Where did the phrase "mad as a...

Although this phrase originated at least as far back as the 1500s, and appeared in several works, including Don Quixote, written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 1600s, it became especially popular when the concept appeared in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which was published in 1865. It is now used to describe anyone behaving in an odd or foolish way. Hares tend to be unusually wild in March, during their breeding season, when they leap, box, and chase each other around the countryside during courtship. They appear mad or, in our common usage, crazy.