Harold, the Balancing Monkey

You couldn't handle a whole barrel of my monkeys! This cute little primate will shock and amaze children of young ages. They'll think their eyes are playing tricks on them when they see the monkey balance on the tip of their very fingers while reaching out away from them.

• Features
  • 1 piece toy
  • 2 metal weights in feet
  • Waterproof (bathtime has never been so much fun!)
  • No Small Parts
  • Durable
    
    
• Underlying Principles: While initially it may seem like something supernatural or magic is at work here, the truth is based in science. The weighted feet shifts Harold's center of gravity directly above the curl in his tail, allowing him to balance on practically anything.
  
  
  
  
• Construction cost: The cost of manufacturing this toy would be very low. Harold's body would be constructed of two pieces of injection molded plastic sandwiched around the two metal weights at his feet. His tail could be reinforced with metal if analysis showed the plastic tail to be too fragile.
  
  
• Durability: The tail really seems to be the only fragile part of this toy. There are no moving parts or mechanisms to break or wear out.
  
  
• Safety: The toy is larger than a child's throat and thus poses no choking hazard. The body will be securely bonded together to discourage children from eating the weights. It could be painful if stepped on, but thats only more incentive for the child to keep a tidy room.

Mike Ricci
mricci@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University
February 5, 2008