[wazoox]

IIRC Hero of Alexandria made a similar device 20 centuries ago: a horse statue that could had its head cut with a sword, without it falling down, with a set of gears that let the sword pass through the neck of the statue without letting the head go.

[taspeotis]

    head cut ... without letting ... go.

My mind works in mysterious ways. First thing I thought of [1].

[1] http://www.bash.org/?488793

[scw]

Yes, the horse could pass a sword through its neck, and urinate after drinking. Here's a translation of his original design: https://web.archive.org/web/20120211200948/http://www.histor... and a video of its operation, on Martha Stewart of all places: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmQE2qpYB8