I bought this wheel at a bookstore in Stockholm. It's a year-round star and planet finder produced by the Royal Museum of Natural History, which we did not visit. It's configured for 60 degrees north latitude, so you're out of luck if you aren't way up there. It measures 9.625 inches across and is made of plastic, as one would expect.

I feel like I may have posted the green version of this wheel. And I think we may even have a third one of these, but I can't seem to put my hands on it. These wheels are 5.5 inches in diameter and in so-so shape. The green one has a hole next to the grommet because I failed to wear my glasses while trying to re-hang it on the wall and I missed the grommet.

I'm no bridge player, so I can't really form an opinion on how good these are. I imagine it would be pretty annoying to have someone at your game always referring to this wheel.

I kind of like the design on these, especially the arrow that changes color as it passes through the circle. Copyright by Bidmasters!

Here is yet another first aid wheel. I guess you can't have enough of those. It appears this one was put out by the American Red Cross and distributed, in this case, by Z&J Auto Repair of Chicago. The disk on this is 6.75 inches and the entire thing, top to bottom, is a smidge over 8 inches. It's in good shape.

This thing is a bit busy, so I think you'd have to study it well before being confronted with an emergency.

It's another informative wheel from Calvert's Distillers. "Clear Heads Choose Calvert". Look at that wise, old owl enjoying his whiskey soda! This wheel is 5.5 inches in diameter and in good shape. The outer disk has experienced some yellowing, but it doesn't seem to affected the quality. Some of the phrases don't line up properly in the slot.

We have here a timeline of some of the events of World War II along with references to where they occurred. Each phrases has a number after it and you look up that number on the maps. Easy. "British occupy Madagascar". I didn't know Madagascar figured in that war. But what do I know? The wheel is dated no later than February of 1943. I wonder if they ever updated it?

Here is another fine product from Perrygraf Corp (still going strong!) The copyright date is 1964. This slide rule is 6.5 inches in diameter and sports a nifty plastic arm -- advanced sliding technology! Actually, it's not all that advanced. Time and, presumably, heat have slightly shrunken the plastic arm and it's actually difficult to turn. No matter. This seems like a pretty useful wheel to me. Too bad about the shrinking arm, though.

Otherwise, this wheel is in good shape. It's made of a sturdy, plastic-coated (sort of) cardboard.

If everyone had been given one of these sliding knowledge things then, perhaps, the U.S. would have caught on to the metric system. Let's take a trip to Metricsville, which sounds like a perfectly ghastly and annoying place. You can figure length, weight, volume, temperature, and mileage with this device. Not bad, I must say.

This sliding rule is 8.5 by 14.5 centimeters. It must be from the 70s. Just look at that nauseating color scheme.

The one thing I like about this rule is the name of the company that distributed it: Systems of San Antonio. What the hell is that supposed to be? To paraphrase H.I. McDonough from Raising Arizona: that is one bonehead name

Let's turn our attention now to our neighbor to the north: O Canada! Once again we have a wheel put out by a bakery. This time it's Weston Baked Foods. According to the Important Dates in Canadian History table, George Weston opened a small bakery in Toronto in 1882. In 1911, he opened a biscuit factory. 1978 is the last date listed and the best they could come up with was "Canadians continue their struggle to preserve national unity". Therefore, this most certainly places the date of this wheel as 1978.

This little booklet is 5.25 by 4.25 inches. Inside you can find the coat of arms for each providence. I like what appears to be an Arctic fox on the one for the Northwest Territories. He looks menacing. The Prime Ministers are listed as well. Look at how often the name Mackenzie appears. You can learn the "floral emblem" for each province. Newfoundland's is the strange (and carnivorous!) pitcher plant, which I think is pretty bad-ass. Of course, the wheel has to devote a whole page to an ad for Weston. Check out the artfullly arranged portrait of sliced bread!

I don't know which of the umpteen Petersburgs in this country this is from. One of them had a Cannon Shoe Store back in the 50s and handed out this wheel to all the kiddies. We know the name of at least one of them: Lucy May. Her name is inscribed on one side -- in case there was some dispute over it in the schoolyard?

While I find the presidents wheels dull as dishwater, I do like most of the geography wheels. Who doesn't want to know the state motto of Wyoming ("Let arms yield to the gown") or the state flower of Mississippi (Magnolia)? At first, I was a little confused by what this wheel says are the states' nicknames. I just couldn't believe Georgia's nickname is The Cracker State, or that West Virginia's nickname is The Panhandle State. Believe it or not, it was true at some point. Georgia is now either The Peach State or, oddly, The Empire State of The South. West Virginia is now, of course, The Mountain State.

Anyway, this is a nice little wheel for any kid wearing smart and sturdy shoes. It measures 4.25 by 5.25 inches. It's double-sided -- half the states on each side and with the same illustration. It's in good shape, too. I like the red grommet; it's a nice touch. I don't know how old this is, but it predates the addition of Alaska and Hawaii.