When Carl Barks dreamt up Duckburg's finest inventor, Gyro Gearloose, he was only supposed to be an occasional visitor to the stories. Later, after the character became enormously popular, Barks expressed his vexation that he had not drawn him in a simpler way, i.e. without hair, hat, spectacles and waistcoat. But these details contribute eminently to the picture of the over-intelligent, half-crazed citizen that we all adore. Gyro is a gentle and absent-minded character who invents for the purpose of making the world a better place to live in. But often the inventions backfire. And he seldom receives adequate payment but he always pushes on.

This page offers a very brief walk through of Gyro's life with no special focus on his many well-known inventions. These can be savoured on two other pages in this website: a few examples with pictures HERE, and a full listing HERE.

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THE APPEARANCE

Gyro is one of Barks' least altered characters. His appearance was fixed from the start. The most apparent minor differences are seen in his clothes.

1952 DD26 Shirt... 1953 WDCS153 ...sweater... 1958 U$22 ...waistcoat

THE SALES METHODS
Just as one may expect from a genius in his field, Gyro is a poor advertiser of his own merits. Several times he is seen wandering about with a bag in a pitiful effort to offer his services. Here are a few other examples of the same nature.
FC1047 Promoting with a handcart (with limited success)	FC1095 Shouting offers (no one listens)			FC1047 Making bargain sales (no takers)

THE NORMAL INVENTIONS
The greatest part of the fun is seeing Gyro inventing strange and impossible things, but in several stories he only improves on things that are already well-known.
U$37 Toaster	U$28 Mousetrap			FC1095 Burger (Gyroburger!)

THE ANACHRONISMS
Barks certainly was a great inventor in his own right. He often placed surprising and anachronistic inventions in the background in panels of Gyro's house. These never had nothing whatsoever to do with the action. Often they are so unconspicuous that one does not even notice them. Here are a few examples.
U$15 Hot Ice For Hot Iced Tea	WDCS171 Hot Ice Maker Oven			WDCS171 Dark Light + Upside Down Mirror

THE ANTI-GRAVITY INVENTIONS
It would seem that Newton's famous Law of Gravity does not apply to Gyro. Or at least he never heeds the famous law. In numerous stories Gyro has invented the most spectacular law-defying means of relaxation and transportation as the most natural thing in the world.
U$20	FC1047			U$41
WDCS254	WDCS233			U$14

THE NON-INVENTING STORIES
Amazingly, Gyro was not inventing in all of the stories in which he is seen. Several times he is just a consultant such as in WDCS244 Missile Fizzle in which he is simply asked to identify two suspicious compounds. But he was also even farther from his own field:
WDCS239 Manning a faulty pump	WDCS277 Riding to a costume parade			SF2 Under doctor's orders to just relax

BONUS

It is a general misconception - especially in European countries - that Gyro wore a special thinking cap in the form of a bird's nest when he lacked ideas. However, Barks 'only' showed Gyro banging himself on the head with a hammer in order to get inspiration. The example shown is from WDCS171. Later on, other artists used the fabled cap. Although Gyro is always regarded as a somewhat mad inventor he seems to have had an educational background after all. At least, in U$32 That Small Feeling he has an official inventors' diploma hanging on his wall.