# Was a pudding ever not a hat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652 "2021-11-20T02:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/1 "2021-11-20T02:08:18Z")
My MIL, wife, and I all recall seeing illustrations of a garment called a ‘pudding’ which was like a big inner tube around a child’s middle, worn to protect him from falls while learning to walk. But when I search, all I get is the pudding hat, which has the same purpose: > **[Baby bumper headguard cap](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_bumper_headguard_cap)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A baby bumper headguard cap, also known as a falling cap, or pudding hat, is a protective hat worn by children learning to walk, to protect their heads in case of falls. > Known as a pudding or black pudding, a version used during the early 17th century until the late 18th century was usually open at the top and featured a sausage-shaped bumper roll that circled the head like a crown. It was fastened with straps under the chin. > Teaching a Child to... Was the garment we recall ever a thing? Are we the victims of a Mandela affect? Or have we all been subject to the same bad history? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/2 "2021-11-20T02:33:38Z")
This article shows the waist version: > **[Author: Colonial kids faced unusual upbringing](https://www.ctinsider.com/living/article/Author-Colonial-kids-faced-unusual-upbringing-16903444.php)** > > With each passing generation it is easy to say that children have it difficult (or maybe... [https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/countytimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/6b/e6b65ef0-870a-5186-a10e-5790c4dde8c5/58d7384474f4f.image.jpg](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/countytimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/6b/e6b65ef0-870a-5186-a10e-5790c4dde8c5/58d7384474f4f.image.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/3 "2021-11-20T02:38:16Z")
Okay, now that the question has been factually answered, may I just say what a lovely thread title? I’ve been drinking. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/4 "2021-11-20T03:20:23Z")
Thank you, that’s just what we remembered. That article doesn’t talk about it much, and is generally terrible though. I wonder it we can find a better source? > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Okay, now that the question \*bows\* ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/5 "2021-11-20T18:24:56Z")
I read about this kind of “pudding” in the book _If You Lived in Colonial Times_, by Ann McGovern. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/6 "2021-11-20T19:30:30Z")
Do you really recall somebody wearing that? How old _are_ you? 🙂 The “puddings” I am vaguely familiar with are nautical ones used to protect a mast where it is crossed by a yard, or more generally any sort of soft fender. They can be covered with spun yarn, for example. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/7 "2021-11-20T20:32:21Z")
I thought this was going to be about the theory that the phrase “I’ll eat my hat” refers to a type of meat pie called a hatte. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-pudding-ever-not-a-hat/954652/8 "2021-11-21T17:02:49Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I read about this kind of “pudding” in the book _If You Lived in Colonial Times_ , by Ann McGovern. It is entirely possible that is exactly where we are are remembering it from.