„Magic Penny Roundabout“ (1995) with agnetic coins – fro a Rickansworth kitchen to BBC TV „It´ll Never Work“ – FESCH.TV

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

This video shows some of the background to the first public appearance, in 1995. of the „Magic Penny Roundabout“ at the Institute of Physics Congress in Telford, UK, and its later appearance on the award-winning BBC TV series „It´ll Never Work“.

„The Magic Roundabout“ was a classic BBC children´s cartoon programme which ran from 1965 to 1977. It was a reinvention of the French original – „Le Manège Enchanté“, by Serge Danot. The programme was aired just before the early evening news and was greatly enjoyed by adults too. It soon became a cult classic with its iconic characters and its organ theme music by Alain Legrand.

The Magic Penny Roundabout was one of the logical developments resulting from the finding that coins made mainly of iron, “magnetic coins” could be made to roll on their rims along a wire or metal sheet, without the magnet touching the coin or the sheet. It should, therefore, not be surprising, that this remote rolling of “magic pennies” around a circular halo of steel in a roundabout fashion, should become to be associated, if only in name, with the television programme.

“It’ll Never Work?” was a BBC television programme for children. Produced by Roy Milani, it highlighted new inventions and developments in scientific technology and ran from 1993 to 1999. The episode included here was shown on 12 December 1995. The three presenters in order of appearance are: Sally Gray, Angela Lamont and Jez Nelson. The show won the 1994 BAFTA TV Award in the category of ‚Best Children’s Programme (Factual)‘ and received ratings of up to four million viewers.