Sporting the Radio Hat
A pith helmet, two valves and a volume knob
Amanda Uren
1949
Inventor Victor T. Hoeflich, founder of novelty manufacturing corporation American Merri-Lei of Brooklyn, New York, introduced his "Man-from-Mars Radio Hat" in March 1949. In the press conference, he used teenagers as models. Sold in department stores across the U.S. and by mail, the hat retailed for $7.95. Designed after a pith helmet, it could be ordered in eight colors: Lipstick Red, Canary Yellow, Blush Pink, Rose Pink, Tangerine, Flamingo, Chartreuse and Tan. Later seven more color options were added.Although the hat had a futuristic appearance at the time, this was in fact due to technical limitations. While the transistor had been invented in 1947, it was still experimental and not widely available. And portable transistor radios did not appear until 1954. The hat's radio relied on valve technology, and Hoeflich made the valves a prominent feature, as well as the loop aerial. The tuning knob sat between the two valves. Radio valve technology had advanced during WWII, allowing lower-powered versions. This meant the hat's radio could be battery-powered at the lower voltages required for a head-borne radio. The battery was carried in the user's pocket.
Although the Radio Hat was well received at the outset, the reception did not last, and advertisements ceased to run in the 1950s. Its failure was primarily due to technical limitations. It had only two valves, while household radios featured five or six, and thus, performed better. A superior FM radio format was becoming available in the U.S. from the late 1930s, but the Radio Hat could only receive AM frequencies. The loop antenna was directional and signal could be lost as the user turned his or her head. The Radio Hat had an advertised range of 20 miles; sometimes when tuning, it picked up stations further away, but these would be received as an annoying squeal, as the hat did not have the necessary circuitry.Ultimately, the hat radio was not a new idea, either. Inventor H. Day was pictured with an adapted top hat in 1922, and the August 1930 issue of American magazine Modern Mechanics published a story about a Berlin engineer who had created a boater-style radio hat.
