Although popularized by "Get Smart", the term "Cone of Silence" actually originated on the syndicated TV show "Science Fiction Theatre", in an episode titled "Barrier of Silence" written by Lou Huston and first airing September 3, 1955. The story focuses on finding a cure for Professor Richard Sheldon, who had been returned to the United States in a confused, altered state of mind after abduction by enemy agents while visiting Milan. Scientists discover that placing Sheldon in an environment of total silence had been the means of brainwashing, a precursor to later ideas of sensory deprivation, celebrated in such films as "Altered States" and sundry spy thrillers. Sheldon is placed on a chair in the "Cone of Silence", which consists of a raised circular platform suspended by three wires tied to a common vertex. Although the cone's surface is open, noise canceling sound generators located just below the vertex shroud anyone sitting inside in a complete silence impossible in natural surroundings. It is also demonstrated that anyone speaking inside the cone could not be heard outside, which was the feature later parodied in "Get Smart". Only a speculative, "science fiction" possibility at that time, such technology is now commonplace in active noise canceling electronics for personal and industrial use.