Gee Haw!

[whirl_twirl]

I'm baaack! Did I miss anything over the past week I was away? I haven't read back through my Friends pages yet

Comments

[n3m3sis42]

Here's what you missed on my journal--we got engaged!!! :D

http://www.livejournal.com/users/n3m3sis42/681549.html

http://www.livejournal.com/users/n3m3sis42/681826.html

[mr_death]

Damn. You beat me to it

http://www.livejournal.com/users/n3m3sis42/681549.html?view=7950413#t7950413

YAY!!!!

[whirl_twirl]

Very very cool! Congratulations to both of you! :-)

[superflippy]

Google can tell me what one looks like, but I still have no idea what you'd do with it.

[whirl_twirl]

That's a very precise-looking whimmy diddle - most I've seen have bends in them from natural twigs. The ones I saw have just one "propeller" on the end, attached by a nail or pin. Here's the description from the competition rule sheet:

The Whimmy Diddle is an Appalachian folk toy fashioned of two sticks of laurel or rhododendron wood. The one stick that is notched has a freely rotating propeller attached to one end. By rubbing a second stick across the notches of the first, the propeller begins to spin. The purpose of the competition is to see who is able to score the highest on the reversal of the rotations...the "gees" (to the right) and the "haws" (to the left)...OR...how many times the propeller changes within a given period.

I was told that the terms Gee and Haw come from what people would say to a horse to get it to move to the right or left (probably when plowing).

[whirl_twirl]

I found a much better description (and a picture!) Here's an article about the very competition I was watching: http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/story/2759881p-9197942c.html

The Folk Art Center is a great place to check out if you are ever near Asheville.