Racing helmets today are high tech affairs. They're made of composites or carbon fiber, have fire proof linings, and even radios, drinks, or forced air built in. The ability of a modern helmet to keep a driver comfortable and safe is truly unbelievable.

It wasn't always this way.

When the first helmet came out in 1908, it was basically a leather hat. That won't protect you from much, other than the occasional bug. And not a big occasional bug. As time went on, the protection level of helmets grew and grew. Soft leather gave way to hard shells. Goggles came to protect the eyes. The liners became fire proof. They started to encompass the front of the face instead of just the back and the side. In short, they've totally transformed from the first helmet to what we have today.

This video from Donut Media chronicles the development of the helmet from its low tech origins to today's high tech craziness. As a bonus, see if you can identify all the drivers that used these helmets, there's a lot of famous names here. Check it out:

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