Mastodawn

I’ve just learned that apparently some Canadians call their winter hats “toboggans”. That’s crazy talk. Toboggans are the *thing multiple people slide down snow-covered hills in*. They are NOT sleds. Sleds have a single rider and have metal runners.

1 - Toboggan
2 - Sled
3 - Flying saucer

Ged Maheux 2d ago

What do you consider a “toboggan”?

A knit winter hat

8.4%

A wooden sled

87.4%

I’ve never heard the word until now

4.2%

Poll ended at Mar 29 at 8:32pm.

@gedeonm I’m voting from my local Canadian embassy as we speak. Going to give them a piece of my mind.

Jonas Wisser 2d ago

@gedeonm If it helps, the hat gets its name from the sled. That is, it is literally a type of hat suitable for use while tobogganing.

Chris Mackay 🇨🇦1d ago

@jwisser @gedeonm The Canadian judges (me; I’m the Canadian judge) are NOT accepting that answer at this time. 🧐🤪🇨🇦

Dave Anderson 2d ago

@gedeonm
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bDJ8lSUNOBo

Oh, and bring my toboggan. | #futurama

YouTube

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@mrdaveanderson 😂

@gedeonm in France that’s what we call a 🛝

Timo Hetzel 2d ago

@gedeonm https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toboggan_(Fahrgesch%C3%A4ft)

Toboggan (Fahrgeschäft) – Wikipedia

FossilizedCarlos 2d ago

@gedeonm can mean slide in Spanish, un tobogán 🤔

@gedeonm That is a reassuring result. 😀

@gedeonm "Tobogganing" is also pengus sliding on their bellies!

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@forst Hee yes which make sense. It’s not a name for a winter hat.

David Harrison 🇨🇦2d ago

@gedeonm I’ve never heard that. We have toques.

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@david Yes! If someone asked me to grab my toboggan I wouldn’t reach for my winter hat. This is just nuts.

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@gedeonm I’m a US southerner born in 1973 and as a kid “toboggan” was the most common word heard around here for a woven winter hat often with a poof ball thing on top.

@ashkendo @gedeonm Wild. As a Canadian, I have never heard that. We wear toques and ride toboggans. It must be a regional thing, and a region I have yet to visit.

Sean Heber 2d ago

@CStamp @ashkendo @gedeonm in Iowa that style of hat with the ball on it was usually called a stocking cap by everyone I knew.

@CStamp @ashkendo @gedeonm Same.

Knit hat with pompom at the top = toque.

Multi-person sled = toboggan.

Never encountered the former being called the latter. 🤔

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@ashkendo I hate to say it but you were raised wrong then 😜

@gedeonm @ashkendo This says the term originated in the Appalachian area of US.

"What is a toboggan? Toboggan is a winter hat and has its origin in the south of the USA. It is not just any other winter hat that is referred to as toboggan; it has to be a knit hat. It is also important to point out that toboggan, to New Englanders and a majority of northern USA, is a wooden sled."

https://blisstulle.com/who-calls-a-hat-a-toboggan/

Who Calls A Hat A Toboggan? - Bliss Tulle

In the United States south and midwest, especially Appalachia, it is often called a "toboggan".

Bliss Tulle

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@CStamp @ashkendo Yeah sorry but southerners don’t get to name winter things. 😜

@gedeonm @ashkendo This goes into more detail. "The word "toboggan," which many associate with a sled, actually dates back to the 1820s as a French-Canadian adaptation of an Algonquian word, possibly Mi'kmaq or Abenaki, that described a type of sled. Over time, especially in the southern U.S. where snow is scarce, the connection between "toboggan" and "sled" faded, leaving "toboggan" to primarily refer to a wool hat."

Anyway, that was an unexpected rabbit hole.

https://www.sewingman.com/info/the-difference-between-beanie-toboggan-and-to-99828742.html

The difference between beanie, toboggan and touque - Knowledge

The difference between beanie, toboggan and touque

Zhangjiagang Sewingman Caps & Apparel Co., Ltd

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@CStamp @gedeonm This reminds me of the discussions I had when I went to school in Boston about how we all referred to soda. Everybody from the various regions all had a different word. Soft drinks, soda, tonic, coke (as a generic term); but everybody laughed at the guy who called it “pop”.

@ashkendo @gedeonm I think pop is the most common word in Canada. The only folk I've ever heard use soda were Americans. :)

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@CStamp @gedeonm When I was a kid “soft drink” was the most used term in the area. I think “soda” or “coke” (as a generic term) has become the most popular now.

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@ashkendo @CStamp Don’t get me started on soda. Or subs/hero/grinders. Ooh boy.

@gedeonm @ashkendo Grinders? I've only recently heard of heros and hogies. 😀

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@CStamp @ashkendo Yep, growing up grinders were sub-like sandwiches we had at school. This was in New England so it’s a distinctly regional name.

@gedeonm @ashkendo Ok, so... "The grinder sandwich, a beloved staple of delis & lunch counters across the US, derives its name from a simple, yet practical source: the hefty bread required to contain its generous fillings. Initially, the name referenced the robust, often Italian-style, crusty bread that required significant “grinding” or chewing. Over time, the name stuck, becoming synonymous with the substantial and satisfying sandwich itself."

Live and learn.

https://www.chefsresource.com/why-is-it-called-a-grinder-sandwich/

Why Is It Called a Grinder Sandwich? - Chef's Resource

Why Is It Called a Grinder Sandwich? Unraveling the Mystery of a Culinary Staple The grinder sandwich, a beloved staple ... Read moreWhy Is It Called a Grinder Sandwich?

Chef's Resource

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@CStamp @ashkendo Wow that’s cool. Never knew where that name came from, thanks for that!

Darrin Horn 2d ago

@gedeonm Grinders at school... also fluffernutters. though cant get my wife to ever try one

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@Darrinsden Yep!!

@Darrinsden @gedeonm Fluffernutters? I might make fun, but Canada has beaver tails. :)

Darrin Horn 1d ago

@CStamp @gedeonm despite the name, those look great... now hungry

@Darrinsden @gedeonm :)

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@gedeonm @CStamp There are many things we shouldn’t be allowed to name but this is one of the few things (along with the “trunk” is the compartment at the back of a car) I’ll stick up for.

💀 𝓕airchild 💀2d ago

@gedeonm @ashkendo I must come to Ash's defense. Where I was born they also called a knitted cap a toboggan.

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@gedeonm well, then!!! I’m just going to put on my toboggan and ride my sled out of here. 😄

💀 𝓕airchild 💀2d ago

@ashkendo @gedeonm also, where I was born is not very far from where Ged lives.

Ash Doyle 2d ago

@tankgrrl @gedeonm I’m in central/eastern NC right along I-95. Born just a bit more north (but still in NC).

💀 𝓕airchild 💀2d ago

@ashkendo @gedeonm i was born just a little south of you. Lower central NC.

@ashkendo @gedeonm As a US Midwestern/Southerner also born in ‘73, everyone I knew called them sock toboggans.

Jonas Wisser 2d ago

@gedeonm What do you call the super minimal thing that's just an unrollable plastic mat with a handle or two?

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@jwisser Heh when I was a kid we called them Magic Carpets. They were by FAR my least favorite method for sliding down snow-covered hills. 🤓

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toque

Toque - Wikipedia

Mark Shane Hayden 2d ago

@gedeonm you have been misinformed. I am a lifelong Canadian born to lifelong Canadians and none of us at all have ever heard of toques being called toboggans by Canadians before.

Ged Maheux 2d ago

@msh I’M CANADIAN! 😅 My entire father’s side is French Canadian and I’ve also never heard of anyone calling a hat a toboggan until today.

Apparently some do however, maybe they moved there from the southern United States where apparently it was adopted the name for a knit winter hat.

I’m stupified by all of this, truly.

Ryan Booker 2d ago

@gedeonm this toot sleighs.

Chris Mackay 🇨🇦2d ago

@gedeonm Madness. I’d revoke the citizenship of any Canadian who said that. 🍁🦫🇨🇦

Shawn King 2d ago

@tantramar @gedeonm Agreed. I’ve never heard it called that.

But, to be fair, my Texas born ex-wife called toques “toboggans.”

Just one of many reasons why I should never have married her in the first place! 😆

Chris Mackay 🇨🇦2d ago

@gedeonm Can’t believe the Krazy Karpet’s not getting any love, here. (There is simply no more efficient way to find every rock, tree root, and chunk of ice on a hill than sliding down it at break-neck speed on a Krazy Karpet. Ow.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hYhEsQekd9Q

Krazy Karpet 1970s commercial

YouTube

Grant Hutchinson 2d ago

@tantramar @gedeonm The Krazy Karpet is Canadian slip-slidey canon.

John Gruber 2d ago

@gedeonm They call their funny money “dollars” too. And look at their “bacon”.

Brendan@TapForms 🇨🇦2d ago

@gruber @gedeonm have you seen our money? It's beautiful. I do feel bad for you guys about the desecrated version you'll get with that horrible man's signature.

Shawn King 1d ago

@gruber @gedeonm Don't get us started on what we call “football”…

Pez Pengelly 2d ago

@gedeonm no Canadian has ever called a toque a toboggan.

Brent York 1d ago

@gedeonm yep. I lived in MI, was the same up there. Hard habit to break

Andrew White 1d ago

@gedeonm lived in Canada most of my life, and most of that was spent in what’s called the “snow belt”. I have never heard that.