The pinwheel has many names. Spinner, twirler, whirligig, twister, grinder, etc… Its origins begin with the windmill. That is a good place to start our discussion.
No one knows who the original inventor of the windmill was. No indication that windmills existed in classical Greece or Rome has ever been found. Evidence shows that the first windmills appeared in Persia around 644 BC. C. to raise the water. The path of development to the West begins in Arabia around 1000 AD Then through Tibet, China and finally England in 1150 AD These early devices were all of the horizontal type. In this type the blades or sails are connected to a vertical axis. There’s no way it’s going to change direction with the wind. At this point, the development of the horizontal windmill continued, but a new type of device called the later windmill appeared. This is the most traditional one we are familiar with. Its axis is horizontal to the ground and is geared to a vertical axis inside the body of the mill. Outside, at the end of the horizontal shaft, is a unit with four candles mounted on it. The shaft angle was set to allow the wind to push the sails in one direction causing the shaft to rotate. The first windmills of this type allowed the entire mill to rotate on the vertical axis. Later versions were developed which allowed only the top to rotate and with the attachment of a vane at the rear of the axle allowed self-steering.
Later, in 1756, in what were to be the first American colonies, farmers found more uses for the new fanged windmill device. They found that birds and land animals had no use for the revolving structures, and therefore smaller and smaller versions were built just for the purpose of scaring the animals away. As they got smaller and smaller, a new word was coined to describe them: whirlwind. The word is derived from the verb turn. Perhaps it was the misspelling of the word with its similarity to the torture device, the windlass (developed in 1440), that propelled its popularity. But before you know it, a whole plethora of little gadgets appeared. Including things with swivel legs, arms, spinning wheels or spinners, fast-spinning fans, etc. Many were in the form of hideous animal abominations. With a vane tail attached, they seemed to be alive. This aspect scared off troublesome birds and animals.
Whirligigs became popular again in the 1930s. They were a way for farmers to earn money during the depression. After a while, revolving concerts branched out into different types of revolving devices. One was the pinwheel with its obvious connection to the original windmills that became an iconic children’s toy. The wind spinner came out of this too. This is similar to a vertical windmill in that a single twisted piece of metal is tilted into the wind. Any little breeze makes it spin on its axis.
The aviation windsock was also developed from the weather vane aspect and is used as a weather instrument. Some credit is given to the Chinese for the invention of the windsock. They flew kites from the year 500 a. Some were shaped like socks with one end open.
Pinwheel wheels or pinwheels shot out of another branch called pinwheels. Some are similar to pinwheels or the commercial end of a windmill with its axis horizontal. Some are based on the vertical axis principle and are generally suspended from that vertical axis which is the axis of rotation.
The vertical axis pinwheel has the added benefit of being viewed from the side or a normal viewing angle. A single slab of wood or metal turning is satisfying in itself. But remember the kaleidoscope where rapidly moving pages with coordinated changes in each “frame” create the illusion of movement.
Now imagine a single slab of stainless steel cut into multiple rings one inside the other. Then each individually bent around the axis. All rings equally spaced through a 90 degree arc. Movement of the resulting structure on its axis would also create the illusion of light movement from the center out. This is how the stainless steel windmill was born.
Today, with the advent of precise computer controlled laser cutting machines, any design within the limitations of the cutter can be created like a pinwheel. Stainless steel wind spinners will not rust making them weather resistant and come with their own twist and are available in a multitude of powder coated colors. Therefore, they can be used indoors or outdoors. For indoor use, motors are available to rotate them continuously. Out in the open the wind will turn them around. They can be hung from almost anything that gives them room to move.
You, your family, friends, and even your pets will spend hours watching the ever-changing light patterns.