A rotating-vane vorticity meter was invented by Russian hydraulic engineer A. Ya. Milovich (1874–1958). In 1913 he proposed a cork with four blades attached as a device qualitatively showing the magnitude of the vertical projection of the vorticity and demonstrated a motion-picture photography of the float's motion on the water surface in a model of a river bend.
Rotating-vane vorticity meters are commonly shown in educational films on continuum mechanics (famous examples include the NCFMF's "Vorticity" and "Fundamental Principles of Flow" by Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research).