Re: where there is no fire there is no smoke
The "mechanical triggers" were in the late model flashcubes, branded "MagicCubes". They didn't require the camera to have a flash battery, and they didn't fail to work when the flash battery was flat. And they could be triggered by hand, by a 10yr old! (Although you probably had to steal them from your dad's supply).
But they weren't the original kind of flash cube.