Talk:Jacob's ladder (toy)

Movie help
If you can turn .MOV into Ogg/Theora, I'd like some help. I made a movie of this toy in use and I'd like to include it in the article, but Commons won't accept .MOV and the software I would need to convert it scares me a bit. I'd be happy to email the file to you, or even work out some anonymous transfer if you figure out a way that suits you and are willing to explain it to me.--Joel 03:50, 20 September 2005 (UTC)


 * I've had a response. Soon, we might have video here. --Joel 04:41, 21 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Update: The video is up. I'll go ahead and put a "media" link to it on the page.

I have removed, "'It is also a hard to get flower in the Nintendo D.S. title: Animal Crossing Wild World. It can be achived by having a perfect town for several days." from the article. If this does belong in the article it needs to make the context of its relevancy clear. Thanks. User:JCarriker (this message was added by JoanneB, as Jay's struggling to get himself un-autoblocked) 08:41, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

This wikipedia article needs a disambiguation page. A "Jacob's Ladder" is also a science toy that draws an AC arc across a pair of nearly parallel vertical rabbit-ear electrodes. As the arc heats and ionizes the air, the column of air between the electrodes is seen to rise, drawing the arc upward with it. These devices were popular as a prop for mad scientist laboratories portrayed on television and movie serials in the 1940's and 1950's.

Cleanup
This article needs serious work - First of all, half of the article is devoted to a "how-to", which is irrelevant and could instead be linked to. Secondly, extensive use of "I" and lack of encyclopedic content/voice —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.218.46.235 (talk) 01:14, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

The drawing is incorrect. There are three ribbons, but they alternate in a weave with one, then two ribbons; otherwise there is no hinge. The picture also shows ony two blocks, which obviously can not work to perform the illusion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eugens (talk • contribs) 16:06, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The drawing is very simple, the crossings of ribbons should be distinct, in order to show how the movement works. --Xario (talk) 13:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)


 * The drawing is indeed wrong. It is showing all three ribbons on either side of the block at once. There should be two outer ribbons on one side and the middle ribbon on the other side. The pictured ladder could not function because there are double crossings at each location(top, middle, bottom) between the blocks when there should only be one. I suggest we use the one from the Scientific American magazine as it shows the mechanism much more clearly (and correctly!). I'm not certain if we would be allowed to use that picture however. Washyleopard (talk) 18:38, 5 June 2014 (UTC)


 * I went ahead and used it on the grounds that it is a work before 1926 therefore the copyright has run out.Washyleopard (talk) 18:59, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Contradiction re date of origin
This page claims that the toy dates back to pilgrim times in America, has been produced in Americas since colonial times, and also that they were being played with in 1352 B.C. That seems like a contradiction to me. It'd be good to rearrange the page into a history section and clarify what's known about the toy's origins. AlexChurchill (talk) 14:34, 6 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Presumably just a bit of U.S.-centrism: I read it as implying that they were well known in Europe (and elsewhere) long before the colonization of the Americas, and were brought over by the early colonists. Of course, this glosses over the question of whether they might have been known also in America even before the arrival of Europeans, but it's possible that we simply have no evidence either way about that.  In any case, the article certainly could use improvement (and references!), but I don't think it's actually contradictory.  —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 16:11, 13 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The lede claims that the toy "dates back to the Pilgrim times in America," but a later section asserts that there is no evidence to connect it to the Pilgrims. One or the other of those assertions needs to be deleted by somebody who has correct information (and who hopefully can cite authority).  J. D. Crutchfield &#124; Talk 21:38, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

video?
a video would sure help this article! or a gif. are any available to wikimedia? 2601:642:C481:4640:2985:18F5:6F97:B4F8 (talk) 07:37, 15 July 2022 (UTC)