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I am wondering why some got a moon and others got a sun as Where in the World hat for the same action:

enter image description here vs. enter image description here

And is it possible two collect both e.g. from different sites? I only get moons…

I know that there has already been some spoilering Winter Bash 2016 - All Hats.

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  • 8
    Ten bucks says either timezones or hemispheres.
    – ArtOfCode
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:55
  • 1
    Have you tried flying to the southern hemisphere?
    – Mysticial
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:55
  • 2
    Not yet ;-) But I going to fly to Portugal tomorrow...So I will check the timezone theory at least…
    – Beat
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:57
  • 1
    If I recall correctly, previous years' dual-hats locked in whichever form you earned first, so that earning either on other sites always gave you the same form you've already earned. (This makes sense if you think of it as one hat with two forms.)
    – SevenSidedDie
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:59
  • Just a note: last year's secret hat, for voting on the 21st (iirc), was a "the dress" hat, given out in 1 of 2 forms like this one.
    – user311528
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:00
  • @ArtOfCode I'll take that bet (it's been proven by some of us that that is not the case).
    – LegendaryDude
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:11
  • @LegendaryDude Terms and conditions: bet is null and void if accepted after the correct solution has been revealed :)
    – ArtOfCode
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:13
  • 2
    This may be similar to last year's Flip Flop hat.
    – Werner
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:45
  • The penalty for having the "wrong" hat is banishment to the moon for a thousand years.
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 15:01

3 Answers 3

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I could explain this to you but it is actually Quantum Mechanics. The hat type is not assigned until someone gets it.

Maybe you are interested to read the implementation details?

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  • So it's randomly chosen which version you get?
    – user311528
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 16:59
  • 19
    The hat is both a moon and a sun until you get the hat
    – user41805
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:00
  • @EᴀsᴛᴇʀʟʏIʀᴋ it's all part of a plan
    – Sklivvz Mod
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:01
  • 1
    @Sklivvz hmmmm very mysterious plan
    – user311528
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:01
  • So it's not timezones? Or hemispheres? Damn, that's my ten bucks gone then.
    – ArtOfCode
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:06
  • @Art it's cosmic dust.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:29
  • 1
    I'm glad I got the moon version, it fits me much better.
    – user1228
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 18:32
  • @Won't same here!
    – Xandar The Zenon
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 3:23
  • But this is to be considered one hat or two different hats (I mean from the point of view of the community)?
    – Charo
    Commented Dec 25, 2016 at 19:01
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You can't collect the other version on different sites once you have the hat in one version. Think of it as one hat that has two forms. Whichever form you have first is the only form you can collect.

This has precedent from last year's Flip Flop hat based on “The Dress”: you were randomly assigned either a black and blue or white and gold hat, and once earned on one site, earning it on others would get you the same version.

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1

Perhaps it's a secret within a secret. :)

Even in past years, SE never disclosed as to how they decided which of the two forms to assign to which user (they just said it was random). Now they're waiting to see who will guess that criterion, hence they keep reincarnating the hat every year.

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