I like solar toys. They can become an obsession, so I don’t go overboard, but I do have over a dozen of them. Solar toys have been around for a while, and I just noticed something that says a lot about how inventions can evolve with time.
Whoever first stuck a small solar panel onto a plastic base holding a hula girl shaking her hips or a jiggling arm-waving character surely must have patted themselves on the back. The little things can sell for only a dollar, but set in a window or under an office light, they can provide a harmless distraction from the doldrums of life. They wiggle and wave happily, stopping only when clouds form or the lights go out. Like us, they don’t feel much like being happy on dark days.
The problem with solar toys has been in their initial design. It seems all the manufacturers have put the solar panel in front of the toy. This means that, if you put it in the window, the sun has to be able to bypass the object blocking the panel to activate its motion. This is why you often find solar toys set at an angle on a windowsill.
Recently, however, I got hold of two toys in which the panel has been installed in the back of the object, allowing the toy to face forward into the room unimpeded by shadows.
Whoever said, “Maybe we should put the panel in the back,” has probably seen his bosses slapping themselves on the forehead in a “d’oh” moment.
So the older versions may become obsolete, but it doesn’t matter. They’re harmless fun, and you can see just what people enjoy watching by what types of toys they buy. Often they’re simply waving seasonal characters like snowmen or Easter bunnies, but I have a couple which came from Japan with round character heads which sway lazily and can threaten to put me to sleep. My first one I bought at Target, and it’s faded from being in the sun too long, but I love it, front panel and all.
You’re looking them up on Amazon now, aren’t you? That’s okay: so am I. Might as well add to the collection, since I have the windowsill space to spare.
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