Under the right conditions, aluminum foil can act as a shield, reflecting or absorbing RFID waves. However, its effectiveness depends on a number of factors.
In Julian Huxley’s 1927 short story «The Tissue-Culture King», a scientist becomes lost in the jungle and is captured by a tribe. He soon discovers that the tribal leader has developed a way to control people through telepathy, and to protect himself, he puts on a «cap of metal foil.»
Huxley’s short story is likely the earliest known example of the idea that aluminum foil could block invisible forces. This notion has survived for nearly a century, and we now have drivers wrapping their car keys in foil in hopes of preventing thieves from wirelessly accessing the key fob’s signal.
