Folk toys don’t usually have legends this exotic behind them. The
Jacob’s Ladder is named after a story from the Bible, in which a fella
named Jacob had a vision of a ladder that led up to heaven, replete
with angels scooting up and down (the biblical equivalent to a giant
escalator to sky, only with passengers much easier on the eye than the
haggard mall-walkers we see on moving staircases down here on earth).
Though there was purportedly a Jacob’s Ladder found in King
Tutankhamen's tomb, no one is sure just how old they are or exactly
where they came from. But with a biblical name and a possible Tut
affiliation, however, it’s probably enough just to say that the Jacob’s
Ladder is, you know, really, really old. In its most familiar form, the Ladder is made of six small blocks
of wood, strung together with flat colored ribbon. Since each of the
blocks is connected to one another with a double-acting hinge, to
operate, you just hold the top block by its edges and let the rest of
the blocks fall down. Then turn the top block over half a rotation
until it and the second block are touching, and get ready for another
block cascade. A little wrist dexterity is the only requirement. The
sound that the blocks make as they head downwards and bounce off one
another, incidentally, accounts for the Ladder’s onomatopoeic second
name—the click-clack.
Alas, if your friends aren’t impressed with old toy lore, you can
always fold a dollar bill up and tuck it under one of the ribbons—the
dollar will appear and disappear, as long as you’ve got your basic
cascade technique down. That’ll keep ‘em coming back for sure.
Folk toys don’t usually have legends this exotic behind them. The
Jacob’s Ladder is named after a story from the Bible, in which a fella
named Jacob had a vision of a ladder that led up to heaven, replete
with angels scooting up and down (the biblical equivalent to a giant
escalator to sky, only with passengers much easier on the eye than the
haggard mall-walkers we see on moving staircases down here on earth).
Though there was purportedly a Jacob’s Ladder found in King
Tutankhamen's tomb, no one is sure just how old they are or exactly
where they came from. But with a biblical name and a possible Tut
affiliation, however, it’s probably enough just to say that the Jacob’s
Ladder is, you know, really, really old.