Thursday, November 6, 2008

Toboggan

Is it a sled? OR. Is it a hat?

This is the discussion taking place in our office today because I've been taking a poll!

It all started when I asked my dad if there was anything he'd like for me to knit for him and his answer was a Toboggan. I said "Can do!" and got off the phone and told Mike that dad just wants me to knit up a Toboggan. Mike says "How the heck are you gonna knit a TOBOGGAN??" I'm like piece of cake, I've already made at least one.

Obviously, we were talking about 2 different things and neither of us had heard of the other. I have only ever known a Toboggan to be a hat. Mike's only ever known it to be a form of a sled and thought I was crazy.

This conversation happened weeks, maybe months ago, but today I got a pattern in my email for a "Knitted Toboggan Hat" and got all excited about it realizing that I wasn't the crazy one! So I figured it must be a Southern thing and went to a coworker who's actually from Louisana and asked "What's a Toboggan?" and she said "A hat." I was like Awesome, thanks!!! :) So I was telling another friend/coworker about it and turns out after asking the rest of the office, no one else has ever heard of it being referred to as a hat. I looked it up on webster.com and sure enough #3 definition is Knitted Cap from the southern and midland regions.

And seriously...how often, if at all, does it actually snow in the south?? I, and the other "southern" co-worker, knew nothing about it being a sled because we never had opportunity to ride one where we grew up.

So what do you think, do you wear it or do you ride it?

Mike says it's a sled, end of story. :-) Apparently most of my coworkers agree. Jill made this picture for me :) lol

4 comments:

Erin said...

Haha! I love the picture!

As for your question, since I spent my childhood in New York and my adolescence/adulthood in OK, I've heard of both! Although, my first reaction to the question "What's a toboggan?," would be a sled.

We didn't really call it that when we went sledding as kids--we always just called them sleds or snowtubes,--but I always new the special wooden sleds were toboggans.

How are you doing?? How's Mike? Have you ben able to talk with him? Thinking of you both!

TanishaLynne said...

Well we learn something new everyday because I thought it was a cap too. I been round snow lots of times and only heard of a sled not a tobagan. After reading this it made me go and look it up too. I also asked my mom about it and she said some sort of hat....lol!

Liz said...

That is a GREAT photo!!! hahahaha...

hey yeah...how are you?

fOx bLoG said...

This is sooo funny because I had this conversation with someone else before years ago- I had never heard of a toboggan being a HAT. I said what Mike said: you can't put a sled on your head! But, apparently some people call those hats toboggans. OK. :)