Ever wonder why cowboy hats are called “10 gallon”?
When Mexican vaqueros described the hats they wore as tan galan (So Elegant in Spanish), the Texas cowboys – who had also started wearing them for sun protection – misunderstood…..and the required hat for cowboys became known as a “Ten-Gallon” hat.
They actually hold about 3 quarts.
THE CAVENDER DIARY 
I’m sitting here at home (in OKC) because the office closed at 12:50 and there is a blizzard outside. Waiting for stew and perusing thru emails…What an awesomely random post! Thanks James! You are tan galan!!
Lizzie, I am also frozen in….Supposed to have a dumpster delivered today (for some demo) but he is frozen in too. So I Googled “Cowboy Hats”…glad that you like.
Hey guys! Great post! Love trivia like this! It’s 6 degrees in NW Ohio today! Suck it up…and stay warm! At least it’s a dry cold! 🙂
I wonder if my great grandfather Ferd wore a ten gallon hat when he worked on the Matador Ranch in Texas in the 1880s. He eventually settled in Winslow, Arizona and was one of the largest landowners in Northern Arizona in the early 1900s.
Ah, now I can sleep at night. In all seriousness, it’s actually pretty interesting.
I totally thought it held ten gallons. 😉 Thanks for clearing that up! Love your posts.