Back during the 1930s, many radio listeners in the United States would stay up at night to listen to special programs from distant mediumwave stations throughout the continent. These dedicated listeners were dubbed Night Owls, and some stations broadcast special programs for these Night Owls and the radio stations had a specific card printed for use as an acknowledgment card for distant night time reception reports. Though not specifically a QSL card, yet the Night Owl card was accepted as such.
Back in March 1930, Hadley Wilcox,
who lived in Los Angeles, heard a Night Owl program from station KGIR in Butte
Montana, with 500 watts on 1360 kHz. His
Night Owl Acknowledgment Card is almost the smallest QSL card in the world,
measuring just 3½ inches
by 2¼ inches.