Decoy

Another fake mimics an object, the properties of an original. The dummy but never mimics all the properties of the model (otherwise they would be called a replica or copy). So you used to deceive the viewer by deceives him to be an original.

Origin of the word

The term dummy was acquired at the end of the 18th century as a loanword from French into German; l ' attrape was in French since the 18th century with the meaning " to mislead aimed Direction Object " has been used as a joke article. Originally the French noun had "trap" means derived from the verb attraper = catch, catch (also: jmd con ), which is in turn related to the still common noun la trappe = the pitfall.

Dummies in behavioral research

In biology, the word denotes a dummy stimulus pattern, which is used in experiments in the behavioral sciences. If any animal on a dummy with a certain instinctive behavior, so this observation is interpreted as evidence that those, for example, visual or acoustic features that are the dummy self, the essential " building blocks" for the innate recognition of a relevant environmental situation are. Dummies can be interpreted as cues here so that resemble natural, a certain behavior -inducing stimuli more or less.

Other examples

• Scenery and props are in theater or film studio mostly just dummies, as well as the jewelry and the hairstyles of the performer.

• In furniture stores furniture are often equipped with dummies books, consumer electronics, etc., to give the customer a ' busy ' impression.

• Scarecrows and raptor Silhouettes ( "Warning Birds" ) can be interpreted as dummies, because they are deceived birds and keep away from a particular place, imitating the basic visual properties of a human or bird of prey.

• Crash test dummies can replace the driver and front passenger in a test basis induced car accident.

• In the military are dummies of vehicles, aircraft or infrastructure, such as airports, used to prevent the loss of more valuable technology and of human life or the opponents pretend a greater impact. This wooden models or inflatable versions are used. In order to maintain the deception even in enlightenment through thermal imaging cameras, also heated dummies are used.

• In architecture, the impression is awakened often with dummies that it was a historic building; Turrets, facade painted jewelry and ornaments convey in so many old town tourism romance, while behind the facades of newly created houses with modern conveniences. The Disneyland embodied in this sense the climax of this illusion industry; which allegedly once began with the " Potemkin villages ", is imitated there for paying visitors for entertainment purposes.

• The beauty industry offers dummies to suit every taste: wigs, artificial eyelashes, implanted teeth, colored contact lenses and chest hair toupees.

• In safety technology dummies or empty casing of surveillance cameras, motion detectors and external flash units are mounted to deter people.