#sing-o-ring

[hagleyvault]

On this day in 1920, 8MK (now WWJ), arguably the nation’s first commercial radio station, began airing a test run of daily broadcasts out of Detroit News’s headquarters at the corner of Lafayette and 2nd Avenues.

We’re observing the date with this 1972 advertisement for National Panasonic’s "Sing-O-Ring" radio, which was also marketed under the brand name "Toot-a-Loop". These novelty radios were made by Panasonic’s division in Japan and featured a twistable center pivot and an advertising jingle that declared "It's an S it's an O it's a crazy radio! Toot a loop!".

This advertisement is from Hagley Library’s John Okolowicz collection of publications and advertising on radio and consumer electronics (Accession 2014.277). To view more material from this collection, click here to visit it in our Digital Archive.