"Wizard of Woodstock" wrote in message
...
to put you into a total state of curiosity and time wasting.

For example: I was reading a NYT article on Haredi Judaism and the
settlements on the West Bank and I noticed in one of the images in the
photojournalism that accompanied the article a hat that I knew the
name of but couldn't remember.

So off to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism

and on to dress where I found the name I was looking for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism#Dress

which led me he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shtreimel

which led me he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilby

which led me he

http://www.hathistory.org/dress/felt.html

which led me he

http://www.hathistory.org/stetson/index.html

which led me he

http://www.hathistory.org/hat_making/index.html

And I didn't even realise it. :)

And most Panama hats are from Manta, Ecuador. Interesting town. I have a
nice Panama from there. You can roll it up and pull it through a wedding
ring and then unroll and wear, still looking good. No problem. Mine is
soft enough that the brim is not good in a stiff breeze. And for an extra
buck they throw in the Balsa Wood box that is traditional for shipping.