I walk by a front yard with colorful pinwheels decorating the landscape. They are old-fashioned toys you don’t see much any more. I do remember having red, white and blue ones to celebrate the Fourth of July. I suppose the way we see them today is in the form of kinetic sculpture. These wonderful pieces of art use the same scientific principles to make the parts move that the inventor of the pinwheel/whirligig used.
According to Patrice Lesco’s article “The History of Pinwheels” at eHow.com, the pinwheel is a type of whirligig. The primary requirement for a whirligig is at least one part of the object spins due to the power of wind, friction, hand movement or a motor. Attached to a stick, the blades of the pinwheel fold inward, cupping the wind and causing the blades to spin rapidly almost as soon as the wind hits them. The pinwheel has a long history that spans the globe.
According to the May 15, 2014 article “Strong Wind Science: The Power of a Pinwheel” in the Scientific American, most pinwheels have the blades arranged so that when wind blows straight at them, they spin counterclockwise. This is because the blades' "cups" are made so that the oncoming air is captured and pushes the blades in this direction. When wind is blown into the cups, the pinwheel spins well. Consequently, if you are using a typical pinwheel, turn it so that the front side is facing your right and blow into the side of the blades. The blades will spin quickly counterclockwise if you blow on the bottom half into the cups, but will spin slowly clockwise if you blow on the top half against the backs of the cups. Similarly, if the pinwheel's front side is facing your left, and you blow into the side of the blades, they will spin quickly counterclockwise if you blow on the top half into the cups, but will spin slowly clockwise if you blow on the bottom half against the cups' backs. If the pinwheel were a wind turbine — and spinning counterclockwise turned wind energy into electrical energy — then it would most efficiently produce electricity when wind blows directly into the cups.
Origins
According to Patrice Lesco’s article “The History of Pinwheels” at eHow.com, the first inventor of the whirligig, or pinwheel, is not known. However, history does indicate wind-driven whirligigs existed in China in 400 B..C and in the Sasanian Empire by 700 A.D., with the use of windmills. Weather vanes — closely related to pinwheels — were first used between 1600 and 1800 B.C. in Sumeria. By the 15th century whirligigs were shown in paintings, such as the Hieronymus Bosch painting, "Christ Child With a Walking Frame," circa 1480 to 1500.
Pinwheels in America
According to Wikipedia during the 19th century in the United States, any wind-driven toy held aloft by a running child was characterized as a whirligig, including pinwheels. Pinwheels provided many children with numerous hours of enjoyment and amusement.
An Armenian Immigrant toy manufacturer, Tegran M. Samour, invented the modern version of the pinwheel, originally titled "wind wheel," in 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts. Samour — shortened from Samourkashian — owned a toy store in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and sold the wind wheel along with two other toys which he invented.
According to the article “Did You Know? Your Fourth of July Pinwheel is Actually a Whirligig” from the Wilton (Connecticut) Historical Society, the word whirligig comes to us from Middle English “whirlegigg” which is itself from whirlen, meaning “to whirl” and “gigg” meaning “(toy) top.” Since then, “whirligig” has acquired several meanings beyond its initial toy sense. It even has a place in the common name of the whirligig beetle, a member of the family Gyrinidae that swiftly swims in circles on the surface of still water.
Pinwheels in America
According to Wikipedia during the 19th century in the United States, any wind-driven toy held aloft by a running child was characterized as a whirligig, including pinwheels. Pinwheels provided many children with numerous hours of enjoyment and amusement.
An Armenian Immigrant toy manufacturer, Tegran M. Samour, invented the modern version of the pinwheel, originally titled "wind wheel," in 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts. Samour — shortened from Samourkashian — owned a toy store in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and sold the wind wheel along with two other toys which he invented.
According to the article “Did You Know? Your Fourth of July Pinwheel is Actually a Whirligig” from the Wilton (Connecticut) Historical Society, whirligigs — three-dimensional, wind-driven articulated toys — have been created by artists, self-taught and otherwise, for more than 200 years in this country. In the book ”Folk Art in American Life,” by Jacqueline Atkins and Robert Bishop, the authors distinguish the weather vane from the whirligig. They write: ”These small, animated statues or structures were created strictly for amusement, for, unlike weather vanes, they do no more than signal that the wind is blowing or not blowing. They also allow a great deal of scope for creative expression.”
The authors write that no 18th-century examples seemed to have survived, but that whirligigs were ubiquitous by the 19th century. They quote a reference to one in Washington Irving’s ”Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” from 1819: ”Thus, while the busy dame bustled about the house, or plied her spinning wheel at one end of the piazza, honest Balt did sit smoking his evening pipe at the other, watching the achievements of a little wooden warrior, who, armed with a sword in each hand, was most valiantly fighting the wind on the pinnacle of the barn.”
There are a few outstanding collections of whirligigs in museums in this country, notably the Smithsonian, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Collection at Colonial Williamsburg and the Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vt. Whirligigs appeal to contemporary artists, who tend to label them kinetic sculpture.”
Per Png Yu Fung’s Feb. 8, 2018 article “Blessings from the Pinwheel,” edited by Mark Zuiderveld, at pressreader.com, according to traditional Chinese culture, a pinwheel — also known as jixiang lun (auspicious wheel) or bagua fenglun (trigram wheel) — brings about family joy and happiness. The traditional pinwheel looks like a simple toy but bears the unforgettable childhood memory of Beijing locals and is considered a must-have at the temple fairs.
As described in Dijing jingwulüe — “records of Beijing’s scenery” — of the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), a pinwheel is made using two- inch sorghum sticks and red and green paper squares. When the wind blows, the pinwheel spins, mixing both colors like the solar halo and producing a beautiful, chromatic circle.
In Wuxinzhuang Village, Xiji Town, Tongzhou District of Beijing, there lives a family who inherited the national intangible heritage of making pinwheels, an art with hundreds of years of history in China. Liang Jun, 84 years old, started learning how to make pinwheels from his father to grandfather since age ten. He is a third-generation craftsman in his family. Today, he has passed down the skills from this traditional art to his son and is enjoying family life. He would sometimes make children’s toys like toy roosters and tambourines, finding enjoyment in what he does.
Liang explained that the toy pinwheel is unique to China, and they are mostly found in Beijing. According to legend, the pinwheel was invented by Jiang Ziya, an ancient Chinese military strategist. One day, a bird with ten heads — responsible for escorting the Queen of Heaven — was beheaded for eating the tribute and sent to the mortal world for repentance. However, it continued to spread evil, and Jiang had to deal with and dominate it using the “rod of heaven and earth.” Afterwards, common folk came up with something similar to the “rod of heaven and earth” to dispel evil and pray for auspiciousness, and named it fengche or pinwheel.
Liang didn’t merely develop the skill of making traditional pinwheels but also innovated to give pinwheels a new meaning. Traditional Beijing pinwheels had 10 wheels at most, but Liang created one that has 289 wheels and is at five meters in height. He also reduced the size of a 10-wheeled pinwheel from 1.5 meters to 45 centimeters. The pinwheels he makes can be so tiny that they can be placed in palms, or so large that they are nearly the size of a bicycle. Liang also had new ideas for the volume of the drum and the sound produced by the drumstick, to perfect his pinwheels.
According to Liang, it’s challenging to make innovative pinwheels since it requires multiple skills. For example, a 300- wheeled pinwheel must be very sturdy and requires carpentry skills for the bamboo. The pinwheel has to be detachable for easy transportation. This involves mechanical design and sketching. To make Liang’s type of pinwheels, one needs to learn how to make kites. Many people have come from all over to learn how to make pinwheels from him.
Pinwheels are commonly seen at temple fairs during Spring Festival. It is said that when the wind blows and pinwheels spin, happiness and auspiciousness will soon follow. Liang said it is easy to make pinwheels but difficult to give a special meaning to them. For example, the colored strips each have a different meaning: red represents sunshine, yellow represents Chinese descendants and green represents the natural environment. Together, it signifies people living under the sun in harmony. Liang once made a 289-wheeled pinwheel for a Hong Kong customer, as it means “Let’s get rich together.”
Food pinwheels
Cracked Out Turkey Pinwheels
from breadboozebacon.com
Ingredients:
· 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
· 1 Tbsp dry ranch dressing mix
· 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
· 1 to 2 Tbsp milk
· ¾ cup cooked chopped bacon
· ½ lb thinly sliced deli turkey
· 4 (12-inch) large burrito tortillas
Instructions:
1. Mix softened cream cheese with the ranch powder, cheddar cheese, 1 Tbsp milk, and bacon until well combined. Add more milk if desired.
2. Spread 1/4 of this mixture evenly on each tortilla then lay 3-4 slices of
turkey breast flat on top of the cheese mixture to cover in a single layer.
3. Roll the tortilla up gently, yet tightly to make sure it holds together and
keeps its shape.
4. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm up the softened cheese. Cut off
ends of tortilla roll and cut into 1-inch slices.
Notes:
Do not make the ranch dressing. Use only the dry mix.
3/4 cup cooked chopped bacon is approximately 3/4 pound of raw bacon.
Can assemble sandwiches in advance and refrigerate covered overnight. Slice before serving.
Can use low-carb or gluten-free tortillas.
Fun Old-Fashioned Pinwheel Cookies
From wilton.com
Makes 5 dozen
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
Instructions
1. In one large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients — flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In another large mixing bowl, add softened butter and sugar, then mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Next add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition; then add vanilla. Finally, add flour mixture from the other large bowl and beat on low with mixer until just combined.
3. Divide combined dough in half. Form one half into a 4 in. by 4 in. square; wrap it in plastic wrap and set the vanilla dough aside. Return the other half to the mixer; add melted chocolate to the dough in the mixer and beat it just until combined. Next form this chocolate dough into a 4 in. by 4 in. square and wrap it in plastic wrap. Take both squares of dough and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes.
4. Once 30-minutes have passed, on parchment paper, roll vanilla dough into a 16 in. x 12 in. rectangle about 1/8 in. thick. On another sheet of parchment paper, roll chocolate dough into a 16 in. x 12 in. rectangle about 1/8 in. thick.
5. Carefully place chocolate dough on top of vanilla dough and peel away parchment. Cut the combined dough in half horizontally.
6. Roll each cut half into a tight log. and roll in colored sugar to coat dough log.
7. Wrap dough logs in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 3-hours. Dough logs can be left in the refrigerator as long as overnight.
8. When ready, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
9. Slice dough logs into 1/4 in. pieces. Space them 1 in. apart on as many cookie sheets as needed. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until vanilla portions of the pinwheel cookie dough is lightly golden.
10. Remove pinwheel cookies from the oven, then cool.
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