Aluhut

An 'Aluhut' (tinfoil hat) is literally a hat made of aluminium foil supposedly shielding the brain from radiation or mind control. The image goes back to Julian Huxley's science-fiction story 'The Tissue-Culture King' (1927), in which metal foil blocks telepathic effects. In German, 'Aluhut' is a common mocking label for conspiracy theorists; the Leibniz Institute for the German Language added the word to its list of 2010s neologisms in 2020. It is also used self-ironically or worn at demonstrations as a symbol of distrust toward the state and the media.