Early bicycle helmets from the early twentieth century were not made of shock-absorbing foam or hard plastic, but were instead constructed from tightly woven strips of genuine…

Early bicycle helmets from the early twentieth century were not made of shock-absorbing foam or hard plastic, but were instead constructed from tightly woven strips of genuine leather stuffed with animal hair; these stylish but wildly ineffective leather hairnets were primarily worn by professional racers who mistakenly believed that strapping a glorified winter glove to their skull would somehow protect their brain from violently impacting solid concrete, which makes it staggering to look back at transportation safety history and realize our ancestors genuinely thought that wrapping their heads in dead cow skin was an adequate defense against the relentless laws of physics; modern cyclists complaining about the uncool aesthetics of highly engineered polystyrene helmets clearly do not appreciate how lucky they are to not be riding around in a sweaty, hair-filled leather cage!