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[Neff]

Red (Rafael Matsunaga) and Steve Brown post over on yoyoing.com:

http://books.google.com/books?id=uUkEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[ta0]

That's a wonderful article. We had discussed it two years ago on the topspinning.com board. It is amazing that such an article would occupy  several pages of Life, together with the news about the occupation of Japan. The information it has is invaluable.



By the way the bibliography ("papyrus") section is one of the more completes on ta0.com 

[SpinQueen]

Yapping, Jerking and One Handed Winding!!!!!  Oh, the memories    I'm happy to say that I finally picked up a decent copy of that Life Mag. issue.  I really gotta see that one handed winding in action.  Do you think it's a One handed elevator/Wire walker trick?

[ta0]

When I first read the article it sounded to me like a "self winding" trick. I have dreamed of that trick from the time I saw the clip "top like a yo-yo" from Herman Lau (link). Over the years I have tried to achieve a self-winding in the middle of a routine, without success. It would be super-cool if achieved. I plan to give it a serious try this next year. Perhaps playing with the P213 will give me some insight. It seems difficult, but who knows. The foot start was another pie-in-the-sky dream until Gerardo's video proved it was possible. Now I can do it without much trouble.

[Ketzaltlipoka]

To me, when I finished to read this article, it`s amazing that phrase, that tittle, that a child`s play had become into a sport. I remember that I kept, some trompos of Premier, with the package, that it says "Practica este deporte". In the article too says that they were able to keep the top spinning long periods of time. This can be a prove that in those far years, at least, it existed one way to regenerate. The seed was in the ground.
We must recognize that their apportation was huge.
Thanks to all men that appear in the magazine, those spintop players, by have set the basis of the actual age of top.
At least, myself I believe that their legacy has arrived to many players in whole world.
Thanks a lot to them.

[gunhawk7]

>>That's a wonderful article. We had discussed it two years ago on the topspinning.com board. It is amazing that such an article would occupy  several pages of Life, together with the news about the occupation of Japan. The information it has is invaluable.<<

Life was a great magazine.  For important historical information, to see the way that people actually lived and to observe the changes in our culture, Life Magazine is an invaluable tool.  I've picked up several copies over the years and it's really great to see and read about Americans doing day to day things that we will never read about in history books.  The ads alone are a treasure trove of cultural information.

Ed

[SpinQueen]

Life and National Geographic!  My favorite add was from a 1963 NG I believe, it had this totally cool boat/car.   I think it was this Amphicar that I found through google.  How cool is this?  I'd sell my left leg for one of these.....not my arms, I need those to spin tops   Hope the car is an automatic

Here she is in all her glory:   http://www.amphicar.com/vintage.htm

In the new Indiana Jones movie they had a car something like this but it was Army green.  The heroine was driving it near a cliff with water below and I kept waiting for her to just drive it off the cliff into the water to get away, but for some reason they kept it on the
road...BORING....Come on movie makers, do it right next time

Hey, look what I found....a brand new model:  http://store.soliscompany.com/aqcartotedro.html

Anyone have an extra $250,000 + lying around?

[the Earl of Whirl]

There were a few of these car/boats in my hometown when I was growing up.  They were quite the talk of the town.  They had their own unique look going down the road and in the water they weren't able to go very fast.  They would just cruise along hoping no other boats got near them and caused a big wave to go over the side of the vehicle.

I love the pictures but my favorite is the next to the last one on that first link.  Those hats are something else!  Do you have any of those in your wardrobe, SpinQueen?

[ta0]

Did you notice that the Aquada has the driver in a center seat with a passenger to each side? I wonder if there was a good reason for this. Perhaps because of the seafaring shape of the frame? To accommodate the transmission and the propulsion? So it could be sold on right-side and left-side driving countries without modification? Or perhaps because of what the developer says: " . . . you can go to St. Tropez with and take two girlfriends" 

Mmm, what does this have to do with tops?

[SpinQueen]

Umm, the propellers spin and so does my head every time I lust over it....especially the original!

[gunhawk7]

The German Army had a car like that during WW II.  It was called a Schwimmwagen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwimmwagen

Speaking of odd articles in Life Magazine, I recall an article about women drawing a line down the back of their legs to simulate a nylon stocking seam because of the lack of real nylons during WW II.  Really, you can't beat the magazine for forgotten American culture.  You'll never see stuff like that in a history book.

Ed

[the Earl of Whirl]

Out of the blue, I received an amazing package in the mail.  It was this 1945 Life magazine with the fantastic article about spin top activities in that era!!!  Thanks so much, Dick Stohr!!!  It will sit well in a prized position out in the hall of fame.

[ta0]

Great gift to the Hall of Fame.
I don't think ever again spintops will monopolize the sports section of a major publication:

[Ketzaltlipoka]

I hope some days to have some photocopies of the pages