Pendulum figure
The pendulum figure (also balance figure or wobbly figure) is a historical play device that is manually set in a pendulum movement and then swings out independently to a standstill.
construction
Like a stand-up figure, the pendulum figure also has a very low center of gravity, so that it can always return to a defined rest position after its pendulum movement has ended. To realize the low center of gravity, the pendulum figure has a mostly spherical or disc-shaped counterweight below its axis of rotation , which is firmly connected to the figure via an arched rod. With some pendulum figures, the counterweight is also designed more elaborately.
The pendulum figure usually has a stand on which it is stored and can be operated. The use of a table edge or a book shelf is also possible.
Trivia
In the fourth stanza of the Christmas carol Morgen, Kinder, there will be something with a text by Karl Friedrich Splittegarb from 1795, a pendulum figure is sung about :
Do you still remember the big chariot
and the beautiful hunt for lead?
Our little clothes to wear
And all the sweets?
My hard-working sawman
with the ball below?