Tinfoil hat

[[image:Tinfoil hat.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A man keeping his sawdust-filled attic safe with tinfoil.]]{{conspiracynav}}
The  
'''[[Aluminum]] Foil hat'''
 '''tinfoil hat''' is a sort of mocking symbol of [[paranoia]] and [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theory advocacy]], derived by the use by some paranoid [[schizophrenia|schizophrenics]] with [[persecution complex|persecution]] and [[mind control]] [[delusion]]s of metal foil hats to protect them from perceived mind control rays (no, seriously, but do have some sympathy, unless they get into office). Despite the name "tinfoil," the hats are almost universally made from aluminium.

The term came about because of serious suggestions by [[true believer]]s that constructing a simple hat out of [[aluminum]] foil could protect their [[brain]]s from being bombarded with mind control rays or whatever it was they were paranoid about (essentially, it is a very lame interpretation of how a [[Faraday Cage]] works).  The idea was so laughable that it quickly took on a life of its own as a [[Satire|sarcastic]] way of referring to any especially preposterous notion that usually involves a mixture of paranoia with [[pseudoscience]].<ref group=note>Nonetheless, if you're in the ''Salvation War'' 'verse, '''''never, ever''''' remove it, as they protect from the angels and demons' mind control — at least those of professional manufacture.</ref>

In [[China]], there once was a fad for elderly people to do exercise wearing saucepans on their heads,<ref>http://y1.ifengimg.com/dcf9481dc566357e/2013/0808/re_520300aeb95a9.jpg</ref> for similar reasons and promoted by the [[Qigong]] "Center of Nature", a practice movement affiliated with the [[Falun Gong]]. 

==Advanced scientifical forms==
Some claim that copper mesh works better. Personally, we prefer a zinc-manganese alloy in a bilayered hexagonal array.

In 2005, a group of engineering and media students at MIT performed attenuation versus frequency measurements for different tinfoil hat designs, concluding that the hats actually increased the intensity of RF energy at certain frequencies, with the implication that the tinfoil hat fad was [[Irony|actually a government plot to increase the effectiveness of mind control rays]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100708230258/http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/ On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets], MIT</ref> Notably, the specific frequencies amplified exist in the spectrum of the emission band owned by the government! Of course, the government could have blackmailed the MIT students to write that false report to make you take off your tinfoil so they can affect you with mind control rays. Then again, the government could also be blackmailing me to write this so you will keep your tinfoil cap on to better amplify the mind control rays. Answers vary; it all depends on how many layers there are to your personal paranoia.

You should probably take your tinfoil hat off now. Or put it on if you don't have it already. (Wearing the hat only when you want it off and removing it only when you want it on confuses the government mind readers as to your true intentions.) Maybe you should make one of better construction, but then you would have to learn about [[electromagnetic]] waves, but all educational materials may or may not be instruments of government [[deceit]]. But, no! That's what ''they'' want you to do, so you can't hear them sneaking up on you with their silent [[black helicopters]] to carry you to [[Area 51]] and strip you of your valuable bones, and/or [[Dr. Strangelove|precious bodily fluids]].

But wait! Maybe there isn't actually a government conspiracy at all! Maybe that's just what they WANT you to think!

Step by step instructions for making one are available.<ref>[http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ Official Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie] website</ref>

==See also==
*[[TinWiki]]
*[[David Icke]]

Other terms that have taken on a life of their own in the same way, for similar reasons, include:
*[[Snake oil]]
*[[Black helicopters]]
*[[Kool-Aid drinker]]

==External links==
*[http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/tin-foil-hats-actually-make-it-easier-for-the-government-to-track-your-thoughts/262998/ Tin Foil Hats Actually Make it Easier for the Government to Track Your Thoughts] — ''The Atlantic'' ruining the final resort of conspiracy theorists everywhere.
*Michael Menkin's [http://www.stopabductions.com/ Tinfoil hat tutorial] on how to build "thought screen helmets" that stop "space aliens from abducting humans" (apparently not a [[Poe]]). From a satisfied customer: "Since trying Michael Menkin's Helmet, I have not been bothered by alien mind control. Now my thoughts are my own. I have achieved meaningful work and am contributing to society." You see?
*[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2555/do-tinfoil-helmets-provide-adequate-protection-against-mind-control-rays Do tinfoil helmets provide adequate protection against mind control rays?], The Straight Dope
==Notes==
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==References==
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