Spindle
A spindle (sometimes called a drop spindle) is a wooden spike weighted at one end with a wheel and an optional hook at the other end. It is used for spinning (textiles) wool and other fibres into thread. Spindles or parts of them have been found in very, very old archaelogical sites; they may represent one of the earliest pieces of technology available to humankind.
Modern spindles are typically available in high-whorl or low-whorl types. In a high-whorl spindle, the whorl sits very close to the top of the shaft, which is anywhere from 15–45cm long. A hook is placed on the top of the shaft to secure the developing yarn, and the newly-spun yarn is wound around the shaft underneath the whorl. In a low-whorl spindle, the whorl sits near the bottom of the shaft. The newly spun yarn is wound around the shaft just above the whorl, and then passed over the whorl, hitched around the tip of the shaft, brought back up to the top of the shaft, and hitched there again to stabilize it for further spinning.
Other forms of spindles include supported spindles, such as the large Navajo spindle and the tiny cotton-spinning tahkli. The spinning wheel is also used for the same purpose.
Referred to in the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty; the princess (leading lady) pricks her finger on such a spindle and falls asleep before a handsome prince finds and kisses her. A spindle was such a universal object (as a pair of scissors would be now), that the king's ban upon all spindles in the kingdom was immediately recognized as a useless precaution.
See also
The Spindle (shrub) is a shrub or small tree of the genus Euonymus, the wood of which was traditionally used for the manufacture of spindles. Its wood is very hard and holds a sharp point well, so spindles made from it are not easily damaged.
A spindle is also a measure of cotton equal to 18 hanks.
A spindle (or colloquially, a spike) was also a device used to hold papers waiting for processing. The device used was utilized by placing a document on the spindle, this act being called "spindling" or "spiking." Early Hollerith cards bore the inscription, "do not bend, fold, spindle or mutilate," with spindling in particular being almost sure to lead to the Hollerith card's being misread.
Spindling served the twin purposes of accumulating paperwork in a way that would not permit it to be blown about by the summer breeze common prior to the advent of air conditioning, along with the hole made by the spindle being indicative of some sort of processing when the paperwork is viewed subsequently.
OSHA-compliant safety spindles, with the last 1/2 inch or so bent at a 90° angle to reduce the likelihood of injury, have been available for some time. Many early spindles have bases that are quite decorative.
The spindle also makes an appearance in a short at the beginning of the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life where a room full of chartered accountants are transformed into pirates.
Another colloquialism arising from the use of this device was "spiking," which meant a de facto killing of a controversial newspaper article.
Blank CDs and DVDs are often sold on a plastic spindle without cases. They come in different sizes, 10, 25, 50, and 100 discs spindles are common.