yep, my dad used to do the same... he took MERCILESS heat from us kids for his majorly geeky hat but he couldn't care less, cause it did the trick - it was made of terrycloth like a towel, he'd keep it wet and wear it that way, which of course made it look even GEEKIER (i'm LMFAO now that i think on this after so many years) -- the evaporation is what keeps you cool. Much later in life i learned that 50% of the body's heat is lost/gained from the head; i guess he knew that too.....
i don't mind the heat except at night - during the day i just carry a rag with me everywhere, get in the water a lot, and generally just go with the flow (literally) of sweatin all the time. But i could NEVER get any sleep in that block room with just a fan.... lawd..... my Trini friend taught me an excellent trick to sleeping cool even without A/C, which really works: take warm (not cold or hot) shower right before bed, and use only fresh cool aloe as a moisturizer (keep an aloe leaf in the fridge) - no sticky lotion on the skin. that makes for a MUCH more cool & pleasant sleep.