- Image product: The isolator helmet This helmet was an early attempt to solve a psychological problem (distraction) with a hardware solution. The isolator helmet was a device invented by Hugo Gernsback in 1925 to help people concentrate and eliminate distractions. The helmet was made of wood and felt, and had three pieces of glass that allowed the wearer to see only a narrow slit in front of them. The helmet also blocked out all sounds, and had a tube that supplied oxygen to the wearer. The idea was that by isolating the senses, the wearer could focus better on reading or writing. However, the helmet also had some drawbacks, such as making the wearer drowsy after 15 minutes, and being very bulky and uncomfortable. Gernsback claimed that the helmet was 90-95% efficient in blocking out noise, but he only made 11 helmets and they disappeared by 1926. The isolator helmet was featured in Gernsback’s magazine Science and Invention, and later inspired other simil...
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