Cuckoo Clocks!

So, thanks to a documentary in my German class, I've discovered a little novelty with German origins.

The cuckoo clock.

Source: http://www.cuckooclocks.com/get-image.aspx?file=1-0260-01-c.jpg

Isn't it so cute?
Short history: The cuckoo clock from the Black Forest--Schwarzwald. The very first (primitive) cuckoo clock was made in around 1630. Eventually, clockmaking became a popular trade among the farmers of the Schwarzwald. When the winters were cold and the farms were covered in snow, what did they do?

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Clockmakers_black_forest.jpg

They made clocks. 

These days, cuckoo clocks are made with astonishing details--along with the rhythmic cuckoo chime that sounds off the hours, there can also be waltzing figures, miniature soldiers that move their limbs, and beautiful, intricate design and setting. 

The BEAUTIFUL CLOCKS
Source: http://www.cuckoo-palace.com/cuckoo-clocks-blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Schwer_17.10-225x300.jpg

The inside is no less fascinating than the outside--all the gears, wires and dials fit in this one boxlike structure called the movement, which is the heart of the clock--and the timekeeper. Cuckoo bellows are fit snugly on top of the movement, and are connected by wires and a pendulum that sets the movement in motion. 

Left: a cuckoo clock, and right: the movement
Source: http://public.media.smithsonianmag.com/legacy_blog/early-cuckoo-clock.jpg

Here's an incredibly interesting and informative 5-minute video on cuckoo clockmaking. 

To this day, cuckoo clocks are still a long-standing tradition in the Black Forest. Many of them are still family businesses that create wooden masterpieces that are not only excellent timekeepers, but a marvel and a work of art.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57NTH-v2GXU --the video above
http://www.cuckooclockworld.com/history.htm