Purr
A Schnurrer even Schwirrer , Brummer or hum button , is an old toy and musical instrument . A purr consists of a solid middle part through which a flexible loop (cord) is pulled. At the beginning of the game, the loop is screwed in with the middle part. Then the two ends (loops) of the noose are pulled apart and the purr begins to turn. If done correctly, the loop should screw back in in the opposite direction while the ends are left a little loose. The turning in and out creates a purring, humming-humming sound.
In the Middle Ages , small bones from sheep or other animals were used for purrers. Nowadays, buttons or washers are mainly made of wood, plastic or cardboard.
The game is known in several cultures: brúgattyú (Hungary and Székler), imiglutaq (caribou-Inuit). In a technical sense, it is a torsion pendulum , an oscillator in which the regularly changing pulling apart and slackening of the players serves as feedback and enables an undamped, self-excited oscillation .
Web links
- Instructions for making a grow button
- Schnurrkater, old children's game with button and thread (video on YouTube )
Individual evidence
- ^ Magyar Néprajzi Lexicon (Hungarian Ethnographic Lexicon)
- ^ Gabus, Jean (1944). Vie et coutumes des Esquimaux Caribous (in French). Libraire Payot Lausanne. Other translations: Gabus, Jean (1970). A karibu eszkimók (in Hungarian). Budapest: Gondolat Kiadó. Pages 125 and 129 (in the Hungarian translation), fourth chapter ("Education of the boy"), subchapter "Magical games"