We took this photo in San Francisco a long time ago. Silver Man wore clothing flecked with aluminum. Now we wish he could come to world headquarters of Watchdog Nation and stand and hold the antenna on the one remaining analog TV in our office suite that doesn’t pick up good reception after the analog-to-digital debacle.

All the words we read and wrote ourselves in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the digital TV debacle never took into account one little cure for some of  the upcoming TV problems.

Aluminum foil.

Why spend $50 for a more powerful digital TV antenna to add to the already stupid little black box that converts the signals when you can wrap some aluminum foil around the top of your old antenna, rescan the converter box and say a little prayer?

As we first reported in the Star-Telegram, we were so close to spending $50 at Radio Shack for a new antenna. But the Shack was out of product because everyone else  was spending the $50.

Then we heard about the aluminum foil trick.

We grabbed a sheet, wrapped it around the antenna ears, and voila! The two remaining major network channels we weren’t  receiving suddenly reappeared.

Remember: aluminum foil.

The government never told you about it because it is embarrassed.

As well it should be.

It’s the 1950s all over again.

Postscript: The aluminum foil still works, but the TV just broke.