The World Spinning Together

With the goal of having a project uniting spintop players from around the world I had the idea of compiling a video of with collaborations sent via internet. The only requirement was that the tricks should be loosely related to the ones on the Spintastics 8-trick Patch Award. To make it accessible to any level of play and at the same time interesting, I asked for "free interpretations": tricks performed in an interesting location, with an unusual top, comical, playing on words or extreme versions were welcomed. I think we were successful:

Contact me if you want to participate in the next video in the series, based on the next 8 tricks.

The rules for the 2008 World Spinning Top Contest have been posted for the sports and championship divisions. It is likely there will also be an open sports division.

The winners of the "South Moravia Spin Top Contest" in the Czech Republic where: 1) Jakub Konečný (freestyle) , 2) Ondřej Šedivý and 3) Peter Kišoň.

Dani Miras from the Amics de la Baldufa started a photo spintop group on Flickr that aggregates spinning top pictures from any photographer on the site. It already has more than 600 really wonderful pictures from around the world. An incredible resource to browse for hours! Like this one:

On Flickr I found out about this statue from Tai-chong, Taiwan, perhaps the best spintop statue ever.

Look at this giant "throw" top from Taiwan: Fickr photo, youtube video. Actually, according to the Spinning Top Museum the World Record holder is Chang Tai-Yuan of Dashi, Taiwan who spun a 60.29 kg top (the tops look very similar).

You can watch two circus performances by Gerardo Jimenez from Mexico, who calls himself "el Rey del Trompo" (formerly "Mr. Trompo").

I had the opportunity to talk on the phone with Rusty Steubing, who at the age of 11 won the 1963 US National Spinning Top contest by Duncan. He confirmed to me that he got a check for $5000 (about $30k current money)! The contest also ran in 1964.

The first giant top made by Alan Gray, The Great Bambino, went on ebay for the record amount of $1550, but this was a benefit auction. Alan has made to date 19 giant tops (9" or bigger), including Figaro.

There is a little town in the mountains of Venezuela, called Borotá, where there is a spintop festival every year during Holy Week. It is a top "race" along the streets of the town. Other towns in Venezuela have it but this seems to be the most famous (slide show).

Here is a little video showing Japanese children playing with traditional beigoma tops. And here a top dancing around an antique Toupie Hollandaise table.

A Japanese restaurant named Koma ( こま: spinning top) modified the kanji characters for top, 独楽, to look like tops:

Several late 19th century spinning top articles are available online in the archives of La Nature (in French), including this one with a famous poster of a variety of tops. Also, check the article on the fountain top and then see it here.

Reading another article in La Nature on the Induction Top it occurred to me to try it with an aluminum top. As expected, the non-magnetic top does not interact with the magnet when it is static. However, when the top rotates inside the magnetic field, (eddy) currents are induced in the aluminum that create their own magnetic field, converting the top in a magnet. The result was startling! I even made an induction motor out of two tops and a magnet (click image)! Note: the magnet has to be very strong (neodymium).

Dale Oliver announced he will soon release red, blue and black-anodized QuickSilvers, in addition to the polished aluminum finish. By the way, here is beautiful blue Spintastics Hollow Point anodized by Jorge Sanjuan (with the cap from a YYJ Bulldog).

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