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[ta0]

An ebay auction just ended for a Wood's Wrestling Gyroscope:



It went much higher than I expected ($381) but there is an interesting story behind it. In the 1910's there was a guy, Prof. Montraville Wood, who toured the country with a science show.  Beside the Ultra-Violet Ray and the Monorail, his other feature demo was the wrestling gyroscope.  It seems he challenged strong men in the audience to wrestle with an enclosed gyro (flywheel) and try to make it lay down 



    

Mark, something like this would be a hit on your shows!

[Jack]

lol that would actually be a hard workout eh 

[the Earl of Whirl]

Wrestling a gyroscope?  We need this next year for Topland!

[czyoyo]

Wrestling a gyroscope?  We need this next year for Topland!

Like!

[Jack]

came across this related all be it modern version lol 

http://www.amazon.com/NSD-Power-Essential-Gyroscopic-Blue/dp/B007GGCLK8

[Neff]

Wasn't there something somewhere recently about wrestling a large disc shaped gyroscope disguised as block of cheese?

[Jack]

Wasn't there something somewhere recently about wrestling a large disc shaped gyroscope disguised as block of cheese?

indeed there was 

[the Earl of Whirl]

Thanks for the office laughs!  We enjoyed the mighty cheese.

Yes, the cheese stands alone.

[ta0]

Great video!

I wish they would have shown the wrestlers lifting the thing as the cheese could have easily ended on top of them.  But this one looks thicker and heavier than Wood's.  Perhaps the newer one was a crude reproduction and the 100 year old one was better made?  On the reproduction they used a solid disc instead of a ring what just added unnecessary weight.

I wonder if Wood copied the idea from the famous P.T. Selbit (Percival Tibbles), or was the other way around (plus the cheese cover). The date of 1912 means that they were doing the trick simultaneously.  I guess Wood is more likely to have come up with the technical idea (he worked on gyros for airplanes) but on the other hand Selbit was more likely to create a show around it. 

Now, this trick only works if the wrestler doesn't know much about gyros.  I could had beaten those professional wrestlers!    Brain is mightier than brawn.  It should not be very difficult to topple if you push in the "right" (or should I say "wrong") direction.  With 45 seconds to wrestle the cheese they probably eventually did the correct thing without realizing it.

[Neff]

Thanks Jack, I knew I had seen that recently but couldn't remember what show it was on.  Nice to know I wasn't just imagining it

[ta0]

came across this related all be it modern version lol 

NSD-Power-Essential-Gyroscopic-Blue

The exercise gyro balls are pretty amazing.  I think the original one was the Dynaflex but the patent has expired and now there are several copycats. It is an ingenious and not obvious idea.  It converts precession into spin, something I don't think we have been able to do with spintops.  I am really surprised how well it works and how much torque it produces.



When poptop visited me, he and Gustin got to try mine.  They said something to the effect that it brought pleasurable memories   

[Jack]

came across this related all be it modern version lol 

NSD-Power-Essential-Gyroscopic-Blue

The exercise gyro balls are pretty amazing.  I think the original one was the Dynaflex but the patent has expired and now there are several copycats. It is an ingenious and not obvious idea.  It converts precession into spin, something I don't think we have been able to do with spintops.  I am really surprised how well it works and how much torque it produces.



When poptop visited me, he and Gustin got to try mine.  They said something to the effect that it brought pleasurable memories   

lol one of these days im gonna think of something u havnt done or have lol u just wait and see!!!! it may take a decade or two but ill find something!!!!!!!! lol. i wonder though why we couldnt put that thing inside of a spintop body and while it wont be spinning in the traditional sense we still would achieved precessional spin regeneration right??? or will that not work for some reason?

[the Earl of Whirl]

A top sitting in the hall of fame has something like that.  You rev it up from the outside and set the whole thing down to watch the inside slowly get the outside going.

[ta0]

A top sitting in the hall of fame has something like that.  You rev it up from the outside and set the whole thing down to watch the inside slowly get the outside going.

I am not aware of any top that works like this thing.  Can you make a video? 
The spin axis of the ball at each instant can point in any direction along the equator of the shell. So if you put the ball inside a top, its spin axis would not be determined until you stop revving it.
. . . Mmm, you just gave me an idea of how it could be done 

lol one of these days im gonna think of something u havnt done or have lol u just wait and see!!!! it may take a decade or two but ill find something!!!!!!!! lol.

I have been thinking about tops for a dozen years . . . 

[ta0]

This is from Scientific American, January 1914 (reproduced on the "50, 100 & 150 Years Ago" section of this month issue):

Gyroscope Lecture in China
The wrestling gyroscope has been one of the very popular features of the Young Men's Christian Association gyroscope lectures in China. It consists of a strong bicycle wheel with the rim loaded with lead pipe.  When spun up to high speed and the outer case closed and set upon its edge, it will stand up with a light list to one side, and it will precess slowly around on a nearly vertical axis. A member of the audience is invited to use a strong staff padded at one end with a solid rubber ball and make the wheel lie down on its side. Unbelievable as it may seem, the strongest man is unable to push it over. This experiment delights the audience.