# Looking for a definition of a 'tiger helmet" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514 "2020-04-10T16:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/1 "2020-04-10T16:53:25Z")
Hi I recently came across the term ‘tiger helmet’ but no description. What does it look like and who usually wears one? I look forward to your feedback ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/2 "2020-04-10T17:01:20Z")
Can you give us any sort of context? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/3 "2020-04-10T17:02:08Z")
Who wears one? Perhaps a football player at Clemson University. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/4 "2020-04-10T17:19:38Z")
Seems like it could be a reference to at Pith Helmet. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/5 "2020-04-10T17:21:54Z")
Could be a perfectly compositional compound: it’s either a helmet worn by tigers (maybe a scaled-up version of this [hard hat for a housecat](https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/8k1a51/psbattle_a_cat_wearing_an_orange_hard_hat/)), or [a helmet for humans with a tiger motif](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kids-Tiger-Bike-Cycle-Helmet/dp/B004QC0WNS). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/6 "2020-04-10T17:32:07Z")
From the Google hits, [this](http://highcalibercustomairbrushing.com/tiger-helmet/) is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/7 "2020-04-10T18:21:44Z")
Here’s an [exceptionally boring one](https://www.rawlings.com/product/MLBRL-DET.html). Though [this one isn’t bad](https://www.amazon.com/Cincinnati-Bengals-Proline-Football-Helmet/dp/B000BR50TS#ace-g0160871354). Or it could be a name for [a particular haircut](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a32006702/netflix-tiger-king-joe-exotic-restaurant-owner-haircut/). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/8 "2020-04-10T20:25:36Z")
First thing I though of was a helmet with a face painted on the back–like the masks worn by people in India with the belief that tigers won’t attack someone who is looking at them. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/9 "2020-04-10T21:12:13Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > First thing I though of was a helmet with a face painted on the back–like the masks worn by people in India with the belief that tigers won’t attack someone who is looking at them. First thing I thought of as well. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/10 "2020-04-10T21:57:41Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Hi > > I recently came across the term ‘tiger helmet’ but no description. > > What does it look like and who usually wears one? > > I look forward to your feedback The Tiger Performance company makes[flight helmets](https://tigerperformance.com/aviation/flight-helmets/). However, there are a lot of possibilities and we can’t really give a definite answer without context. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/11 "2020-04-11T02:30:05Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Seems like it could be a reference to at Pith Helmet. Yes Telemark. I believe you’re correct. Thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/12 "2020-11-01T16:30:02Z")
And I was hoping it would be like the Siberian bear hunting outfit. [https://huckberry.com/journal/posts/siberian-bear-hunting-suit-from-the-1800s](https://huckberry.com/journal/posts/siberian-bear-hunting-suit-from-the-1800s) ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/13 "2020-11-01T17:22:09Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > > [@blondebear](#): > > > > First thing I though of was a helmet with a face painted on the back–like the masks worn by people in India with the belief that tigers won’t attack someone who is looking at them. > > First thing I thought of as well. My first thought as well, I third this option. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/14 "2020-11-02T01:52:12Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > My first thought as well, I third this option. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-definition-of-a-tiger-helmet/851514/15 "2020-11-03T13:02:31Z")
I’m not sure if this has been resolved or not, but this is what several of us were talking about: > Fishermen and bushmen originally created masks made to look like faces to wear on the back of their heads because tigers always attack from behind. This worked for a short time, but the tigers quickly realized it was a hoax, and the attacks reportedly continued. One local honey gatherer, Surendra Jana, 57, expressed that the tigers seem to have caught on to the mask trick, “Before we could understand the way they attacked. We don’t feel safe any more, knowing our brothers have been attacked in spite of the tricks we use.”[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_attacks_in_the_Sundarbans#cite_note-6) > **[Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_attacks_in_the_Sundarbans)** > > Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans, in India and Bangladesh are estimated to kill from 0-50 (mean of 22.7 between 1947 and 1983) people per year. The Sundarbans is home to over 100 Bengal tigers, one of the largest single populations of tigers in one area. Before modern times, Sundarbans tigers were said to "regularly kill fifty or sixty people a year". > These tigers are slightly smaller and slimmer than those elsewhere in India but remain extremely powerful and are infamous for destroying small ...