Those of us who buy coconuts in the produce section of our local grocery store often forget that freshly picked nuts are encased in a fibrous green husk that has already been removed.
In this amusing three-figure action series from North Queensland, the process of husking two coconuts is vividly portrayed. The first figure represents 'Two Coconuts, Freshly Picked'. The second figure shows 'Two Coconuts After Husking.' Their pointed ends are clearly visible. Once they are husked, the nuts are cut with a blade to give 'Two Coconuts, Split into Four Halves'.
This splendid figure from North Queensland, which represents a ray-adorned sun hovering above the western horizon, appeared in the June 1997 issue of String Figure Magazine but without much attention paid to the final action, in which the sun’s light fades to darkness.
Drop spindles are primitive spinning tools that were used almost exclusively until about A.D. 1000 (the spinning wheel did not become popular until the 1500s).
Extensive twisting creates a figure with a supercoiled center. To work the figure, the thumb and little finger repeatedly separate and come together. The supercoiling represents fibers coiling around the wooden spindle.
