“We went to see the people at a company called Hatco,” said Pullum. “They own the Stetson and Resistol brands. They’re the biggest hat makers in the world. We went to test the waters and see what they thought. The vice president of that company was just carried away. He said he thought it would be a great seller.”

“Other than that, we went to Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky-tonk. This place is so big it has five saloons, an inside arena, and a big retail store.”

There seemed no better environment in which to unveil his invention than this urban cowboy mecca.

Pullum said the Billy Bob reaction also was positive to The Hat Buddy.

Pullum, married to Tonia Eckhart Pullum, and the father of three daughters, Shelby, 17, Olivia, 14, and Presley, 10, has invented other devices, such as a heated and cooled steering wheel, long-armed car washer, and microwave hot water heater, he has never had them patented.

But he might go all the way with The Hat Buddy.