Instant colour television, 1962

Swedish broadcasters took advantage of the many mysteries abounding around the relatively new technology of television in the early Sixties. On April 1, Kjell Stensson, the technical expert of Sweden's only channel, Sveriges Television, told viewers that they could convert their black-and-white set into a colour one by simply pulling a nylon stocking over the screen.

When Stensson demonstrated the technique, thousands were convinced to try the same. In reality, they would have to wait a further eight years for colour broadcasts to begin - on April 1, 1970.