Today's Blog will be Educational

I have been wondering about something since talking to a friend. When something interests me I research it. That is what do, it is a part of who I am... a researcher. So I am sharing my research with you.

A brief history of the Yo-Yo

It is believe that the Yo-yo originated in China, however the first mention of the yo-yo was in Greece in 500 BC. The first disks as they were refered to ... where made of wood, metal or terra cotta. There is some evidence that these were offered to there gods as gifts. Ancient Eygptian Temples actually have drawings of people playing with yo-yos.

The 16th century found a new use for yo-yos. They became weapons. In the Phillipines they were used by hunters who hid up in trees and used them to hit their prey below them. Retrieving on a miss was a snap!

In the 1780's they became all the rage with the Aristocracy of Europe. As you know a Terra Cotta yo-yo would NEVER do for them. Their yo-yo were exqusite, being made of glass and Ivory finely carved.

The yo-yo was used as a stress reliever as well ... there are drawings of General Lafayette and his troops playing with yo-yos. In the "Marriage of Figaro" A nervous Figaro enters a scene and conveys his tension, not by wringing his hangs but by playing with his yo-yo. When asked what the yo-yo is good for he replies "It is a noble toy which dispels the fatigue of thinking". Even on June 18, 1815 at the Famous Battle of Waterloo. Napolean and his army are known to have been seen relaxing with their yo-yos before battle.

The first mention of the yo-yo in the United States was in 1866 when two men in Ohio recieved a patent for a weighted rim yo-yo. In 1928 a yo-yo company was opened in Californa by Pedro Flores who patented his yo-yo, it was the first yo-yo that the string was looped around the axle as opposed to tied to it. This allow the yo-yo to "sleep" at the end of the sting.

In 1928-29 Charles Duncan saw Pedro with his yo-yo doing a few tricks, and being the business man he was, saw potential in this toy. Duncan bought Pedro's company and began to produce yo-yos, but he also trademarked the name yo-yo so that others could not use it. There were forced to use names like come-back, returnable top, or twirler.

The yo-yo business was good to Duncan, until Novemeber 1965 when the company was forced into bankruptcy. Most of the equipment was bought by Flambeau and today they still make the Duncan yo-yos.

Richard Nixon yo-yoed at the opening or the Grand Ole Opry, Abby Hoffman yo-yoed at the house subcommitee hearings, and in 1985 the yo-yo was taken into space.

June 6 is National Yo-Yo day... so go find a yo-yo! Be a kid again!