In May 1842, thunderstorms broke out during military exercise manoeuvres near the Prussian city of Koninsberg resulted in scores of troops being injured or killed by lightning.

King Frederick William IV of Prussia was so shocked by what had happened that he ordered the Prussian Military Academy in Berlin to investigate how such a tragedy could be avoided in future.

In October of 1842, the Academy reported to the King that lightning conductors were the best and obvious solution but that they should be portable and therefore it was concluded that they should be fixed to the helmets of the soldiers.

In 1877, the great German Chancellor Bismarck himself in an address to the Prussian Military Academy

"...one of the proudest Prussian military achievements was the development of the portable lightning conductor for the fighting soldier on the battlefield..."

And so that is how the German helmet (pickelhaube) got its spike.