--- title: "Chinese Kids Are Wearing Adorable Social-Distancing Hats at School" description: "Images show Chinese school children wearing adorable hats with two long flaps on either sides that ensure they're social distancing properly." date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2020-04-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-kids-social-distancing-hats-school" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "china" - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # Chinese Kids Are Wearing Adorable Social-Distancing Hats at School ![Images show Chinese school children wearing adorable hats with two long flaps on either sides that ensure they're social distancing properly.]() *\Image: Weibo\* As China is slowly clawing itself back to normal after a devastating battle with the coronavirus, educators are getting creative to ensure that kids aren't in danger of infecting each other in the class room. Images recently uploaded to Chinese social media show school children wearing adorable hats with two long protrusions on either side, to encourage social distancing, [*CNET* reports](). https://twitter.com/chowleen/status/1254590781446410240 The oddly-shaped, meter-wide hats are reportedly inspired by "the long horizontal plumes" during the Song Dynasty according to [a recent tweet]() by Duke University professor Eileen Chow, and "were supposedly to prevent officials from conspiring \[under their breath\] with one another while at court." "So social distancing was in fact their original function!" Chow added. "As children can see and feel these hats, and when the ‘wings’ hit one another, they may be more able to understand the expectations and remember to keep their physical distance," Ian Lam Chun-bun, associate head of the department of early childhood education at The Education University of Hong Kong, [told *The South China Morning Post*](). Other visual aids such as footprints stuck to the floor also make sure that school children don't get too close to each other. **READ MORE:** [Coronavirus: Chinese school gives pupils a hat tip to teach them how to keep their distance]() \[*The South China Morning Post*\] **More on China:** *[CHINA IS INSTALLING SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS INSIDE PEOPLE’S HOMES]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()