop was made out of licorice – unless I’m confusing it with the shoe that Charlie Chaplin ate. Herzog told Errol Morris that if Morris made a successful movie about a pet cemetery, he (Herzog) would eat his shoe. Morris released _Gates of Heaven_ to critical acclaim, and Herzog made good on his challenge by consuming a real shoe (not a licorice one) on the stage of the U.C. Theater in Berkeley. The leather shoe had been cooked at Chez Panisse, the famous restaurant that was about a half a mile up Shattuck Avenue from the theater. The event was filmed by Les Blank, the documentarian who also made _Burden of Dreams_ (about the making of Herzog’s movie Fitzcarraldo). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/4 "2005-09-12T14:21:04Z")
From **Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things** : > [@](#): > > A person who punctuates a perdiction with, “If I’m wrong, I’ll eat my hat” should know that at one time, he or she might well have had to do just that–eat hat. Of course, “hat” did not refer to a Panama or Stetson but to something more palatable–though only slightly. The cullinary curiosity known as a “hatte” appears in one of the earliest extant European cookbooks, though its ingredients and means of preparation are somewhat vague. “Hattes are made of eggs, veal, dates, saffron, salt and so forth,” states the recipe–but they could also include tongue, honey, rosemary, kidney, fat and cinnamon. The book makes it clear that the concoction was not particularly popular and that in the hands of an amateur cook it was essentially uneatable. So much so that a braggart who backed a bet by offering to “eat hatte” had either a strong stomach or confidence in winning. Great book, that one. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/5 "2005-09-12T15:06:36Z")
Well, f%$# a duck! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/6 "2005-09-12T15:09:53Z")
…nope. No mention of that in the book. I’m sure you can find something for that online though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/7 "2005-09-13T00:38:36Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > From **Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things** : That sounds incredibly contrived. Maybe there is or was an actual dish named _hatte_ but I’d bet that it has nothing to do with the origin of the wager. Of course, if I’m wrong, I’ll eat my hat ;). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/8 "2005-09-13T00:49:43Z")
[Michel Lotito](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Lotito) has eaten just about everything including bicycles, televisions, a Cessna 150 airplane, and smaller items. It doesn’t specifically say that he ate a hat but that seems like it would cake for him. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/9 "2005-09-13T02:14:30Z")
You might have to be a bit mad to make such a bet, but losing it probably wouldn’t make you any [madder](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmadhatter.html). ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-documented-cases-of-a-man-actually-eating-his-hat/321212/10 "2005-09-13T04:05:15Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > You might have to be a bit mad to make such a bet, but losing it probably wouldn’t make you any [madder](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmadhatter.html). I must also refer you to the excellent discussion on the board about that article (mainly just to show off): [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=63738](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=63738)