running-on-empty hat

At the age of 29 I still harbour a grudge against the teacher who taught me tripple French on Friday afternoons. The reason is simple - he forced me to continue trying to learn a new language at a time when my brain had given up the fight.

No matter how much he shouted, bullied, or encouraged me, my grey matter was simply incapable of taking in more information come the end of a long academic week. Frankly it was a waste of his time and mine.

How easily this situation could be resolved if I owned a hat which changed colour to indicate that the wearer's brain has temporarily given up the ghost. Maybe a traditional colour scheme; green = eager to learn, red = away with the fairies.

The "running-on-empty hat" could work with a series of brain monitoring electrodes woven into a jaunty bobble hat, some kind of heat monitor, alpha wave sensors, telepathy, or plain magic.

Using a running-on-empty peaked cap would allow for self diagnosis by glancing upward.

There are obvious applications for call centre workers, bus drivers, computer analysts, pilots, etc.