Old Familiar Memories - Photo 181

Toy Top

The Twirler progressed by elongating its stem. Motion however, was limited to the amount of spin that could be generated by twisting the fingers. Improvements were made by wrapping a string or rope around the stem, pulling and unwinding it off of the stem, thus causing increased spin. The problem with this method was in holding the top upright while pulling the cord. Handles or brackets were designed to hold the top upright with one hand while being able to pull the cord with the other. The handle was then lifted off of the top once it was spinning. Early cultures used wood or a shell with a hole in it as the handle device.