China Revives Centuries-Old Social Distancing Hat For Students

Students in eastern China wore social distancing hats as they returned to school following the coronavirus outbreak. 

Images and videos have surfaced on popular Chinese social media platforms of students wearing self-made airplane winged hats on their heads and face masks in a classroom. 

Will this work? To enforce #socialdistancing measures, a primary school in Hangzhou lets first graders wear DIY hats that are 1m in width so that these children can remember to keep their distance from each other on the first day of class. https://t.co/PuWotroUcN pic.twitter.com/pX9z7IAxGc

— The Paper 澎湃新闻 (@thepapercn) April 26, 2020

“The longest ever winter vacation for Hangzhou’s elementary students ended this week, as first to third grades returned to the classroom. One school in the city, Yangzheng Primary School, gave its students an early assignment: fashion their own homemade “one-meter hats,” to remind the youngsters to stay a meter apart at all times,” reported RT News. 

Social distancing hats were only to be taken off during lunchtime, local media said. While walking through doorways and narrow hallways, students had to navigate carefully. These hats have become mandatory in Hangzhou for all students. 

About two hours north up the coast, Shanghai welcomed back middle and high school students. Schools across China have reopened in the last several weeks. Wuhan, the hardest-hit area in China, reopened earlier this month. 

It seems like social distancing hats have been around for centuries. Possible revival? 

the real original inventor of social distancing was Zhao Kuangyin, founding emperor of the Song dynasty, who made his officials wear these long ass helicopter blade hats so they couldn’t whisper to each other during state meetings pic.twitter.com/5Zm000ojlq

— Xiran Jay Zhao is not a COWard (@XiranJayZhao) April 24, 2020

Someone has made a social distancing hat with lasers. 

American educators are studying how China is reopening schools amid the threats of another coronavirus wave. Social distancing hats are likely coming to the US when schools open.