Non sense: world-famous in Vietnam, the conical hat has even been spotted on heads at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia. Below, Timeout looks into the hat's humble beginnings. (Society).

EVERY country has its own unique national headgear. The French, of course, are famous for their berets while Israelis are renowned for wearing something called a `yarmulke'. Indian Sikhs wrap their heads in elaborate turbans while Russians warm their noggins with fur hats that are perfectly adequate all the way down to fifty below.

In Vietnam, the national chapeau is without question the non, or conical hat. Along with the lithe ao dai, the conical hat has become a sort of informal Vietnamese national symbol recognised worldwide.

Nobody really knows when the first conical hat was donned in Vietnam, but doubtless it dates back to the region's earliest civilisations thousands of years ago.

The ingredients, after all, remain quite basic--bamboo and...