A wind-up toy is a toy powered by a spring that is tightened by turning it. After release, the spring tries to get in its original, untightened position, and makes the small toy go as well.
Wind-up toys date far back into history, into the 15th century. Karel Grod, a German inventor, created some of the first wind-up toys, including a metal fly and a mechanical eagle. Also, in 1509, Leonardo da Vinci created a wind-up lion as a greeting for Louis XII in Italy. Wind-up toys were at first for only royalty, and were much more elaborate, with a very complex system of gears and springs. René Descartes also created a life-sized wind-up human girl to prove a theory that all animals were very complex machines. However, as legend goes, the mechanical girl was thrown overboard after a man was frightened by it.
After the much larger, elaborate wind-up machine art declined in interest, wind-up toys were created very cheaply and in very large numbers by the 1800s. Wind-up machines then became known as wind-up toys, and were designed in all different forms to move around.
Source: Wikipedia
Kikkerland WindUps are my favorites, mainly due to their modern and creative range of designs. These cute, amazing toys are fun to watch and work great as gifts too.
These are creative toys for children and intricate machine art for grown-ups and young at heart. The perfect gift for any occasion, be it a Birthday or Christmas!