# Backwards baseball caps - sly cultural statements **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726 "2016-05-13T23:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/41 "2016-05-15T15:00:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I started wearing two hats to see if I could start a trend. A brief marketing survey indicated it wasn’t catching on. I didn’t consider having the bill turned around on one of them. I feel the fool now, that could have made all the difference. Back in the 1970s the kids I knew were well aware that if you wore two hats at once, with one backwards, you were set for your Sherlock Holmes impression. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/42 "2016-05-15T15:30:32Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Back in the 1970s the kids I knew were well aware that if you wore two hats at once, with one backwards, you were set for your Sherlock Holmes impression. Yeah, I’m making a note to myself. Next time I want to start a trend to think about it a little more, and not just base it on a free hat handed out in a bar during a football game. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/43 "2016-05-15T16:26:15Z")
> [@nate](#): > > I was about 10 or so and saw this movie “Over the Top” with Sylvester Stallone. He was a trucker/pro arm wrestler that had some kid (his son?) with him while he was trucking and competing in arm wrestling tournaments. Anyway, he had a secret weapon… when he needed to turn up his power to defeat an opponent he would turn his cap around (proof: [http://i.giphy.com/3oxRmpE9qph8XroPFS.gif](http://i.giphy.com/3oxRmpE9qph8XroPFS.gif)). This always stuck with me, and now I tend to wear my hat backwards, because why not be at full power all the time? Like the “Turbo” button on a Packard Bell PC in 1992. I don’t think I ever saw one turned off, and if I was at a friend’s house and turned it off to see if there was any difference they’d immediately turn it back on and tell me I was going to break their computer because it HAD to be on “Turbo.” Just wear a green LED somewhere on your body and you can drop the hat thing. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/44 "2016-05-15T19:23:07Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > Just wear a green LED somewhere on your body and you can drop the hat thing. 🆒 Green is for Crips. Red is for Bloods. ---
**Author:** ![Commodore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Commodore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commodore)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/45 "2016-05-16T00:11:35Z")
I seen Rocky once talking about turning the cap about, was likened to a switch being flicked in his head and then he became a steam train.:rolleyes: I see it has more to do with the fact that such just goes to show that one has failed the IQ test. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/46 "2016-05-16T19:25:35Z")
One simply cannot drive with the T-tops off (or convertible top down) without wearing a baseball cap backwards. Or being bald. I’ll stick with the backward cap. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/47 "2016-05-16T22:11:27Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Complaining about _backwards baseball caps_? Jesus, what decade are you guys in? I once spied a ragamuffin whose Phrygian cap was inclined at a most rakish angle. The _impudence_! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/48 "2016-05-17T08:29:48Z")
I’d turn my utility cap backwards at the rifle range. It was permitted there. The brim interfered with my view of the rear sights of the M-16A1. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/49 "2016-05-17T10:05:17Z")
I don’t know why more people don’t do as I do and wear a bee keeper’s hat. Maybe I’m not all fashionable, but you don’t see bees bothering me. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/50 "2016-05-17T10:50:20Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Quite stunned that the regular US Army replaced their functional hat that had a brim with the baret. A civilian beret has among its advantages the ability to shape the brim in multiple ways. But the military types tend to be too small for that; maybe you guys should try to push something like [this champion’s beret](http://www.vamosacorrer.com/noticias/kipruto-txapeldun-3577.html) into military fashion? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/51 "2016-05-17T13:16:18Z")
My hair is pretty long. Sometimes I’ll throw on a hat simply for hair control. Now … I own two types of hats: baseball hats and knit caps. And I know how much it drives judgmental pricks crazy to see a guy wearing a knit cap when he isn’t skiing so I generally go for the baseball cap. A baseball cap worn “correctly” looks absolutely ridiculous on me so I always - \*always \*- wear my hat backwards. Guess how much I give shit about people who have an opinion on that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/52 "2016-05-17T13:45:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A civilian beret has among its advantages the ability to shape the brim in multiple ways. But the military types tend to be too small for that; maybe you guys should try to push something like [this champion’s beret](http://www.vamosacorrer.com/noticias/kipruto-txapeldun-3577.html) into military fashion? As I have said before, the army has ruined the beret — [Why has the U.S. Army ruined the beret? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=597566) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/53 "2016-05-17T14:15:14Z")
The picture I linked in that other thread might have two cm on this one’s… ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/54 "2016-05-17T17:19:25Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > Like the “Turbo” button on a Packard Bell PC in 1992. I don’t think I ever saw one turned off, and if I was at a friend’s house and turned it off to see if there was any difference they’d immediately turn it back on and tell me I was going to break their computer because it HAD to be on “Turbo.” If I remember right, the point was that sometimes you wanted the computer to run slower, because an older game or something might run at a stupid fast speed on this new PC, rendering it unplayable. Instead of putting a button on the computer that said “STUPID SLOW TURTLE MODE” that you could push when you wanted to slow things down, they put a button that said “TURBO” that you left on all the time, unless you had a need to slow something down. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/55 "2016-05-17T18:40:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I don’t know why more people don’t do as I do and wear a bee keeper’s hat. > > Maybe I’m not all fashionable, but you don’t see bees bothering me. Do you where it forward or backward? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/56 "2016-05-17T18:52:40Z")
> [@JeffB](#): > > Do you where it forward or backward? The veil offers 360 degree protection, so is ambipotent. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/57 "2016-05-18T20:24:34Z")
I don’t care enough to say anything. You can think someone is an idiot for wearing a backwards hat but it doesn’t give you the right to harass them. I don’t like it when anyone wears a hat inside a restaurant but I would never say anything to them unless I owned the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/58 "2016-05-19T05:04:02Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I don’t like it when anyone wears a hat inside a restaurant but I would never say anything to them unless I owned the restaurant. If you owned the restaurant, you would most likely not say anything, unless the hat was creating an actual problem for other customers. And, well, chefs wear hats in the kitchen for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/59 "2016-05-19T11:41:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > If you owned the restaurant, you would most likely not say anything, unless the hat was creating an actual problem for other customers. And, well, chefs wear hats in the kitchen for a reason. I was in a restaurant once, the manager told me I needed to take off my hat. When I pointed out “That girl over there has a hat on” he replied: “Girls are allowed. Men aren’t” And with that, my party and I left before our food came. Screw that noise. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726/60 "2016-05-19T12:35:49Z")
To each their own, but I always get a chuckle from anyone over the age of four who wears their ballcap backwards. Exponentially if the brim is flat, stickered, and less than 180 degrees from front. If you’re worried about it coming off in a breeze, your hat doesn’t fit you properly. [Cute](http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/baby-baseball-cap-1299784.jpg). [Comedy gold](http://www.strictlyfitteds.com/sites/default/files/styles/featured_550_x_420/public/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/360flip_layout5.jpg)! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backwards-baseball-caps-sly-cultural-statements/754726.md?page=4)