For the novel by John Sladek, see Tik-Tok (novel).

Tik-Tok is a fictional character from the Land of Oz books series by L. Frank Baum. He is a mechanical man that runs on clockwork springs that constantly need to be wound. He has separate keys for thought, action, and speech. If any of these run completely down, Tik-Tok is unable to use them; he cannot wind himself. He is one of the first robots to appear in literature, even though that term itself was coined after Baum's death (d. 1919, term 1921).

Tik-Tok was co-created by Smith and Tinker at their shop in Enva. He was later purchased by the king of Ev, Evoldo, who gave him the name Tik-Tok because of the sound he made when wound.

Tik-Tok first appears in Ozma of Oz (1907) where Dorothy Gale discovers him locked up in a cave, completely run down near the shores, of the land of Ev.

Quotes from Ozma of Oz

• He was only about as tall as Dorothy herself, and his body was round as a ball and made out of burnished copper. Also his head and limbs were copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights in days of old. He stood perfectly still, and where the light struck upon his form it glittered as if made of pure gold.
• SMITH & TINKER'S Patent Double-Action, Extra-Responsive, Thought-Creating, Perfect-Talking MECHANICAL MAN Fitted with our Special Clock-Work Attachment. Thinks, Speaks, Acts, and Does Everything but Live. Manufactured only at our Works at Evna, Land of Ev. All infringements will be promptly Prosecuted according to Law.

External links

• Tik-Tok and the three laws of robotics