Ed Sobey - The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sobey, Edwin J. C., 1948

The way toys work : the science behind the magic 8 ball, etch a sketch, boomerang, and more / Ed Sobey and Woody Sobey.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-55652-745-6

1. Mechanical toysHistory. 2. Toy making. I. Sobey, Woody. II. Title.

TS2301.T7S63 2008

688.728dc22

2008001303

Cover and interior design: Scott Rattray

Cover photos: iStock.com

2008 by Ed Sobey and Ted Woodall Sobey

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-55652-745-6

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To everyone who plays with toys and wonders how they work

B ob Guildig and the staff of Eastside Trains, Inc., in Kirkland, Washington, introduced us to the new era of high-tech electric trains. Were still running the American Flyer train Eds father bought for him when he was born. Bob demonstrated integrated circuit remote-controlled trains that smoke when you press a button. Thanks, Bob.

Carl Kadie, who has helped with several of our books, loaned us his collection of Hula Hoops. Dominique Avery provided her expertise to demonstrate how to keep the hoops going. Joshua Wickerham took the photo of the Furby.

Matt Pierce and Don Uchiyama coached us on electronics issues. Bill Hones at Fascinations gave us the background on the AstroBlaster. Andrew Kamondy at Spin Master sent us the information on the invention of Air Hogs and a Liberatorwow, what fun that is!

Scott Eberle, Vice President for Interpretation at the Strong National Museum of Play, home of the National Toy Hall of Fame (which was founded by Ed Sobey) wrote several pieces that appear in the book. Rollie Adams, Director of the Strong Museum and National Toy Hall of Fame, wrote a piece as well. Rollie also supplied the photos of die-cast toys. Thank you, Rollie and Scott.

Thank you all.

Some toys command interest and inspire wonder. They do the unexpected or the seemingly impossible. They make us think about how they work and how they relate to the scientific concepts weve learned. Theyre just neat.

Fling an Aerobie and watch it fly, and fly and fly some more. Experience tells us we shouldnt be able to fling something so far with so little effort. Launch a boomerang with a hefty throw and it returns. Thats crazy; things we throw dont come back. Draw a picture on an Etch A Sketch and erase it with the flip of a wrist so its ready for the next creative idea. Pull a toy car back eight inches and watch it zoom 20 feet across the kitchen floor. What convoluted laws of physics allow for such seemingly magical experiences?

The magic of toys is not shrouded in secrets, but is there for us to see. Take screwdriver in hand and open toys up to enjoy the magic in a new way. While the toys themselves inspire awe, seeing how theyre made lets us admire the engineers creativity and problem-solving abilities. As awesome as the toys are to play with, they are even more awesome to understand.

Toys of technological wonder provide a common ground for learning and fun. This is the type of learning that comes from experiments, discovery, and experiencelearning that allows us to apply what we already know to help us understand what we see but cant fathom. This is authentic learning that can be applied to the world around us, and that can inspire more discovery and learning. The Way Toys Work is your launching pad for exploring awesome toys and discovering how they work.

I think we should teach them wonders.... The purpose of knowledge is to appreciate wonders even more.

Richard Feynman, physicist (19181988)

Reverse engineering is the process of taking stuff apart to see how it works. Governments and corporations do it all the time to reveal the technologies their competitors have invented. In the same way, you can reverse engineer toys to figure out how they do the awesome things they do. But before you start, let us give you some guidelines to follow.

Youll need some tools. A good Phillips screwdriver is essential. You might want to have several of varying sizes. Amazingly, the Phillips screwdriver on a Swiss Army knife fits more screws than any other screwdriver weve found. A set of jewelers screwdrivers will let you open up many small devices. Youll want a few flat head screwdrivers, too. These few tools will open up many of the toys. However, other toys will require a hacksaw and needle-nose pliers. For toys encased in plastic, we use a rotary cutting machine.

Youll need stuff to take apart. Thrift stores and garage sales provide a steady source of stuffand usually the price is right. Let your neighbors or friends know youre looking for formerly working toys, and theyll turn up some gems. In this throwaway culture we live in, there is always a supply of yesterdays technology and toys.

Youll need to take safety precautions. Wear protective glasses or goggles whenever youre taking stuff apart. Parts can fly out when you least expect them to, so always protect your eyes. Resist the temptation to wrestle with a toy that refuses to open up. Rather than getting physical with the inanimate object, outfox it. Look to see what is holding the pieces together; find that last screw you overlooked. Sometimes manufacturers place screws under labels or otherwise out of sight.

If you decide to force a toy apart, be mindful of what is downstream of the screwdriver. Anything thats in the line of fire, or downstream, of your screwdriveryour hand, a nice table, your friends facewill become its unintended target when you slip. Aim your force toward a deserted volume of space.

If youre taking apart a toy that plugs into an electrical outlet, cut off its electric plug before you begin your work. Then bend the plugs prongs outward (so that no one can plug it in) and throw it away. We didnt always do thisuntil the day a fourth grader in one of our programs inserted a discarded plug into a wall outlet. The resulting explosion left him shaken but unharmed, and the electrical outlet destroyed. Now we always bend the prongs outward so they cant be inserted into an outlet.

Youll need to sharpen your sense of awe. Awe sharpening is harder than awl sharpening, because youll never get it sharp enough. In our haste to get the important stuff done, we too often overlook the stuff that makes life fun. We tell students that the number one rule of science is that when you find something interesting, stop and focus on it. So our plea, as much to ourselves as to you, is to never let the awe get dull. Be on the lookout for those things that might prompt you to think, Wow, thats neat. I wonder how that works. Then go find out.

Isnt the Internet great? You can find out so much information while sitting in your pajamas at your computer. For instance, if you can find a patent number on a toy, you can see a copy of the patent online. It used to be an expensive task to find patents. Now there are several services that can retrieve them. We prefer www.google.com/patents. A patent describes, sometimes in painful detail, how the toy or other gizmo works. It contains drawings showing the parts, and it lists who filed the patent and when it was filed and granted. If you have a favorite toy, you might find it fun and informative to look for the patent number and go on a search.