"The Whirl-O Hallowe'en and Fortune Stunt Game is one of the latest, liveliest, and most complete games for Hallowe'en Parties". That's a pretty tall claim. This fun wheel is 7 by 9 inches. The little disk in the center is 2.75 inches across. It's in pretty good shape, but I don't know the age. I'm guessing 1930s. What do you think? It was copyrighted by The Beistle Company. And guess what? They're still around! The company was formed 116 years ago and is the oldest and largest manufacturer of party goods in the United States.

You've got fortunes on one side and wacky stunts on the other.

Spin like a top till you have to stop.

Hopefully, this stunt is performed before the candy orgy begins.

The instructions for this game seem to have been written by an attorney:

The announcer will now spin the cardboard spinner, which simultaneously causes the metal spinner to revolve also. . . . Having called out that number, the couple bearing that number should raise their hand and then their fortunes for that number, will be read, being those of corresponding number for the girl and for the boy printed alone. It will be observed also that black arrow on the cardboard spinner will also be pointing to either a cat or a witch. . . .

Sheesh. I do love some of these fortunes:

Brush your teeth and wash your face
And you'll be welcomed any place.

In spite of all your hopes and wishes
You'll spend your lifetime washing dishes.

Needless to say, the fortunes for the boys feature professions while the girls' fortunes run along romantic lines.

I guess this would have been a fun little game to play at the type of children's parties where the boys have to wear suits and bow ties and the girls wear plaid dresses and patent leather shoes.

Halloween has crept up upon me and I'm a day late in showcasing the three Halloween themed wheels we have. So today I'll feature two of them.

One is not really a volvelle; it only has one disk. But I think you'll agree that it's a delightful one. The "Ask the Pumpkin" game is 8 inches in diameter and the teeny, tiny copyright date is 1938. It was produced by General Mills. This is a knockout wheel, don't you think? The colors are great. I'm a sucker for blue and orange. I love all the illustrations of witches, owls and Jack o' Lanterns. Fun games are described on the "What Shall We Play?" side. Consider the Sailboat Race, which doesn't sound like it would be very successful:

Hostess provides little cornucopias made from writing paper pinned to form a cone. Into each of these thread a piece of string, long enough to reach across the room. Strings are tied tightly, parallel, while players line up to race the "boats". At signal, players blow hard as possible into the cones and first "boat" to reach other side wins race.

The second wheel today is the "Stunt Hallowe'en Quiz" game. It measures 8.5 by 9 inches and is in pretty decent shape. There is no date noted. Once again, I love the little wavy-edged wheel! And I do like it that the cat is wearing spats on his bare feet. The answers are a bit daffy. "Pretend to be eating a hot dog. If someone barks, the answer is yes" or "Dance in stocking feet. If no one leaves the room the answer is yes."

This one seems a bit limited. I think I like the other one a bit better. Tune in tomorrow for the Whirl-O!

Today I'm bringing you two wheels since neither one really merits its own post.

First off is courtesy of Old Sunny Brook Brand -- "Cheerful as its Name" -- Kentucky Whiskey a Blend. At 1.75 inches, this just might be the smallest wheel we have. It's made of a sturdy plastic and fits right in your pocket. It covers the years 1950 through 1960. As you might expect, I love the little fluted edge! I really like this little wheel. I'm going to need a pin to put in on the wall, the hole is so small.

Next up is an unattractive and tattered 1941-2 Holly Hills perpetual calendar that covers 1841 (just in case!) through 1961. It's not even that easy to read as a regular calendar. I always wonder what people are thinking when they design these things. See the address?

S.W. Cor. Grand and Bates

Why not write out fully, at least, the word "corner"? There's plenty of room. What is wrong with people?

We have a few of these wartime guides to military insignia, aircraft spotting and the like. I've shown you one or two before. This one was printed for the The Home Life Insurance Company of America. There is a Home Life policy for every purse and purpose!

The disk on this one is 4.25 inches. The length from top to bottom is one inch longer. This one isn't in great shape. The lower left corner is close to tearing off. The copyright date is 1942.

You can identify all the pins and uniform patches for the Army and Navy with this wheel. I love the pin for the ordnance specialist. It looks like a pineapple. The engineer's symbol is still used by the Army Corps of Engineers today. I don't suppose they have much reason to change these.

​I didn't realize you could still serve in the Army with only one arm.

We bought this lot of semaphore wheels from one seller. As you can see, they're in pretty bad shape. Only two have both of their tabs, but the colors are still pretty bright. They are 4.25 inches in diameter. We've seen wheels produced by Wonder Bread before. I wonder (heh) if Hostess HQ has a museum that includes all the wheels they've ever made?

The dials don't line up well, anymore, either. It's too bad for me, but I hope some kids had fun with these. I don't know how old these are. 40s? 50s? The Boy Scouts still offer a semaphore and signals badge. They also offer fingerprinting, stamp collecting, and, alarmingly, dentistry. I'd love to see a dentistry wheel, wouldn't you?

The wheel will assist you in figuring the cost per ounce in a package, as long as $3 is the highest price you will be asked to pay.

This wheel is 5.25 by 3.25 inches. The copyright date is 1961 and is in reasonably good shape -- just like me! It was provided by the good folks at The Jarrell Company in Dallas. They're still around, but I'm sure they aren't handing out anything as good as a knowledge wheel.

My friend Nancy brought this back from Guatemala. It's pretty fancy, I think. The Mayans had more than one calendar. There was your usual solar calendar and a ritual calendar. The 260-day ritual calendar is called Cholq'ij y el Ab' and that is the calendar described on this wheel.

There is a little booklet tucked inside with pages and pages and pages of E-Z instructions. Mayan symbols are very interesting and beautiful. I like the ones on the middle wheel (which has the names of the days). They look like little televisions!

This wheel is, pretty much, brand new and shiny. The disk measures 7.375 inches.

In "honor" of tonight's mud wrestling match, here's another exciting presidents wheel. This one has Richard Nixon on it, which is just about the only reason we bought it. It's 8 inches across and in good condition. I wonder who handed out/sold these things? The presidential facts are few, here. Even the designer got bored with it.

Yes, it's another profit meter. These are generally so dull, that I might as well photograph the blank reverse side as well as the front. This plastic wheel is four inches in diameter. End of story.

Every time I look at this wheel, I think of a pie with a delicious slice taken out of it. Soldiers like pies, just like everyone else does!

This little wheel is from the 1940s and, wow, what opportunities the Army provides! "Choice of branch of service and overseas theater (of those still open) on 3 year enlistments."

The disk on this is 3.25 inches across. This thing is faded and aged, but it's in very good shape. Of course, I love the winking soldier.