"Whirligig beetle The whirligig beetles are a family (Gyrinidae) of water beetles that usually swim on the surface of the water if undisturbed, though they swim underwater when threatened. They get their common name from their habit of swimming rapidly in circles when alarmed, and are also notable for their divided eyes which are believed to enable them to see both above and below water. The family includes some 700 extant species worldwide, in 15 genera, plus a few fossil species. Most species are very similar in general appearance, though they vary in size from perhaps 3 mm to 18"
"Vollis Simpson. Whirligig A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one part that spins or whirls. Whirligigs are also known as pinwheels, buzzers, comic weathervanes, gee-haws, spinners, whirlygigs, whirlijigs, whirlyjigs, whirlybirds, or plain whirly. Whirligigs are most commonly powered by the wind but can be hand, friction, or motor powered. They can be used as a kinetic garden ornament. They can be designed to transmit sound and vibration into the ground to repel burrowing rodents in yards, gardens, and backyards. Whirligigs can be divided into four categories: button, friction, string and wind-driven. Button whirligigs,"
"Whirligig A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one part that spins or whirls. Whirligigs are also known as pinwheels, buzzers, comic weathervanes, gee-haws, spinners, whirlygigs, whirlijigs, whirlyjigs, whirlybirds, or plain whirly. Whirligigs are most commonly powered by the wind but can be hand, friction, or motor powered. They can be used as a kinetic garden ornament. They can be designed to transmit sound and vibration into the ground to repel burrowing rodents in yards, gardens, and backyards. Whirligigs can be divided into four categories: button, friction, string and wind-driven. Button whirligigs, also known"
"ingenuity. The two blade non-mechanical model is the most prevalent, exemplified by the classic Cardinal with Wings illustrated at right. The word ""whirligig"" derives from two Middle English words: ""whirlen"" (to whirl) and ""gigg"" (top), or literally ""to whirl a top"". The ""Oxford English Dictionary"" cites the ""Promptorium parvulorum"" (c. 1440), the first English-Latin dictionary, which contains the definition ""Whyrlegyge, chyldys game, Latin: giracu-lum It is therefore likely the 1440 version of whirligig referred to a spinning toy or toys. The origin of whirligigs is unknown. Both farmers and sailors use weathervanes on an ongoing basis and the assumption is"
"Simpson was named the 2012 Arts and Culture winner of ""Southern Living""s Heroes of the New South Awards. Simpson's farm contains some thirty to forty whirligigs at any given time, some of which reach fifty feet in height. They are made from castoff metal machine parts and an assortment of odd and colorful pieces of various origins., He sells smaller versions to the public, but only from his farm. Wilson, North Carolina holds an annual Whirligig Festival in November of each year which includes a whirligig building contest complete with nominal cash prizes. The contest was judged in part by"
"level. A Whirlybug is similar to an electric bumper car. It is round, with a bumper going all the way around. Unlike most bumper cars, however, power is not provided by an overhead grid, but rather by alternating conducting plates that make up the floor of the court. This means that Whirlybugs are more complex than traditional bumper cars, but this is necessary, as an overhead grid would obstruct play. A Whirlybug is steered by a handle that looks like a crank. This handle allows steering not just side to side, but also backwards. In this aspect, it is very"
"plastic flamingo was in 1946 with the company Union Products in its ""Plastics for the Lawn"" product line. Their collection included dog, ducks, frogs, and a flamingo. Spinners: Usually shaped like flowers with petals that spin in the wind. Variations include birds or insects with spinning wings. Statuary and outdoor sculpture Topiary specimens Whirligig: An often animalistic sculpture generally supported vertically by being pushed in the ground characterized by at least one rotating member often designed to appear as a bodypart of the sculpture. Windmill: A disconnected but free-spinning miniature, typically in the American Aermotor style having about a dozen"
"pattern for a Lady Liberty weathervane. Many of the commercial weathervanes depict common barnyard animals, including roosters, horses, pigs, and cows. Others represent less familiar forms such as a centaur, a pouter pigeon, and an anvil. One of the largest known commercial weathervanes is a highly detailed fire-pumper pulled by a pair of horses, which originally topped a firehouse in Manchester, New Hampshire. Whirligigs, which are closely related to weathervanes, most commonly represent a standing figure with paddled arms that flail in the wind. Some clever craftspeople built more complex whirligigs powered by a wind-catching wheel. One of Shelburne’s finest"
"as a hobby. After his wife who loved the whirligigs dies, the whirligigs continue to move and symbolize the fact that life must go on for Ob. In the movie ""Twister"", Helen Hunt's aunt Meg (played by Lois Smith) has a large collection of metal kinetic art whirligigs in her front yard to warn her of approaching tornadoes. Manu Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering, and Saad Bhamla, a postdoctoral student at Stanford University built an inexpensive, hand-powered centrifuge in 2016 based on this ancient toy that could help doctors working in developing countries. When whirligigs became recognized as American"
"Man. Edith's whirligigs were of the wind-driven type, typically of cast-off plastic. All of the proceeds they earned went to their local church. Edith died in December 2008 and Gene abandoned the business soon after. Elmer Preston (March 17, 1874 – October 1, 1974) lived in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and worked in a traditional folk manner, with the classic themes of farmer cutting wood, etc. Ander Lunde of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is credited with reviving the whirligig during the 1980s. A well-known painter and wood sculptor, Lunde won First Prize for a whirligig sculpture in the 1981 Durham (North"
"screams were heard. When he was found, he mentioned only the dog. Several days later he died. The gwyllgi (; compound noun of either gwyllt ""wild"" or gwyll ""twilight"" + ci ""dog""[1]) is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff with baleful breath and blazing red eyes. It is referred to as ""The Dog of Darkness"" or ""The Black Hound of Destiny"", the apparition's favourite haunt being lonely roads at night. The yeth hound, also called the yell hound is a Black dog found in Devon folklore. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase"
"temporary water bodies. The eggs are laid in rows on aquatic plants. The larvae have filament-like breathing tubes projecting on either side of the body and superficially resemble centipedes. When fully developed they climb upwards, pupating on emergent plants, before descending again to the water when they emerge from the pupal case. Breeding takes place in the summer, and the adults hibernate under water during the winter, clinging onto submerged objects. Gyrinus natator Gyrinus natator, the common whirligig beetle, is a species of beetle native to the Palearctic realm, including much of Europe. Its range extends northwards as far as"
"as button spinners and buzzers, are the oldest known whirligigs. They require only a piece of clay or bone and a strip of hide. Native American cultures had their own version of this toy in 500 BC. Many a child of the Great Depression from the southern Appalachians and Ozarks remembers a button or token, or coin and a string as the primary spinning toy of their youth. Button whirligigs are simple spinning toys whereby two looped ends of twisting thread are pulled with both arms, causing the button to spin. Button whirligigs are often seen today in craft shops"
"Gyrinus natator Gyrinus natator, the common whirligig beetle, is a species of beetle native to the Palearctic realm, including much of Europe. Its range extends northwards as far as Norway, Finland, and the Saint Petersburg area of Russia. It is an aquatic beetle and moves rapidly around on the surface or swims underwater in still or slow-moving fresh water. ""Gyrinus natator"" is a small oval beetle, about long and wide. The highest point of the body is near the middle. The dorsal surface is black with a metallic sheen, and the ventral surface is mainly black, although the epipleura (skirt)"
"string-powered whirligig. A book published in Stuttgart in 1500 shows the Christ child in the margin with a string-powered whirligig. The Jan Provost attributed late sixteenth-century painting ""Virgin and Child in a Landscape"" clearly shows the Christ child holding a whirligig as well. The American version of the wind-driven whirligig probably did not originate with the immigrant population of the United Kingdom as whirligigs are mentioned in early American colonial times. How the wind-driven whirligig evolved in America is not fully known, though there are some markers. George Washington brought ""whilagigs"" home from the Revolutionary War. What type is unknown."
"Queen Elizabeth. In the anime ""Cowboy Bebop"", the crew has a super-intelligent Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Ein, on their ship. The ""Top Shelf"" graphic novel ""Korgi"" plays on the folklore tradition of the Corgi as a faerie draft animal. It features the ""Mollies"" (fairy-like beings) who live in close relationship with the land and their Korgi friends, who are based on and resemble the Welsh Corgi breeds. Welsh Corgi The Welsh Corgi, sometimes known as just a Corgi (, Welsh for ""dwarf dog""; plural ""Corgis"" or occasionally the etymologically consistent ""Corgwn""; ), is a small type of herding dog that originated"
"spotted as far away as Marchwiel in Wrexham and as to this day there are still many sightings of this fearsome creature. Gwyllgi The gwyllgi (; compound noun of either ""gwyllt"" ""wild"" or ""gwyll"" ""twilight"" + ""ci"" ""dog"") is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff or Black Wolf (similar to a Dire wolf) with baleful breath and blazing red eyes. It is often referred to as ""The Dog of Darkness"" or ""The Black Hound of Destiny"", the apparition's favorite haunt being lonely roads at night. There have been many sighting of this"
"Woolly Bugger The Woolly Bugger is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or streamer and is fished under the water surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for both freshwater and saltwater game fish and is generally listed as one of the top patterns to have in any fly box. John Gierach, a noted fly fishing writer discussed the Woolly Bugger first in his chapter on streamers in ""Good Flies"". Woolly Buggers are typically fished in streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and tidal flats. Today, Woolly Buggers are tied in a wide variety of styles and"
"to 14 long or extra long hooks. Variations include Woolly Buggers weighted with brass or tungsten beads, brass or tungsten cones, brass, lead or tungsten dumbbell eyes. Woolly Bugger The Woolly Bugger is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or streamer and is fished under the water surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for both freshwater and saltwater game fish and is generally listed as one of the top patterns to have in any fly box. John Gierach, a noted fly fishing writer discussed the Woolly Bugger first in his chapter on streamers in"
"Gwyllgi The gwyllgi (; compound noun of either ""gwyllt"" ""wild"" or ""gwyll"" ""twilight"" + ""ci"" ""dog"") is a mythical dog from Wales that appears as a frightful apparition of a mastiff or Black Wolf (similar to a Dire wolf) with baleful breath and blazing red eyes. It is often referred to as ""The Dog of Darkness"" or ""The Black Hound of Destiny"", the apparition's favorite haunt being lonely roads at night. There have been many sighting of this beast in the north east of Wales. Specifically, the Nant y Garth pass located near Llandegla in Denbighshire. It has even been"
"Whiffling Whiffling is a term used in ornithology to describe the behavior whereby a bird rapidily descends with a zig-zagging, side-slipping motion. Sometimes to whiffle, a bird flies briefly with its body turned upside down but with its neck and head twisted 180 degrees around in a normal position. The aerodynamics which usually give a bird lift during flying are thereby inverted and the bird briefly plummets toward the ground before this is quickly reversed and the bird adopts a normal flying orientation. This erratic motion resembles a falling leaf, and is used to avoid avian predators or may be"
"string-operated whirligigs were already in use by 100 BC. The first known visual representation of a European whirligig is contained in a medieval tapestry that depicts children playing with a whirligig consisting of a hobbyhorse on one end of a stick and a four-blade propeller at the other end. For reasons that are unclear, whirligigs in the shape of the cross became a fashionable allegory in paintings of the fifteenth and sixteenth century. An oil by Hieronymus Bosch, probably completed between 1480 and 1500 and known as the ""Christ Child with a Walking Frame"", contains a clear illustration of a"
"blown mechanisms producing both motion and sound. Unfortunately both the exposure to the weather and the fragile nature of whirligigs means very few wind driven whirligigs from this era survive. The period between 1880 and 1900 brought rapid geographic expansion of whirligigs across the US. After 1900, production seemed for the most part to center on the southern Appalachians. Craftsman there continued to produce whirligigs into the 20th century. During the Great Depression a resurgence in production by craftsman and amateurs was attributed to the need for ready cash. Today Whirligigs are used as toys for children, as garden structures"
"Wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a tail often ending in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip. A sea-dwelling variant dubbed the sea-wyvern has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important to heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada). It is a popular creature in European and British literature, video games, and modern fantasy. The wyvern in heraldry and"
"stationary. The object is whirled by alternately pulling and releasing the tension on the cord. The whirling object makes a buzzing or humming sound, giving the device its common name. American Indians used the buzzer as a toy and, also ceremonially, as to call up the wind. Early Indian buzzers were constructed of wood, bone, or stone, and date from at least the Fourche Maline Culture, c. 500 B.C. String-powered whirligigs require the operator to wrap the string around a shaft and then pull the string to cause the whirligig’s motion. String whirligigs have ancient origins. The bamboo-copter or bamboo"
"woodlots, forest edges, parks, lawns, and gardens. Caterpillars eat various grasses. Adults eat the nectar of flowers. Polites vibex Polites vibex, or the whirlabout, is a grass skipper in the family Hesperiidae. The whirlabout gets its name from the landing and take off flight patterns of the adult – a circular or vortex or whirling motion. It is resident from the southeastern U.S. and West Indies to eastern Mexico through the tropics down to Argentina. During the warmer North American months, it can sometimes be found as far north as Ohio, Connecticut, and northeast Iowa. The wingspan is . North"
"but it is relatively uncommon in Western Europe. It is often to be seen on the surface of still or slow-moving streams, ponds and marshes, especially sunny spots with a limited quantity of emergent vegetation. This beetle is gregarious and groups of beetles are often to be seen gyrating rapidly on the surface of the water. It feeds on water fleas and other small invertebrates, and on insects that fall onto the surface of the water. If alarmed it will dive under water and remain submerged for some time. This whirligig beetle can fly, and can often be found in"
"scheduled to release in the summer of 2019. Hylics (video game) Hylics is a role-playing video game developed and published by Mason Lindroth. It was released for Windows on October 2, 2015 on Steam. The game uses claymation graphics to depict a surreal world. The player character is Wayne, a humanoid being with yellow skin and crescent-shaped horns. Most of the game's NPCs speak using random text generation, in a manner described as a deliberately misleading red herring, albeit consistent with the setting, with the player's goals being represented through environmental design instead. The world and characters are alluded to"
"Fingerlings (toy) Fingerlings are a toy line made by WowWee that is meant to be wrapped around your finger. The toy is a robotic monkey, unicorn, or sloth that clings to your fingers and react to touch and sound by blinking and blowing kisses. In 2018, WowWee released Fingerlings Hugs in the for the Holiday season. The interactive plush toy is much bigger than the original Fingerlings, but have the same interactivity. The Fingerlings Hugs monkeys have long arms that kids can wrap around themselves. Fingerlings are capable of over 40 different sounds and reactions, including singing, blink, burping, and"
"Whirly tube The whirly tube, corrugaphone, or bloogle resonator, is an experimental musical instrument which consists of a corrugated (ribbed) plastic tube or hose (hollow flexible cylinder), open at both ends and possibly wider at one end (bell), the thinner of which is rotated in a circle to play. It may be a few feet long and about a few inches wide. The faster the toy is swung the higher the pitch of the note it produces, and it produces discrete notes in the harmonic series like a valveless brass instrument, but the fundamental and second harmonic are difficult to"
"Whirly tube The whirly tube, corrugaphone, or bloogle resonator, is an experimental musical instrument which consists of a corrugated (ribbed) plastic tube or hose (hollow flexible cylinder), open at both ends and possibly wider at one end (bell), the thinner of which is rotated in a circle to play. It may be a few feet long and about a few inches wide. The faster the toy is swung the higher the pitch of the note it produces, and it produces discrete notes in the harmonic series like a valveless brass instrument, but the fundamental and second harmonic are difficult to"
"Woolly Worm (imitation) The Woolly Worm is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or nymph and is fished under the water surface. It is a popular pattern for freshwater game fish and was a very popular fly in the 1950s–1970s in the west. Charles Brooks in ""Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout"" recommends the Woolly Worm as a general purpose nymph pattern in most western trout waters in any fly box. Woolly Worms are typically fished in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes for trout, bass, and panfish. Today, Woolly Worms are tied in a variety of styles and"
"Wringer (magic trick) The Wringer (also 'wringer box illusion' or 'mangle box') is a stage magic trick. The magician places his assistant (or a shill from the audience) into a large box with a set of rollers in the front. The magician turns a crank, and the assistant emerges through the rollers, now flat as a pancake. The magician then opens the front of the box, revealing it to be empty. The magician may later restore the assistant, though this is not required. This trick can also be performed with small animals, such as ducks or rabbits. Magician C.J. Johnson"