Wind-up toy

Wind-up toy

A wind-up toy is any toy that is powered by a spring that is tightened by turning it. After release, the spring tries to get in its original, untightened position, and makes the small toy go as well. [http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:zCaydYvRE2oJ:accelerateu.org/assessments/ELA6/WindupToys.doc+How+do+Wind+up+toys+work&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Windup Toys and Automatons] ]

Usage

Wind-up toys are used as a simple, yet useful way to make a toy move with just a simple form of powering it. Most wind-up toys are made of plastic and are sold by a variety of companies, but the leader in making wind-ups is [http://www.zwindups.com Z Wind Ups by California Creations] who also manufactures the original [http://www.tomy.com Tomy] wind-up toys.

History

Wind-up toys date far back into history, into the fifteenth century. Karel Grod, a German inventor, created some of the first wind-up toys, including a metal fly and a mechanical eagle. Also, in 1509, Leonardo da Vinci created a wind-up lion as a greeting for Louis XII in Italy. Wind-up toys were at first for only royalty, and were much more elaborate, with a very complex system of gears and springs. René Descartes also created a life-sized wind-up human girl to prove a theory that all animals were very complex machines. However, as legend goes, the mechanical girl was thrown overboard after a man was frightened by it.

After the much larger, elaborate wind-up machine art declined in interest, wind-up toys were created very cheaply and in very large numbers by the 1800s. Wind-up machines then became known as wind-up toys, and were designed in all different forms to move around.

References


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