- Tam o'shanter (hat)
:"This article is about the hat called a 'tam o' shanter'. For the golf course in Niles, Illinois, see
Tam O'Shanter Golf Course ."A tam o'shanter is a Scottish bonnet worn by men which was named after the character Tam o' Shanter in the poem of that name by
Robert Burns . The bee in the bonnet is made ofwool with a "toorie" (pompon ) in the centre, and the crown is about twice the diameter of the head. Originally they were only made in blue because of the lack of chemical dyes, and were called "blue bonnets". They are now available in plain colors or in differenttartan s.A form of Tam o'shanter called the "General Service Cap" was worn during
World War II by theinfantry regiment s of the British and Canadian armies instead ofberet s (which were made standard in the postwar years). They were plainkhaki in colour and were stiffer than civilian tam o'shanters. Today, theScottish Division and some regiments of theCanadian Forces continue to wear the Tam o' Shanter (abbreviated to TOS) as their 'battle headdress', it has a narrower, flat crown, with Highland battalions shaping theirs sloping down from back to front and the Lowland battalions wearing theirs with the excess material pulled to the right side, similar to a beret.The different battalions of the
Royal Regiment of Scotland identify themselves by wearing distinctively colouredhackle s on their tam o'shanters, and soldiers ofThe Black Watch of Canada wear a red hackle on both their duty tam o'shanters and dress balmorals.Some regiments of the
Canadian Army wear different coloured toories: theRoyal Highland Fusiliers of Canada have traditionally worn dark green;The North Nova Scotia Highlanders wore red toories during the Second World War; and theStormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders wore blue. Most regiments wear a khaki toorie, matching the hat.In many regiments, it is traditional for soldiers to wear a tam o'shanter, while officers (and in some cases senior
non-commissioned officer s) wear the Balmoral orGlengarry instead.Dr. Stephen W. Kress of National Audubon Society's Seabird Restoration Program/Project Puffin (and also the professor for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's annual Spring Field Ornithology Course) is known for wearing his tam o'shanter during Audubon and other field trip outings.
Trivia
* In the opening credits of "
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ", Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore ) joyfully throws her tam o'shanter cap up in the air. A statue of Mary throwing the cap was dedicated inMinneapolis, Minnesota , in May 2002.
*Queen's University inKingston, ON ,Canada has a tradition of providing every first-year student with a tam when they first enter the university. Each faculty has its own coloured pompom on the top. This tradition reflects the school's Scottish origins.
* TheTrashcan Sinatras song "Hayfever" references Tam o'shanters with its line "Should I put my tammy in the ring and run for President?"
*Benjamin Bunny wears Mr McGregor's old Tam o'shanter in an illustration in "The Tale Of Benjamin Bunny" byBeatrix Potter .
* In WeeSing's "Grandpa's Magical Toys", the Lassie character incorrectly wears a tam o'shanter along with Laddie.ee also
*
Balmoral bonnet
*Glengarry
*Tam (cap)
*Caubeen External links
* [http://www.projectpuffin.org/SWKlectures.html]
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