Weather vane

Although partly functional, wind vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional cockerel design with letters indicating the points of the compass.

"[1] In China, the Huainanzi, dating from around 139 BC, mentions a thread or streamer that another commentator interprets as "wind-observing fan" (hou feng shin, 侯風扇).

[3] Military documents from the Three Kingdoms period of China (220–280 AD) refer to the weather vane as "five ounces" (wu liang, 五兩), named after the weight of its materials.

The Sanfu huangtu (三輔黃圖), a third-century book written by Miao Changyan about the palaces at Chang'an, describes a bird-shaped weather vane situated on a tower roof.

One alternative theory about the origin of weathercocks on church steeples sees them as emblems of the vigilance of the clergy calling the people to prayer.

An early example of this was installed in the Royal Navy's Admiralty building in London – the vane on the roof was mechanically linked to a large dial in the boardroom so senior officers were always aware of the wind direction when they met.

[17] A challenger for the title of the world's largest weather vane is located in Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada.

Located at the Yukon Transportation Museum[18] beside Whitehorse International Airport, the weather vane is used by pilots to determine wind direction, used as a landmark by tourists and enjoyed by locals.