Tim has a great many rings in his collection, some of them are more ornamental, and some are very practical. But one common theme is that Tim loves toys and other items that do two things, so all of these rings have another function, or use.
The first one is something Tim calls a magician's ring, which he remembers was quite expensive. It appears to have a single green emerald as the stone on top, but the ring will fold inside out, and now it appears to have a cluster of small stones, looking a bit like diamonds, in place of the single green emerald. Clearly this could be the basis of a very nice magic trick!
Then we see the optical illusion ring - place it on your finger, and when you rotate it in one direction, the ring appears to be getting thinner; rotate it the other way and the ring appears to be getting thicker. Quite an illusion. Tim thinks this ring goes back at least to 1895.
Next up, a solid looking gold ring. The design is completely plain, but of course the ring has a trick - it is magnetic, and so it can be used for all sorts of tricks.
Tim belongs to a puzzle fraternity which collects mechanical puzzles from all over the world, and a favourite kind of puzzle with many of them are what are known as Turkish Puzzle Rings, and Tim demonstrates one. The ring consists of a number of smaller rings, and they will all come apart. However it is apparently quite tricky to weave them all back together again. Tim decides against taking it apart!
We then see a ring that has a spirit level attached on the top, in place of a gem stone. The idea is to tell if you are standing up right, or if you are leaning - a bit tipsy maybe? Of course, it is really just a joke ring!
A Canadian magician showed Tim the next one, which is another kind of puzzle ring. The 'ring' actually consists of a fine chain with several loops. Tim shows that it it too tight to fit over his finger. However if you pull the loops in a certain way, the chain re-orientates, and now the space in the middle is larger, and it will fit onto Tim's finger. But if you do not know the trick, it may take you a while to figure it out.
The next ring looks like a collection of fine gold springs, and apparently the idea is to roll it up and down your finger in order to improve the blood circulation. Unusual.
The next ring is made of yellow plastic, and is actually a kitchen aid. there is a small plastic blade attached to the ring, and the idea is you pop the ring on your finger and then hold an orange or a lemon in the same hand as the ring. Rotate the orange, the the little plastic blade will score a line in the skin of the orange or lemon, which will help you to peel it.
Also with a catering theme, the next ring, which has a chunky look to it, is actually a bottle opener!
Tim then demonstrates a ring that has an interesting mechanism; next he shows a mood ring - the stone at the top is hat sensitive, and will change colour according to how hot it is.
Then we see a silver ring which has a smiling mask design on top, but the mask can rotate to show the other side, which is a sad looking mask. These are the masks that are sometimes used to refer to the theatre, with one face referring to comedy and the other one to tragedy. You could also use it as a mood ring, I suppose, a way to show people how you are feeling.
Next up is a ring containing a small noisemaker or siren. Good for parties maybe. Also for parties maybe is a pink plastic ring with an LED in it. As Tim says, there are hundreds of designs with this idea, jewellery that lights up.
We then 'see' a very odd looking ring, which has quite a realistic eye mounted where the stone would normally be. Quite eye catching in its own way, but it has another trick up its sleeve - it is also a tippe top. Spin it with the eye looking down on any smooth surface, and after a few seconds it will flip over, still spinning, but now with the eye looking up.
Finally Tim demonstrates a ring he picked up at a toy fair in Germany back in the 1980s. It has quite a large mechanism that you hide in the palm of your hand, and there is also a key - you have to wind the mechanism in order to demonstrate the effect. Attached to the mechanism is a plain metal ring, and you fit this over your finger. So a casual observer will only see the ring, and not the mechanism concealed in the palm of your hand. Once you have their attention and they are looking at the ring, you squeeze the hidden mechanism and... sparks fly out from between your fingers! It is called the Sparking Finger Ring!
Some years ago, I remember sitting in a Chinese restaurant with Tim, and he produced the Sparking Finger Ring, and tried it on the waiter, who nearly dropped the food. But then the waiter wanted to borrow it, and he vanished in to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant, from where we heard quite a commotion as he tried the ring on the kitchen staff...
27 янв 2020
