Bu Dao Weng Roly Poly Toy

#TIL Today I Learnt that the 不倒翁 (bù dǎo wēng), also known as a roly-poly toy, is one of the oldest toys in the world.

In Russia, it is known as a nevаlyashka (“untopply”) or van’ka-vstan’ka (“Ivan-get-up”). In Japan, it is a okiagari-koboshi (“oki” = get up, “agari” = rise again).

It is a childhood toy that many of us are familiar with. It could be a clown, an animal, or a russian doll. Whatever the form, whichever the culture, the toy symbolises success, overcoming adversity, and resilience.

The roly-poly toy demonstrates resilience by coming back up. Hits can come from any direction, even with great force, and it will come right back up again because it has a strong centre of stability.

Singapore’s centre of stability is the unity of our people: our willingness to put aside our differences to cooperate in crises, whether by putting on masks during COVID-19, taking pay cuts during downturns, and supporting the defence of our nation. We may wobble from the impact, but our cohesion brings us back up. #WeAreTotalDefence