what is a cone of silence anyway?

why not a prism, sphere, cylinder, or pyramid? :dunce:

O8)

:shrug:

is a reference to "Get Smart", the old tv series. Maybe it made an appearance in the movie as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_of_silence
The Cone of Silence is one of many recurring joke devices from Get Smart, an American comedy television series of the 1960s.

Invented by "Professor Cone", the device is designed to protect the most secret of conversations (aka "C.O.S. security risks") by enshrouding its users within a transparent sound-proof shield. Unfortunately, Control had purchased the device from a "discount place" rather than the federal government, so it has never worked properly. Naturally, this frustrating situation provides fuel for comedy.

"The term is originally from a 1930's airplane instrument navigation system, the AN (or "four-course") range; flying along the range and listening to the signal, the pilot knew he was over the transmitter and therefore at the only uniquely knowable point when the sound died. This region over the transmitter was known as the "cone of silence." This inverted instrument, signalling as it did the desired point by loss of sound, may have been Brooks' inspiration for the comic effect.

The term was later used in radar technology. As the radar beam projects outward, a volume in the shape of an inverted cone is created above the radar station where objects cannot be detected by the radar operator. This is known as the cone of silence."

I was surprised to see that it wasn't just a concept from Get Smart.

I'd love to see a montage of all of the malfunctions...

dodecahedron -- a 12 sided shape. :D

The 3-D shape.

And I imagine it was meant as a joke

Do they not rerun Get Smart any more?

TBS was one of the few mainland cable channels we had. After school it was either TBS or soap operas.

Note the velveteen jacket and knickers. He had a privileged upbringing, after all.