This section is from the book "The Home Cyclopedia Of General Information", by Charles Morris. Also available from Amazon: Home Cyclopedia of Necessary Knowledge.
[AS. helan, to cover.] A head covering formerly largely in use as a defensive armor. It is now chiefly used for ornament, but firemen wear it as a protection from falling materials at fires, and in hot countries helmets of white felt covered with rolls of linen are worn as a protection against the sun's rays.
 
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