Quote Originally Posted by Nanook View Post
Maybe they are all visiting Jews or Muslims?
No, these would be somewhat distant relatives of mine - who would mostly likely be offended at the suggestion that they might be Jews or Muslims.

They don't take off their hats because they're rudeniks, as evidenced by other behavior during the wedding, the reception, and the drunken brawl afterward.

Failing to uncover indoors was merely one indicator.

Now, as I understand it, there are some social conventions that vary between the UK and the US. Here in the US, it's just generally polite to remove your hat when indoors. In the UK, there's a whole set of social conventions to cover who *must* remove their hat, who *should* remove their hat, and who can ignore everyone else with impunity.

"Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untravelled, the naive, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as empty, meaningless, or dishonest, and scorn to use them. No matter how pure their motives, they thereby throw sand into the machinery that does not work too well at best."

-- Robert A. Heinlein