"SteveB" wrote in message
...
It looked like a space ship rocket.

Yep, it was a Rocket Radio. Like these:
http://www.crystalradio.net/misc/rocket/index.shtml I had one as a kid, and now
have a reproduction that I bought at Restoration Hardware.

I remember listening to mine in class before the teachers even thought of
banning radios in the classroom. I used the steam radiator and the window
screen as antenna & ground.

After that, a few of the rich (and cool) kids had lunchbox-sized portable AM
radios. They used tubes, with A and B batteries. Most had a power cord tucked
away inside so they could be plugged in to save the batteries. Being able to
score your own radio for Christmas was a big deal, but being able to afford the
batteries to play it was an even bigger deal!

Transistor radios came later.

Vaughn