Monday, September 5, 2016

Spirograph

My three-year-old has been enjoying the vintage Spirograph set we have. I thought it would be fun to make a javascript/svg version. Code is public domain (just View Source in your browser). What can we deduce about humankind from the fact that we appreciate patterns like these?

Stationary circle size:
Mobile circle size:
Fractional distance of pen from center of mobile circle:
Rotate around outside of stationary circle:

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3 comments:

  1. Dagmara LizlovsSeptember 10, 2016 at 11:50 AM

    You still have a Spirograph? That was one of the coolest toys I ever had.

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  2. Dagmara LizlovsSeptember 10, 2016 at 11:51 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Alexander R PrussSeptember 12, 2016 at 9:02 AM

    We got a package for 25 cents in a garage sale. It had a lot of gears, but didn't have the pins. I ended up making a plywood backboard with two posts that you can stick the gears on to.

    At the time, Spirograph was almost entirely out of production, except for some puny little kits with a few circles. I recently saw that they've brought it back.

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