A top, or spinning top, is a children's toy that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. The top is one of the oldest recognizable toys found on archaeological sites. Besides toys, tops have also historically been used for gambling and prophecy. Some role-playing gamers still use tops to augment dice in generating randomized results. A thumbtack may also be made to spin on the same principles.

The action of a top relies on the gyroscopic effect for its operation. Typically the top will at first wobble until the shape of the tip and its interaction with the surface force it upright. After spinning upright for an extended period, the angular momentum, and therefore the gyroscopic effect, will gradually lessen, leading to ever increasing precession, finally causing the top to topple in a frequently violent last thrash.

Types of tops

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• Concertina top
• Dreidel (also spelled "dradel", "dreidl", or "dreydl")
• Dueling top
  • Bei-goma
  • Beyblade
• Floating top
• Gaming top
• Perinola
• Tippe top
• Trompo
• Whipping top
• Whistling top

Perinola (or Pirinola)

A Perinola is a six-sided top, very similar to the dreidel, that is used for a similar game in most Latin American countries. Perinola is also the name of a stick and ball game.

See also

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• Levitron

External links

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• Why Do We Play With a Dreidel — Top on Chanukah? chabad.org
• Perinola rules in Spanish
• Perinola description in Spanish
• Chanukah Dreidel in the Judaica-Guide
• Just Dreidels a site centered around the dreidel

Toys

Snurretop | Kreisel | Trompo | Turbo | סביבון | Draaitol | 独楽 | Bąk (zabawka) | Pião | Волчок | Vrtavka | Hyrrä