closeup of hands play whimmy diddle b&W
Childrens games

All I want for Christmas is a whimmy diddle

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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

hands playing the whimmy-diddle

The whimmy diddle (sometimes called a Hooey Stick or Gee-Haw) is an Appalachian folk toy that has been around for centuries. It’s fashioned from two sticks of laurel or rhododendron into a rubbing stick and a slightly thicker notched stick. The whimmy diddle makes a characteristic sound when the one stick is rubbed back and forth across deep notches in the other. A spinner nailed to one end of the serrated stick revolves in response to the vibrations.

By knowing the secret of the whimmy diddle you can make the spinner turn right or left at will, hence, the name “gee-haw.” Of course, you should try to keep time to music. Legend has it these “gee” and “haw” movements also serve as a reliable a lie detector, but if you believe that there’s a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in buying. The gee and the haw commands come from the days when horses and mules pulled wagons and plows.

Today, thousands of wooden versions are sold each year, and a Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition is held every summer at Asheville, NC’s Folk Art Center. The top whimmy diddlers receive moon pies and T-shirts. The champion is presented with a certificate, and of course entitled to all the bragging rights.

Learning the whimmy diddle

More articles on folk toys:

Summer mountain meadows are full of toys(Opens in a new browser tab)

For Christmas – the whimmydiddle or the flipperdinger?(Opens in a new browser tab)

The whimmy diddle – an old folk toy, made new again(Opens in a new browser tab)

6 comments

  3. I would love to get in touch with the person who is willing to provide the gee-haw sticks. I would enjoy including a whimmy diddle competition at one of our events this summer. Sounds like so much fun..

    Thanks, JOY

  4. Hello! Thanks for the great article! I am attempting to research the Whimmydiddle (Hooey Stick, Voodoo Wand, Alchemist’s Stick, etc) to its earliest source. Perhaps a written reference? Since its resurgence in the Sixties, I can’t seem to find anything earlier —except an “Old Timer’s” recollection— than just before the turn of the century. I’ve read elsewhere that it can be traced to the Cherokee & possibly to Medieval Europe (Czechoslovakia?) as well as Appalachia. Any help is appreciated.

    Many thanks in advance!
    Zach

  5. I bought one in Southern India in 1990 (Mamallipuram, Tamil). I had never seen one before, or since. Not her in the UK at least. Wonder if the idea got there from the USA or was invented independently there

  6. My grandparents took a vacation trip back in the 1960’s and sent us a postcard. My grandmother had written that they bought a gee haw whimmy diddle. Of course we had no idea what she was talking about but thought it was the funniest sounding thing we had ever heard of! It was just like her to keep us guessing until they got back! 😄

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