Toy Monkey on a Spring

During the 1960s and 70s, there was a simple, cheap and popular toy esp. sold at Mysore's famous Dasara Exhibition [annual event, on which I have made a separate blogpost - Click on this: http://bit.ly/VSraaI ].  The components of this toy, created by some unknown ingenious person somewhere, were merely a bicycle spoke, probably a ball pen spring and a little plastic monkey which was molded for that.  A few sand grains inside it would produce a rattling sound, just for effect.

Likelihood of anyone saving even one 'original' sample from those times is nil.  So I thought of manufacturing one now, about 40 years after, just for 'old times sake'.  I could get the spring and a bicycle spoke and substituted something else to do the 'monkey role'. I found out during trial and error that there is a fine balance necessary between the tension of the spring and the weight of the 'dancing monkey'.   I had to try different springs from my 'junk pen box' and using some clay to get the right weight!  

You must imagine the monkey to be holding the spring and to visualize its tail curved like a 'U" behind it...it would be funny.  Sorry I could not make it when the images were captured.

My happiness jumped like a monkey when my new toy worked like 'old times'!!  I had to make a video for the present generation.  Watch this:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tBqcQ_2D73s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Now I preserve this in my 'shoe box'!  

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This is the real monkey - just imagine this scene.  A shot I took of my favourite animal near the foothills of Chamundi Hills.