TOYS, TRICKS, & TEASERS
The Chinese South-Pointing Chariot
Many ingenious mechanisms are devised with no “practical” purpose in mind. They are examples of invention for the sheer fun of it. This phenomenon occurred early in many cultures.
» The classic mechanisms of the ancient Greeks were often just toys, made to amaze and entertain. Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. A.D. 10–70) built a coin-operated vending machine (dispensed holy water); a clever hydraulic mechanism for mysteriously opening temple doors when a burnt offering heated water beneath the altar; and the aeolipile, a cute little engine that whirled around under ...
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