Social distancing 101: wear a metre-long hat

A Chinese woman has told Connexion she created a metre-wide social distancing hat to wear on the Metro and around Paris where she lives as a bit of fun – but with an important message.

Stéphanie Ji, taped a one-metre wide sign to the back of a cap on which is written “ceci est un chapeau d’un mètre, veuillez respecter la distance” (this is a 1m hat, please respect the distance). She prepared it for deconfinement day on May 11. She said: “I wanted to make something funny because it was the first day we could go out in a long time.”

Coronavirus creativity

She was inspired by a traditional hat from the Song dynasty, which the subjects of the emperor had to wear to avoid getting too close and plotting against him, and by the new hats worn by Chinese pupils at school to respect the distance. The professional Youtuber filmed the reactions of people for her online channel.

“A lot of people laughed and took pictures. It was fun but I also wanted to show the 1m distance and that it is important to respect it,” she said. Ms Ji, who has lived in Paris for six years, has had critics, as her hat measures 1m and not 2m wide, meaning the social distancing on each side is only 50cm. She said it would have been “very complicated” to walk with a 2m sign over her head.

Read more: stay creative with French minister's new initiative, #CultureChezNous (Culture At Home)