Talk:Spirograph/Archive 1

Expansion request
Please everybody help out and fill in: How do we add another new page with all the gears, holes, and everything else.

How do we rewrite this so that it fits with wikipedia's editorial policy. These are not really "opinions" but facts but how do we do that...

spirograph problems and improvements
Suggested Improvements by Experts for New or Redesigned Future Sets The spirograph gears and wheels are small and the pens and gears slip easily. Making the gears twice as thick or more would be ideal for a "premium" set.

Rereleasing the "best" historics sets above or a new "Mega" gear pack with say fifty different gears, footballs, bar, or new inventions would be grealy welcome by most experts. These gears' teeth number, holes, radius, and other issues must be carefully mathematically chosen not simply by themselves by in relation to each other.

A greater variety of colored pens that do not slip out of the holes and do not "go dry" halfway through a complex design would be appreciated. Indeed, it is not always possible for children to easily recover from such situations and go backwards to fill in the missing lines -- especially if the dreaded "gear slip" occurs which is a well known problem. Indeed much thicker (vertically) gears would also solve that problem.

A better storage case (than just a tray) where the gears (especially the smallest) do not get lost -- a frequent problem on sets with out such.

- Someone who owns a Spirograph should take some measurements and describe the pieces. We ought to give the tooth spacings and the number of teeth on each wheel in a standard classic Spirograph toy.

- Add a history section, fitting Spirograph into the rich literature of patented design-drawing tools.

- Link to articles about filigree, especially mechanically generated (for example, for decorating paper currency).

- Photographs of the box, the toy in its box, and the toy in use.

- Diagrams of simple Spirograph figures.

- Discussion of the mathematics of spirograph curves, including parametric formulas for the curves and also discussion of the number theory which tells how many petals a given drawing will have.

- External links to the World of Mathematics page and to Spirograph applets.

Through my eBay usage, I have found the copyright dates for the variations listed. Sparkle Spirograph had a date of 1993 on the box but 1992 on the instructions, and I went with the earlier date.

Conflict with Lissajous curve
The webpage for Lissajous curve states that (paraphrased) spirograph drawings look similar but have somewhat different math. This page states that the math is similar. Neither is backed by a reference. Edgriebel 19:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I think references to Lissajous curves should be removed. I really don't think the curves look very similar, and mathematically they are only similar in that trig functions are involved.  I would like to remove the Lissajous section. Doctormatt 16:04, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Lissajou section has been removed. Doctormatt 03:25, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Mathematical Theory
The mathematical theory behind Spirographs is referenced with respect to Lissajous Curves, but is never discussed. The theory should be included and referenced. -- Edgriebel 14:24, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I disagree. The very first sentence indicates that spirographs generate hypo- and epicycloids, and the theory is included there (or should be). I would like to remove the theory section. Doctormatt 16:04, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
 * The section has been removed. Doctormatt 03:21, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Howes and/or Fischer?
I arrived at this page via the article on the Easy-Bake Oven (all right, no giggling, please) which states that Easy-Bake Oven creator "Ronald Howes... also had a hand in many other classic Kenner toys such as ... Spirograph." It certainly leaves one with the impression that he, and not Fisher created the Spirograph. Should that reference be deleted... or should a supporting role for Howe be added here? Shawn in Montreal 17:55, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I think that as it says "he had a hand in" and not "he invented" it can remain as stands, as he likely had some input.--Scorpion451 20:40, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
 * But then again, all of these statement are unsourced, so who the heck knows what's what? Doctormatt 00:13, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

My father CW Paul-Jones (1903-1981) was, among other things, a technical draughtsman. As a child I remember him showing me some sketches and notes he made in the 1930s or possibly 1940s of a device he had devised for drawing parabolas and other curves using a device similar to the Spirograph. He saw his device as an interesting idea, principally of use to draughtsmen. He did not do much draughting and it languished undeveloped in a drawer, an interesting curiosity. Imagine his delight when Mr Fisher made squillions selling it as a toy. This in no way implies that Mr Fisher did not devise the same device independently. RichardPJ (talk) 10:49, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

large edit: historical list and "largest number of gears"
I removed two sections from the article. They were completely uncited and unencyclopedic (e.g., "PLEASE CONFIRM", numerous question marks). They appear to be original research. With proper citations, this would be interesting material for this article. Cheers, Doctormatt (talk) 04:30, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

A strange bit of patriotism?
I've just pruned "It was America's first real victory over the Soviets." from the History section. Not only is there no justification given for the statement, the section states that the Spirograph was actually developed by a British engineer and produced by his company... Kay Dekker (talk) 21:19, 28 April 2009 (UTC)