In 1962, Swedish TV said viewers could get color TV by putting what over the screen?

In 1962, Swedish TV said viewers could get color TV by putting a nylon stocking over the screen.

Swedish national television presented the five-minute demonstration as an April Fools’ Day special. The segment claimed that the stocking’s fine mesh would somehow filter the black-and-white picture into color. Viewers were told to stretch the material over the television screen and watch the supposed transformation.

The gag worked because color television was still unfamiliar and technically impressive to many households. The joke also imitated the authoritative style of a practical consumer demonstration, making an absurd claim sound briefly plausible. It was not a real method: a nylon stocking cannot add color information that the broadcast signal and television set do not contain.

The prank is often confused with other transparent household materials, such as cellophane or plastic wrap. Those alternatives fit the same visual joke, but the documented Swedish broadcast specifically named a nylon stocking. Color television later became practical through compatible color-broadcast standards and sets, rather than any screen covering.