Before cable TV, if you wanted to watch television, buying a TV receiver was not enough. You also needed to buy an aerial antenna, install it on your roof, and wire the antenna from the roof to the TV inside the house. It was a hassle.
When I was a child I saw the following scene quite a few times: A street seller was demonstrating a small, nifty antenna that would easily attach directly to any TV receiver. With this gadget you could save a lot of money and get rid of the inconvenience of installing a proper TV antenna on your roof. The salesman would prop it on any old TV, ...
