Egg of Columbus (mechanical puzzle)
Encyclopedia
The names Egg of Columbus and Columbus Egg have been used for several mechanical toy
s and puzzle
s inspired on the legend of Columbus balancing an egg on its end
to drive a point. Typically, these puzzles are egg
-shaped objects with internal mechanisms that make the egg stand up, once the users discovers the secret.
Mechanisms typically used in such toys include moving weights, mercury
flowing in sealed tubes or compartments, and steel balls rolling on grooves and pits.
catalog of 1894 includes a "Columbus Egg" toy .
There are at least 18 United States
patent
s for such devices, starting from 1891 .
The German
company Pussycat (toy manufacturer) sells a Columbus Egg that can be balanced by holding it upright for 25 seconds, then quickly inverting it. The egg will then stand on its pointed end for 15 seconds, then topple on its side .
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s and puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s inspired on the legend of Columbus balancing an egg on its end
Egg of Columbus
An egg of Columbus or Columbus's egg refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to a popular story of how Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was no great accomplishment, challenged his critics to make an...
to drive a point. Typically, these puzzles are egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
-shaped objects with internal mechanisms that make the egg stand up, once the users discovers the secret.
Mechanisms typically used in such toys include moving weights, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
flowing in sealed tubes or compartments, and steel balls rolling on grooves and pits.
History
A Columbus Egg puzzle using a rolling ball was described in a 1893 book . The Montgomery WardMontgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
catalog of 1894 includes a "Columbus Egg" toy .
There are at least 18 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s for such devices, starting from 1891 .
The German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company Pussycat (toy manufacturer) sells a Columbus Egg that can be balanced by holding it upright for 25 seconds, then quickly inverting it. The egg will then stand on its pointed end for 15 seconds, then topple on its side .
See also
- Egg of Columbus (tangram puzzle)Egg of Columbus (tangram puzzle)The Egg of Columbus is a puzzle consisting of a flat egg-like shape divided into 9 pieces by straight cuts. The goal of the puzzle is to rearrange the pieces so as to form other specific shapes, as in a tangram....
- Egg of Li ChunEgg of Li ChunThe terms Li Chun egg balancing or egg of Li Chun refers to a Chinese folk belief that it is much easier to balance an egg on a smooth surface during Li Chun , than at any other time of the year...
- SupereggSupereggIn geometry, a superegg is a solid of revolution obtained by rotating an elongated super-ellipse with exponent greater than 2 around its longest axis. It is a special case of super-ellipsoid....
- Tesla's Egg of ColumbusTesla's Egg of ColumbusNikola Tesla, at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, demonstrated a device he constructed known as the "Egg of Columbus." It was used to demonstrate and explain the principles of the rotating magnetic field model and the induction motor. Tesla's Egg of Columbus performed the feat of Columbus...