Jacob's Ladder (toy)
A Jacob's ladder is a folk toy consisting of blocks of wood held together by strings or ribbons. When the ladder is held at one end, blocks appear to cascade down the strings. However, this effect is a visual illusion which is the result of one block after another flipping over. Its name Jacob's Ladder comes from the biblical ladder to heaven, mentioned in Genesis 28:12.
The earliest known review for the Jacob's Ladder is a 1889 Scientific American article which tells how it is built and works. Despite urban myths prevalent on the internet, there is no known documentation dating it to King Tut's tomb or ancient Egypt or to the Pilgrims. It has been theorized that its origin is from a Chinese falling-block toy, called "Chinese blocks".
The Japanese polymath Hiraga Gennai 平賀源内 (1729–1779) constructed a Jacob's ladder which later came to be called "Gennai's Wondrous Click-clack" (Gennai no fushigina katakata 源内の不思議なカタカタ).
Read more about Jacob's Ladder (toy): Construction
Famous quotes containing the words jacob and/or ladder:
“As for me, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are now only the subtlest imaginable essences, which would not stain the morning sky.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“George Shears ... was hanged in a barn near the store. The rope was thrown over a beam, and he was asked to walk up a ladder to save the trouble of preparing a drop for him. “Gentlemen,” he said, “I am not used to this business. Shall I jump off or slide off?” He was told to jump.”
—For the State of Montana, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)