>whirligigs--isn't this a real thing? --any one of several small, usually hand crafted toys that have movement but do nothing<
What I used to call a whirligig is what everyone in Australia calls a Hill's Hoist. (Help me, how to explain this without a picture???)
An upright metal pole, with three or four 'spokes' protruding at right angles from it at the top. Wires run between these spokes creating a web of washing lines. YOu hang your washing on it and the whole contraption rotates in the breeze.
The Hill's Hoist is a sophisticated model with a winch, so that you can lower the lines to hang washing out, then raise them high up to dry. It is touted as an example of Australian design ingenuity, though I am not sure whether it is the overall spider web shape or the winch amendment that is the basis of this ingenuity.
PS Have now gone and investigated on the web. What I mean by all the garbage above is apparently a 'rotating clothesline.'
http://www.hills.com.au
