I Love Interesting Objects

 I love objects that are interesting and strange. I also love impossible objects.
For example, there is a strange object that is made from wire. It seems like it's named "Mystery Spiral" or "Mephisto Spiral." This is a combination of two spiral wires and has a very simple structure. What's interesting is, those two wires look like being extended forever. Of course, it doesn't extend forever, it's very interesting to watch.

One day, my husband, Juno brought it when he went out. According to him, he took out Mystery Spiral when he was on a train in Tokyo and started pulling it. What happened was the passengers in the train couldn't help watching it. Passengers noticed what he was pulling and started staring at it. People usually don't stare at someone because it's rude, but they couldn't help watching it because it was captivating and strange. I love this kind of thing.

I remembered him taking a Mystery Spiral to an event that was held in Tokyo. A friend of ours had a booth for selling his creations there and we were asked to be shop assistants. While we were waiting for customers coming, he took out the Mystery Spiral and started pulling it. As soon as he did it, people started coming and they enjoyed looking.
He explained to people that those wires were invented by NASA using the latest technologies which is totally untrue. However, people knew it was a joke and laughed at hearing it and enjoyed it a lot.

So, he kept playing with it and went on with the NASA joke. It was good entertainment. After a while, a young lady visited the shop. She also listened to his joke that it was invented by NASA. What happened was, surprisingly, she believed it. We didn't think she'd believe the joke. We were going to make her surprised, but actually she made us surprised. She got us.

I had asked a seller who was selling Mystery Spiral who invented it. She said it was invented long ago and nobody knows, therefore it's copyright-free. Whoever invented it, it was a brilliant idea.

I always think that I want to make automata that stimulate people's curious minds and can't stop looking at it, but it's arduous. I wonder if I could think of at least one, it would be so nice.

Automaton - Dancing Koala

I finally finished making my 6th automaton yesterday.

Originally, I was going to make a complicated design automation, but I thought that it seemed difficult to make it. So, I've decided to make it step by step.

Therefore, this automaton is a part of an automaton that I want to make in the end. I have made it for making sure whether those gears work well.
The feature of this automaton is two gears that have only four teeth.

These gears make the other gear that is connected to a rack always rotating the same, which means the gear turns the opposite direction on the way and it makes the rack swing side to side. Even those gears with four teeth rotate the opposite way, but the rack swings the same.

At first, I made a mistake with these gears that have four teeth. After I tried to rotate them, I noticed that I had to cut two teeth at each end of these gears a little otherwise the gears mesh with each other and get stuck.

I thought it did not look good with only gears, so I have made a koala doll on the rack.

The koala legs are connected to the rack and his legs, arms and head can move a little bit like he's dancing.
I had just added the koala for fun without thinking too much, but it was a bit difficult to attach him to the rack and a back board. Thinking about the movement of the koala, I should have used a steel washer between the back board and the koala. If I had used steel washers, the koala could have taken a more brilliant step, I guess.

It was disappointing that I could not hit on using steel washers, but it was a good try that I could make sure this mechanism works.

My next target is an automaton that I really wanted to make, but I know it is arduous. It is an automaton with a pendulum. I hope I am able to show you pictures or videos of my next automaton someday.