Autopia

What could be more utopian than automobiles! In Disneyland, circa 1955! For the uninitiated, the Autopia ride at Disneyland consisted of very slow, miniature cars that you got to drive around on a closed track. To keep you from driving off into the Pirates of the Caribbean, your wheels straddled a curb running down the middle of the track. I remember riding this back in the ‘60’s. Of course as a little kid, I hadn't figured out that after turning, you had to straighten the steering wheel back if you wanted to go straight again. Hence, I went the entire ride grinding along the curb, one side or the other. This tabletop version is much more fun than that.This version uses a serpentine track that captures a long string of 6mm balls - Airsoft BB's, to be specific. At one end of the circuit, the balls wrap around the dial, which essentially is the inner race of a ball bearing. Rotating the dial while pressing down gently forces the balls to recirculate through the entire track circuit.You w