The Dandy's Suitcase - machine that automatically makes a gin & tonic for you

Here's the latest mechanical creation from Benjamin Cowden. Titled The Dandy's Suitcase, the machine will mix you the perfect gin & tonic after a little bit of setup.

From the YouTube description:

This cocktail machine was a commission project to produce a device that travels in a suitcase and pours a Gin & Tonic. It features a single crank that drives a worm gear. On the axle with the worm gear are two yoked cranks that activate the gin bottle, then the tonic bottle. The yokes have dwells that allow the bottle to return to their start positions and stay until the next round. Finally, a Scotch Yoke on the axle pulls a lever that pushes a garnish of sliced cucumber into the waiting cup. All elements of this machine that contact the ingredients are food grade stainless and silicone.

See more mechanical creations by Benjamin Cowden on his web site.

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Diana and Stag Automaton at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is actually a princely drinking game

Falk Keuten of the Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog wrote to let us know about an automaton in my own backyard. Given that he's in Germany, it's fair to say that he is a very well-informed man!

A new exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts features an automaton of Diana, goddess of the hunt, riding a stag. The piece is in the museum's new Kunstkammer gallery, which now displays the type of thing that wealthy individuals in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries might have collected.

The piece itself is made from cast and chased silver -- some parts gilded, some painted with lacquer. The automaton was designed as a form drinking game at courtly banquets. It moves about the table and stops arbitrarily. If it stops near you, it's your turn to drink.

Here's the full article in The Boston Globe on the ‘Diana and Stag Automaton’ at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

Here's the MFA's page about the new Kunstkammer Gallery.

Many pieces such as this are document in the wonderful book titled Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650

From the book description:

This book depicts the golden age of German clockmaking. The volume offers the most comprehensive examination of the German Renaissance clock ever undertaken. From the founding of the clockmaker's guilds to the eventual shifting of the craft's supremacy from German-speaking central Europe to Holland and England after the Thirty Year's War. Includes contributions from 14 scholars, over 200 illustrations and technical drawings.

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Babylon Vampire: blood-drinking automaton by Thomas Kuntz

Check out this macabre blood drinking automaton by master automaton-maker, Thomas Kuntz. The automaton was designed, sculpted, painted, and mechanized by Thomas Kuntz. The mechanism consists of brass cams, levers and assorted components, all machined by the artist. The figure's costume was made by specialty costumer, Blake Bolger. The figure pours fresh blood from the severed head of his victim into a tankard and drinks it delightfully. Meanwhile, a headless figure drums a beat for each poor soul who came before and those doomed to follow.

See more incredible automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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Vintage motorized drinking bear automaton

Here is a motorized drinking bear automaton believed to be produced around 1932 by the Decamps firm. The bear measures about 14 inches tall, and is somewhat atypical in that it has white fur rather than brown or black.

The bear sure looks like it is drinking, but in reality, there is hole in the the bottom of the cup. A tube starting at this hole runs down the arm, across the back, up the right arm, and into the bottom of the bottle. The motion of raising one arm drains the liquid into the other, allowing the bear to drink endlessly. It's an ingenious design.

From the eBay description of this drinking bear:

The Decamps electric Dinking Bear is a fun automaton and one of a very few that uses water. Switch on his electric (120v AC) motor using the roller switch in the cord and the bear will raise his right arm pouring water out of the bottle and into the cup in his left hand. Then he raises his right arm, tips back his head bringing the cup to his mouth and “DRINKS” the water, and then tips the cup just a bit more as if trying to get the very last drop! You could color the water to your favorite drink color for a little extra fun!

Here is the full ebay listing with many photographs and a lengthy description of this vintage motorized drinking bear automaton

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