Where Has The Yo-Yo Gone?
First published Dec. 1, 2021
In the early twentieth century, quasi-educational toys became available: Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Erector Sets and chemistry sets. (Much later, in the same genre, Legos appeared.) As a school boy, I used and enjoyed those four toys. However, in grade school, I, also, became a part of the yo-yo craze. The yo-yo is thought to have originated in China between 500 and 1000 B.C. Archeological explorations have discovered wooden, metal or terra cotta disks simulating yo-yos. Greek vases depicting children playing with similar objects have been uncovered (see Figure). In the 1700s the toy appeared in France and was called a bandalore. Soon after, English royalty made it their toy of choice. It, also, was very popular in the Philippines. In 1866, two American inventors filed a patent for an identical toy that they called a whirligig. In the 1920s in California, Pedro Flores, an American of Filipino descent, hand-carved and sold the Flores Yo-Yo. He arranged demonstrations of how this new version of the toy worked. The yo-yo design was two half-spheres connected by an axle and an attached string. Flores introduced and patented a new string design, a loop rather than a knot, which allowed the yo-yo to “sleep”, providing time to do various tricks, walk-the-dog, rock-the-cradle, around-the-world and others, some more complicated. This adaptation made the yo-yo a sought after toy. He trademarked the name “yo-yo”. Yóyo in Tagalog, one of the Filipino languages, means “come and go” or “come back”. In 1928, Flores’ business was bought by Donald F. Duncan, an American entrepreneur who had started the Good Humor frozen treats franchise. He marketed the toy by having his representatives demonstrate the tricks one could do with a yo-yo at neighborhood sites. Duncan sponsored local and regional yo-yo contests and advertised heavily and cleverly to garner more interest in the product. The “Duncan Yo-Yo” became a household name, and in 1999 its enduring status won it a place in the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum of Play’s National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York. It is the world’s most extensive museum and research institute dedicated to children’s play. In 1985, the Space Shuttle Discovery, carried 11 toys into orbit, and its crew members used the yo-yo for scientific experiments on the effects of microgravity. In 1992, the Space Shuttle Atlantis did an educational video on slow-motion yo-yoing. The introduction of toys like electronic games and other digital distractions has left the yo-yo in their wake as a principal toy of youngsters. It was a big deal for kids of the 1940’s who practiced yo-yo tricks, assiduously, and entered local contests in hopes of getting to the county or state events. I can recall being in a line with six or seven other boys in front of our neighborhood candy store, as a grade school student, demonstrating my skills to the Duncan Yo-Yo rep. Now, the Duncan Yo-Yo is owned by Flambeau Products and is sold on Walmart’s, Target’s and other retail websites. Did you yo-yo? Perhaps, there is a former champion among us.
