From The Archives

The ultimate invention for telling your coworkers to screw themselves

by Cyrique Lamar

Science fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback wasn't simply the founder of Amazing Stories, the first scifi periodical — he was also a prolific inventor and futurist who regaled past generations with zany visions of Dalek-like killing machines and computer-mandated marriage examinations.

And Gernsback's greatest contribution to office culture was "The Isolator," a sound-proof helmet that was so airtight it required its own oxygen tank. Imagine the nonstop comedy if these were implemented widespread today.

Gernsback revealed this device in the July 1925 issue of Science and Invention magazine, which included a photo of the inventor himself demonstrating its productivity-boosting qualities.

I absolutely love how superfluous the fan and telephone are in the context of this illustration.

Never mind the fact that this semi-phallic helmet looks excruciatingly hot, rivals the Mickey Mouse gas mask in terms of creepiness, or that one runs the risk of asphyxiating during a moment of gasp-inducing brilliance. The Isolator was the true face of diligence.