mightaswell: January 2008

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Bodonil !

This post is only for those who don't need any explanation!
For the uninitiated, here are two clues: this & this

Indian version of Hoberman's Switch Kick!

We had gone to a local exhibition of "Ghar Sansar". They have all cheap stuff for your home from dustbins to cutlery. Locally made - mostly copied products from big Brands. At one counter i got a very interesting toy ! I saw it from a distance and i knew what it was! It was a Toy Designed by Chuck Hoberman- the inventor of Hoberman's Sphere- another great toy which i'm wanting since i knew about it! This toy is called "Switch Kick". As you can see, it looks like a ball with cuts in between. Actually, its a brilliant assembly of structural links with a tetrahedron like basic geometry. This is fine till this point. But when you throw it up in the air, it twists and the inside links comes on the outside and vise versa! It dose an amazing " inside- out" ! The images will explain the mechanism. Guess the cost ! > 40 Rupees !! :-)
Well, there are slight differences between this one and the original one! Probably made to reduce cost while copying !
Few more links with animation of the toy here.
In an earlier post i've given a link to a nice video of a bigger Hoberman's Sphere in working.