Advertisement from Monsanto Plastics for a radiosonde. Pictured in the ad is a device attached to a parachute descending from the sky as a farmer looks on. The radiosonde is coined as a "robot weatherman" with the tagline "Here it comes from 12 miles up...The robot weatherman of all free men!"

Radiosondes emerged as a key tool for meteorology and weather forecasting beginning in the later 1930s. The instrument consisted of automatic reporting hygrometers, thermometer, and barometer attached to a small radio transmitter. The instrument measured air temperature, pressure and humidity as it ascended while attached to a hydrogen-filled weather balloon. When the balloon burst due to low pressure, the instrument returned to earth under a parachute. Durable and lightweight plastic cases protected these instruments, which could be reused by organizations like the United States Weather Bureau.