Yo-yos. They seem innocuous enough, right? Just a little plastic spool-shaped toy on a string…
But beneath the facade, this seemingly harmless toy hides a dark, sinister past.
What horror has befallen those whose paths have crossed…
The yo-yo is considered the second oldest toy in the world, right after the doll. The first historical mention of the toy is from 500 B.C.E. when the Greeks described the toys, which were made of wood, metal, or terra cotta. There is a painted vase from Greece depicting the toy, simply referred to as a "disc" by the Greeks, in the hands of a young boy. This vase, along with a painted terra cotta disc toy, can be found in the National Museum of Athens.
In the Phillipines, however, the yo-yo took on a more sinister role: that of a weapon!
…Okay, so it wasn’t ACTUALLY a yo-yo. But it was similar! Quit ruining my dramatic effect with your "facts!"
In truth, the Filipino weapon was actually a heavy rock tied to a string, which was used to hunt animals. But that didn’t stop Mountain Dew from using this interesting bit of toy history in one of their commercials:
Yo-yos have been spotted in the hands of the bourgeoisie and the nobles alike. There’s even historical record of Napoleon and his troops using yo-yos on the battlefield to relax between fights at Waterloo.
The modern yo-yo which we all know and love was first crafted by a Filipino man named Pedro Flores, who opened the first yo-yo company in California in 1920. The toy’s popularity grew wildly, calling for far more units than he could make himself, and he soon had to open additional factories to meet the demand. At the end of the decade, he was approached by a man named Donald F. Duncan, Sr., who recognized the potential of the toy and offered to buy Flores’ company. As they say, the rest is history.
Today, there are eleven different models of Duncan yo-yos available, and the company still makes a sizeable profit. The yo-yo subculture is alive and well, with yo-yo contests being held all over the world each year, inviting amateurs and practiced yo-ers alike to test their mettle against the best. Check out this video of the Duncan-sponsored 2006 contest winner, Hiroyuki Suzuki (apologies in advance for the bad techno music):
If you want to learn more about how to get into yo-yoing, here are some great sites to check out:
Happy yo-ing, everyone!
