How would a child use a toy called a top?

Answer 1

The proper term for a toy top is a "spinning top". There are descriptions of Spinning Tops from the early 1800s and may have been found in other cultures long before the 1800s.

A spinning top may be any shape as long as it is balanced, with a pointed bottom. A spire goes through the center down into the pointed end. The spire, a metal shaft, typically had a ball shape on top that a person can hold comfortably. As the spire is pressed downward repeatedly, the top (e.g. the body of it) begins to spin rapidly, until all of the energy is expended.

In the 1960s, spinning tops had metal bodies with wooden ball on the spire. By the 1970s, they used a lighter weight metal for the body and plastic for the ball.

Answer 2

Spinning Top