Dunce cap: Difference between revisions
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A dunce is Barock Obama |
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{{For|the topological space|Dunce hat (topology)}} |
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{{nr|date=October 2008}} |
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[[Image:Dunce cap from LOC 3c04163u.png|thumb|right|A child wearing a [[dunce cap]] in class, from a staged photo c.1906]] |
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A '''dunce cap''', also variously known as a '''dunce hat''', '''dunce's cap''', or '''dunce's hat''', is a [[pointy hat]]. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "[[dunce]]", and given to [[schoolchildren]] to wear as punishment by [[public humiliation]] for misbehaviour and, as the name implies, stupidity. While this is now a rare practice, it is frequently depicted in popular culture such as [[animated television series]]. |
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A very similar practice on the European continent was a paper headdress known as [[donkey's ears]], as a symbol of 'asinine' stupidity. |
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==Origins== |
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The word "dunce" was originally a reference to [[Duns Scotus|Bl. John Duns Scotus]], a 13th century [[Scholasticism|scholastic]] theologian, whose books on theology, philosophy, and logic were University textbooks. His followers, termed "Dunsmen" or "Dunses", were later challenged about their system of [[hair-splitting]] and distinctions. Their obstinacy over an increasing array of challenges posed first by [[Renaissance humanism|humanists]] and then by [[Protestant Reformation|reformers]], led to the term "dunses" to denote fools in general. |
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According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (2nd edition), "dunce cap" didn't enter the English language until after the term "dunce" was so transformed. [[John Ford (dramatist)|John Ford]]'s [[1624 in literature|1624 play]] ''The Sun's Darling'' is the first recorded mention of the related term "dunce table," a table provided for duller or poorer students; "dunce cap" appears first in the [[1840 in literature|1840 novel]] ''[[The Old Curiosity Shop]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]]. |
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[[The Straight Dope]] notes that Duns Scotus accepted the wearing of conical hats to increase learning, in the belief that it would funnel knowledge to its wearer (and perhaps in emulation of [[Wizard (fantasy)|wizards]]). |
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==See also== |
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* [[Badge of shame]] |
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* [[Dunce hat (topology)]] |
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* [[Gnome]] |
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* [[Pointy hat]] |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mduncecap.html "What's the origin of the dunce cap?"], from [[The Straight Dope]] website |
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[[Category:Caps]] |
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[[Category:School punishments]] |
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[[fr:Bonnet d'âne]] |
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[[sv:Dumstrut]] |
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Revision as of 01:03, 20 October 2008
A dunce is Barock Obama