Steady Tar
The Steady Tar is another toy of the balancing order, several of which have already been described. To make this toy, stick a needle into a cork, and place the cork, needle upwards, tightly into a bottle. Carve the figure of a sailor—any other figure will answer equally well—out of light wood, cork, or pith, and mount him on a hard wood ball. (See figure in the illustration.) Through the centre of this ball run a wire, which must be bent, as in the woodcut, into a half circle, and to either end of which a small leaden weight or bullet of equal weight must be attached. If the hard wood ball is then placed on the needle sticking out of the cork in the bottle, the figure may be spun round, and tipped in any direction; if properly made it will always recover its erect and steady position.