The Isolator was a helmet created by Hugo Gernsback in 1925 to reduce distractions.[1][2]
The Isolator was first introduced in the July 1925 edition of the American Physical Society magazine, with which Gernsback was affiliated.[1][3] The helmet was first created using wood and felt.[4] The mouth of the helmet had a baffle for breathing and had three pieces of glass so that users could see outside.[5] It was deemed successful, but Gernsback had estimated that it was only "75%" efficient and said it did not keep out all sounds.[6] Gernsback re-designed the device without wood and cut white lines into the glass so users could see out of the helmet. Gernsback said that the new design was 90-95% efficient and kept out almost all sounds.[6][7] However, Gernsback also noted that the helmet could only be worn for about 15 minutes at a time as the user would become drowsy.[8][9] Gernsback then added an oxygen tank to assist the user with breathing while wearing the helmet.[6][10]
Gernsback later patented "The Isolator".[3] While he had deemed the item to be a "great investment", the item had disappeared by 1926 after only eleven helmets were created.[11]
The Isolator later inspired the Helmfon, another noise-blocking helmet.[12]
