Somersaulting top

The Austrian company Mader Kreiselmanufaktur makes many high quality spinning tops. This most unusual somersaulting top was purchased through Grand Illusions in the UK. Tim Rowett of Grand Illusions has made a very useful video showing the strange way in which this top behaves. In 2022 this video was available here. The first interesting thing is that the top will not spin on its sharp point, as most tops will. This one will promptly fall over. It will, however, spin very well on its flatter end. As Tim says, this is not the main trick of the top. The instructions which came with the top explain: ‘Spin the top normally, i.e. with the point downwards, and it will immediately fall on its side. However it will remain spinning, and it will also slowly rotate as it spins on its side. If you reach in and use your fingers to give it a nudge in the opposite direction, it will initially spin the other way, but still on its side, and it will then hop up onto the blunt end and spin happily in that orientation.’ There is a knack in getting this to happen and it is very instructive to watch Tim’s video.