Kugel ball

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Kugel Ball in Railroad Plaza, Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Simplified diagram of the workings of a Kugel ball

A Kugel ball is a sculpture consisting of a large granite ball supported by a very thin film of water. Water flows beneath a very heavy, perfectly spherical rock from a spherical concave base with exactly the same curvature. A Kugel ball can weigh thousands of pounds, but because the thin film of water lubricates it, the ball spins.[1]

Kugel ball installations can be found all over the world. Many are at popular tourist destinations, such as a science museum in the United States[2], a shopping center in England, a hotel lobby in Kuwait, and a botanical garden in Germany.

The term Kugel ball originates from the German word Kugel, which can mean ball, sphere or globe.[3]

[edit] Locations of kugel balls

Location Country GPS Coordinate
TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion, Cincinnati, Ohio USA 39°15′21″N 84°21′54″W / 39.255901°N 84.364927°W / 39.255901; -84.364927 (Cincinnati)
Reading Hospital USA Unknown
Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia USA 37°33′39″N 77°27′58″W / 37.560809°N 77.466157°W / 37.560809; -77.466157 (Richmond, Virginia)
Forrest Place Perth, Western Australia Australia 31°57′10″S 115°51′33″E / 31.952756°S 115.859182°E / -31.952756; 115.859182 (Perth)
Questacon Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia 35°17′53″S 149°07′53″E / 35.298158°S 149.131507°E / -35.298158; 149.131507 (Canberra)
SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, Victoria (Australia) Australia 37°49′37″S 145°21′10″E / 37.826974°S 145.3528°E / -37.826974; 145.3528 (SkyHigh Mount Dandenong)
Mississippi College, Clinton, Mississippi USA Unknown
Feldkirch Austria Unknown
Erlangen, Bavaria Germany 49°35′44″N 11°00′19″E / 49.595552°N 11.005286°E / 49.595552; 11.005286 (Erlangen)
University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado USA Unknown
29th Street Mall, Boulder, Colorado USA 40°01′02″N 105°15′21″W / 40.01715°N 105.25585°W / 40.01715; -105.25585 (Boulder)
Belmar Shopping Center, Lakewood, Colorado USA 39°42′31″N 105°04′39″W / 39.708726°N 105.077594°W / 39.708726; -105.077594 (Lakewood, Colorado)
Langenfeld Germany 51°06′35″N 6°56′55″E / 51.109795°N 6.948499°E / 51.109795; 6.948499 (Langenfeld)
Kansas City, Missouri USA 39°03′52″N 94°35′25″W / 39.06434°N 94.590298°W / 39.06434; -94.590298 (Kansas City, Missouri)
Railroad Plaza, Lansdale, Pennsylvania USA 40°14′35″N 75°17′09″W / 40.243083°N 75.285833°W / 40.243083; -75.285833 (Lansdale)
Amarillo, Texas USA 35°12′25″N 101°49′51″W / 35.207017°N 101.830733°W / 35.207017; -101.830733 (Amarillo)
Wellington New Zealand 41°17′26″S 174°46′53″E / 41.290556°S 174.781389°E / -41.290556; 174.781389 (Wellington)
Carsington Water Visitor Center, Derbyshire UK 53°03′37″N 1°38′31″W / 53.060217°N 1.641850°W / 53.060217; -1.641850 (Derbyshire)
Dallas, Texas USA 32°47′10″N 96°47′45″W / 32.786083°N 96.795739°W / 32.786083; -96.795739 (Dallas)
Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas, USA 29°43′19″N 95°23′25″W / 29.721933°N 95.390244°W / 29.721933; -95.390244 (Houston)
Railroad Community Park, Santa Paula, California, USA 34°21′21″N 119°03′37″W / 34.35597°N 119.0604°W / 34.35597; -119.0604 (Santa Paula, California)
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Cape Canaveral, Florida USA 28°31′21″N 80°40′52″W / 28.522486°N 80.681198°W / 28.522486; -80.681198 (Cape Canaveral)
Intersection of Lane Ave. and Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, Ohio USA 40°00′26″N 83°01′22″W / 40.007172°N 83.022688°W / 40.007172; -83.022688 (Columbus, Ohio)
The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, Columbus, Ohio USA Unknown
COSI Columbus, Columbus, Ohio USA Unknown
Holliday Park Nature Center, Indianapolis, Indiana USA Unknown
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California USA 33°48′43″N 117°55′01″W / 33.8118177°N 117.9170617°W / 33.8118177; -117.9170617 (Disneyland Resort)
California Baptist University, Riverside, California USA Unknown
Dundarave, West Vancouver, British Columbia Canada 49°20′00″N 123°10′57″W / 49.333258°N 123.182506°W / 49.333258; -123.182506 (West Vancouver)
Coleman-Morse Center, Notre Dame, Indiana [4] USA 41°42′03″N 86°14′26″W / 41.700701°N 86.240622°W / 41.700701; -86.240622 (Notre Dame, Indiana)
Chinatown, Victoria, British Columbia Canada 48°25′45″N 123°22′01″W / 48.429117°N 123.366900°W / 48.429117; -123.366900 (Kugel ball at Chinatown)
Nike Campus, Beaverton, Oregon USA Unknown
Amtrak Station, Bakersfield, California USA 35°22′20″N 119°00′30″W / 35.372101°N 119.008233°W / 35.372101; -119.008233 (Bakersfield)
Children's playground, rue du Dôme, Boulogne-Billancourt, Île de France France Unknown
Paultons Park, Hampshire[5] England 50°56′56″N 1°33′08″W / 50.94887°N -1.5523553°E / 50.94887; -1.5523553 (Hampshire)
Parco Commerciale Dora, Via Livorno, angolo Via Treviso, Turin Italy 45°05′15″N 7°40′05″E / 45.087556°N 7.668025°E / 45.087556; 7.668025 (Turin)
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Gatlinburg, Tennessee USA 35°42′41″N 83°31′06″W / 35.711403°N 83.518453°W / 35.711403; -83.518453 (Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA Unknown
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada 43°05′31″N 79°04′34″W / 43.0918716°N 79.0759849°W / 43.0918716; -79.0759849 (Niagara Falls)
Canyon Visitor Education Center, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming USA 44°44′05″N 110°29′31″W / 44.734717°N 110.491888°W / 44.734717; -110.491888 (Yellowstone)
Rotuaari pedestrian street, Oulu Finland Unknown
Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA 43°08′03″N 87°57′21″W / 43.134167°N 87.955833°W / 43.134167; -87.955833 (Milwaukee)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego, California USA 33°05′55″N 116°59′56″W / 33.09866°N 116.99889°W / 33.09866; -116.99889
Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska USA 41°13′31″N 95°55′41″W / 41.225158°N 95.927939°W / 41.225158; -95.927939 (Omaha)
Duke Power, Charlotte, North Carolina USA Unknown
Oak Court Mall, Memphis, Tennessee USA 35°07′02″N 89°54′48″W / 35.117305°N 89.913378°W / 35.117305; -89.913378 (Memphis)
Kaggensgatan Pedestrian Street, Kalmar Sweden 56°39′42″N 16°21′52″E / 56.661616°N 16.364538°E / 56.661616; 16.364538 (Kalmar, Sweden)
Palmengarten, Frankfurt am Main Germany Unknown
Casino Velden, Velden Austria Unknown
Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, Iowa USA 41°35′44″N 93°33′04″W / 41.595546°N 93.551049°W / 41.595546; -93.551049 (Des Moines)
Davison Township Police Department, Davison, Michigan USA 43°01′38″N 83°33′21″W / 43.027255°N 83.555757°W / 43.027255; -83.555757 (Davison, Michigan)
Malaya Sadovaya Street, Saint Petersburg Russia 59°56′03″N 30°20′15″E / 59.93421°N 30.33744°E / 59.93421; 30.33744 (St. Petersburg)
Lausanne Switzerland Unknown
Hämeenpuisto, Tampere Finland 61°29′52″N 23°45′07″E / 61.497792°N 23.751926°E / 61.497792; 23.751926 (Tampere, Finland)
Lyngby Storcenter, Lyngby Denmark 55°46′17″N 12°30′21″E / 55.771329°N 12.505888°E / 55.771329; 12.505888 (Lyngby, Denmark)
Morton Arboretum, Illinois USA 41°48′50″N 88°04′12″W / 41.81393°N -88.06997°E / 41.81393; -88.06997 (Morton Arboretum)
Casa de las Ciencias, A Coruña Spain 43°21′42″N 8°24′50″W / 43.3618°N 8.413951°W / 43.3618; -8.413951 (A Coruña, Spain)
Louisville Zoo, Louisville, Kentucky USA 38°12′20″N 85°42′25″W / 38.205438°N 85.707023°W / 38.205438; -85.707023 (Louisville, Kentucky)
Somerset Collection, Troy, Michigan USA 42°33′41″N 83°11′2″W / 42.56139°N 83.18389°W / 42.56139; -83.18389 (Troy, Michigan)
Pacific Science Center, Seattle, Washington USA 47°37′9″N 122°21′4″W / 47.61917°N 122.35111°W / 47.61917; -122.35111 (Seattle)
Temaikèn Park, Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province Argentina 34°22′00″S 58°48′16″W / 34.366725°S 58.804462°W / -34.366725; -58.804462 (Buenos Aires)
Utah's Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT USA Unknown
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA USA 39°58′48″S 75°09′22″W / 39.980071°S 75.156248°W / -39.980071; -75.156248 (Philadelphia)
Lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait City Kuwait Unknown
Westpark, Munich Germany 48°07′23″N 11°31′52″E / 48.122954°N 11.531178°E / 48.122954; 11.531178 (Munich)
W5 Interactive Discovery Centre, Belfast Northern Ireland Unknown
ConocoPhillips Campus, Houston, Texas USA 29°47′18″N 95°36′49″W / 29.788273°N 95.613542°W / 29.788273; -95.613542 (Houston, Texas)
Techniquest, Cardiff Wales 51°16′29″N 3°06′13″W / 51.274644°N 3.10372°W / 51.274644; -3.10372 (Cardiff)
Gilbert, Arizona USA 33°12′47″N 111°28′29″W / 33.21293°N 111.47463°W / 33.21293; -111.47463 (Gilbert, Arizona)
Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, Washington USA 48°47′43″N 122°29′37″W / 48.79534°N 122.493681°W / 48.79534; -122.493681 (Bellingham, Washington)
Donbass Arena, Donetsk Ukraine 48°01′15″N 37°48′34″E / 48.02083°N 37.80944°E / 48.02083; 37.80944 (Donetsk, Ukraine)
"The Solar System", Tarnów[6] Poland 50°00′30″N 20°58′31″E / 50.008344°N 20.975416°E / 50.008344; 20.975416 (Tarnów, Poland)
"Discovery", [1], Columbus Learning Center, 4601 Central Ave, Columbus, Indiana USA Unknown
Bengaluru International Airport Terminal, Bangalore India Unknown
Fry's Electronics, San Marcos, California USA 33°08′14″N 117°11′02″W / 33.13712°N 117.183952°W / 33.13712; -117.183952
Tulsa Zoo, Tulsa, OK USA Unknown

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kugel Ball FAQ Retrieved on 18 September 2007
  2. ^ Amanda Oaks, Richmond in the Record Books, Richmond.com, 18 August [2004], Retrieved on 18 September 2007
  3. ^ wiktionary.org: Kugel (German) [retrieved 10 May 2010]
  4. ^ Notre Dame Magazine Online, Summer 2001, Retrieved on 31 July 2008
  5. ^ Paultons Park, Summer 2008, Retrieved on 15 June 2009
  6. ^ Kosmiczna fontanna w Tarnowie już działa, Spring 2011, Retrieved on 5 June 2011 (in Polish)

[edit] External links


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