Make: Volume 86

For the 50th installment of this column, here’s a

project that is just like “Toy Inventor’s Notebook”

itself: silly, fun, and with a bit of interesting

science, all in a tiny package: string walker toys!

WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN (CAMEL)

These little toys work by gravity power. Hang the

tiny weight over the edge of a table and the toy

waddles and walks along — and then magically

stops right at the edge. Over the years there have

been different versions: a pair of lunar-landing

space men (Figures

A

and

B

), a Disney-licensed

plodding Pluto, Jiminy Cricket wheeling a string

bass, a shuffling buffalo, and many more (Figure

C

).

The most iconic version ...