Frosty, You at least should get a kick out of this. Normally I don't indulge in trips down memory lane, but this is pretty interesting. How far back would you expect to find the first auto-darkening welding hood? How about World War Two? Mikey http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT2423320&id=rK1TAAAAEBAJ&pg=PP1#PPP1,M1