Be Knowin' About Beano's - 
by madeyoulaugh
Oh happy day! I finally have my very own Beano Stick!! After hunting down what I believe to be the greatest find in my life. I have decided to share the Beano Stick secrets with you.
The Beano stick, it turns out, is an age-old folk toy known as a gee-haw whimmy diddle. (It's also called a hooey stick, whammy doodle or voodoo stick.) The "whimmy" is the notched stick with the propeller, the "diddle" is the rubbing stick, and "gee" and "haw" are commands for "right" and "left," used to guide plow-pulling horses.
Ok, so Mose didn't invent it. But what should you do if you want a Beano Stick of your very own and dont want to wait for shipping?!
Find out how to make your own Beano Stick after the jump.
 | | ) Here's a whimmy diddle in action.
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Materials:
two pencils
scissors
craft knife or sharp paring knife
straight pin
cardboard or emery board
Steps:
- Cut six to eight knotches down into the pencil along one ridge, spacing them equal distances apart (about 1/2 inch) (figure A).
- Make an angled cut on each side of each slash to form a wedge.
- Cut emery board (1/2" x 2") and poke a straight pin through the center. This will serve as a propeller for the whimmy diddle. Move the pin around to make the hole big enough so the propeller can spin freely.
- Push the point of the pin into the eraser of the pencil so that it is secure. It may be necessary to cut the end of the pin off if you can't get it to go far enough into the eraser so that it doesn't wobble.
- Hold second pencil in your right hand so that your thumb is pressed against the notched pencil and rub it rapidly back and forth. The propeller should spin rapidly in a clockwise direction. To make the propeller stop and reverse its direction, release pressure from your thumb and apply pressure with your forefinger on the other side of the pencil. Don't forget to say the magic words as you do this..."Sniggle-fritz-ka-fooey!" If this does not work then try "Gee" and "Haw."
Send in a photo of your Beano Stick. The person who sends in the most creative, fun and functional photo will have their Beano Stick featured in a future post and recieve an authentic Beano Stick which makes a great gift for the mentally handicapped, stoner or Amish.
send in your photo to saul@tvgasm.com
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Comments
The version in this picture is a very different unique beano.
I have a beano,however not quite like this. Mine looks more like the one Mose has.
My beano stick really does obey "only your" command. The beano stick is not as easy to make or make work as you might think! The beano stick on ebay under "amish toy" search is a great gift for anyone!
Posted by: Lynn | September 17, 2004 4:43 AM(#1 of 1)