Little wooden thing with a belt over it that balances on the end of your finger

[bobg]

Very inadequate description I know... I was playing with my grandson today and recalled a "craze" when I was a kid where somebody's Dad made a load of these little things, which where a belt was draped across a V cut in an odd shaped piece of wooded it looked as if it defied gravity and would balance at 45 degrees over the edge of things, I promised to make him one but found nothing when Googling, does anybody remember them or am I hallucinating again???

 

[biggs682]

bobg sorry not a thing in my memory banks

 

[MrJamie]

Are you talking about one of these? http://www.toysfromtimespast.com/toys/sky2.htm with some explanation here http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/science/sky_hook.html

Apparently called a Skyhook or Devil's Hook. Never seen or heard of it before though, I'm just a ninja with google

 

[simon.r]

This it? http://www.beamazing.com/Admin/Editor/assets/Product Instructions/4440-Newtons Antics.pdf (Bottom right of first page)

 

[rikki]

My grandfather used to balance a small claw hammer and his folding carpenter's ruler off the edge of the table using this principle.

 

[HovR]

From the description I was thinking of this balancing eagle. Similar concept, but it looks like MrJamie has found exactly what you described.

 

[Fnaar]

Ooh, can someone make me a big one for hanging my bikes on? Thank you, in anticipation (I'm thinking Night Train here...)

 

[Over The Hill]

Hours of fun balancing something on your finger. They dont know they are born now with all their nintendo stuff.

 

[Arch]

Ooh, can someone make me a big one for hanging my bikes on? Thank you, in anticipation (I'm thinking Night Train here...)

Interesting thought! Presumably as long as everything was scaled up, it would work, or would there come a point where it wouldn't?

 

[Night Train]

Interesting thought! Presumably as long as everything was scaled up, it would work, or would there come a point where it wouldn't?

It just requires finding the centre of gravity on a bike.


Reminds me of an anecdote from heavy haulage in the '50s.
A haulier was picking up a part dismantled crawler crane and instead of using a low loader had collected it on a conventional height trailer.
When asked about the centre of gravity he replied: 'I'll pick it up tomorrow when I come for the bucket and boom!'.

 

[bobg]

This it? http://www.beamazing.com/Admin/Editor/assets/Product Instructions/4440-Newtons Antics.pdf (Bottom right of first page)

Thanks to everyone, especially simon r who found the very thing Off to make a huge one to test Archs' principle.
As you say OTH, them wus simple times. When I got fed up with scraping hot tar from the sides of the road with a lolly stick or playing knock down ginger, or mithering the Cat, I 'd spend hours marvelling at a little bit of wood. It's made the boring old git I am today...

 

[Arch]

Thanks to everyone, especially simon r who found the very thing Off to make a huge one to test Archs' principle.
As you say OTH, them wus simple times. When I got fed up with scraping hot tar from the sides of the road with a lolly stick or playing knock down ginger, or mithering the Cat, I 'd spend hours marvelling at a little bit of wood. It's made the boring old git I am today...

Yebbut, it stands you in good stead. As it happens, I'm online on the train this time, but sometimes I can amuse myself for the whole journey just looking out of the window. It's a skill, being able to amuse yourself with simple stuff.

 

[simon.r]

Thanks to everyone, especially simon r who found the very thing Off to make a huge one to test Archs' principle.
As you say OTH, them wus simple times. When I got fed up with scraping hot tar from the sides of the road with a lolly stick or playing knock down ginger, or mithering the Cat, I 'd spend hours marvelling at a little bit of wood. It's made the boring old git I am today...

Google is your friend.

If you highlight your thread title, right click it, then click "Search Google for..." the link I posted is the second result that comes up

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Yebbut, it stands you in good stead. As it happens, I'm online on the train this time, but sometimes I can amuse myself for the whole journey just looking out of the window. It's a skill, being able to amuse yourself with simple stuff.

Simple stuff is the best. That's why kids play with the box and not the plastic robot (or whatever) that came inside. Actually - simple stuff often isn't once you start to think about it.

 

[Arch]

Simple stuff is the best. That's why kids play with the box and not the plastic robot (or whatever) that came inside. Actually - simple stuff often isn't once you start to think about it.

Brio (and similar style) train track is a good example. Both my nephews started out happy to push a single loco back and forth on a single section of track. And while their collection has grown and grown, and they do have some complex bridges and stuff, at the end of the day, they will push a train round and round a simple circle, if that's all they have.