A report at <http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/> contains
research suggesting that tin-foil hats (more properly Aluminum Foil)
are not effective, and suggests a government conspiracy behind this.
However, there is a rebuttal at <http://zapatopi.net/blog/?
post=200511112730.afdb_effectiveness> that calls much of this into
question, citing MIT's long ties to the US military.