The yo-yo is a toy consisting of two equally sized and weighted discs of plastic, wood, or metal, connected with an axle, around which string is wound. First becoming popular in the 1920s, "yo-yoing" still enjoys a following of children as well as adults.

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Basic design

A yo-yo has three basic parts: a round body, which holds the axle that is connected to a string, which is held by the player.

Body

A yo-yo is made from two equally-sized disks, connected by the axle. The axle is firmly connected to each disk and does not rotate relative to either half.

The two halves are separated by a thin gap, determined by the length of the axle. On some yo-yos the gap size can be adjusted. A string is wrapped around the axle, and the gap is generally narrow enough to only accommodate a few turns of the string before the string lies on top of itself.

When thrown, the body of the yo-yo spins as the string unspools.

it's the coolest thing on the market because it goes up and down like a car going up and down a hill

History

The earliest surviving yo-yo dates to 500 BC, made using Terra cotta disks. A Greek vase from this period shows a boy playing yo-yo.^[1]

Origin of name and the Filipino Yo-yo

The yo-yo is usually credited as having been invented in the Philippines centuries ago. The name yo-yo may have been derived from the Filipino word tayoyo which means to spin. The term was first published in a dictionary of Filipino words printed in 1860.

The principal distinction between the Filipino design and previous, more primitive "back-and-forth" models is in the way the yo-yo is strung. One continuous piece of string, double the desired length, is twisted around itself to produce a loop at one end which is fitted around the axle. Also termed a looped slip-string, this seemingly minor modification allows for a far greater variety and sophistication of motion, thanks to increased stability and suspension of movement during free spin.

Birth of the modern Yo-yo

The first United States patent on the toy was issued to James L. Haven and Charles Hettrich in 1866 (U.S. patent 59,745) under the name whirligig, however, the yo-yo would remain in relative anonymity until 1928 when a Filipino American named Pedro Flores opened the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California. The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November of 1928, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los Angeles and Hollywood, which altogether employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily.

The Duncan Era

Shortly thereafter (ca. 1930), an entrepreneur named Donald Duncan recognized the potential of this new fad and purchased the Flores Yo-yo Corporation and all its assets, including the Flores name, which was transferred to the new company in 1932. Duncans first yo-yo, there after was the duncan O-BOY. Donald Duncan is reputed to have paid more than $250,000, a fortune by depression era standards. It turned out to be a sound investment, making many times this amount in the years to follow.

In 1946, the Duncan Toys Company opened a Yo-yo factory in Luck, Wisconsin, prompting the town to dub itself 'Yo-yo Capital of the World'. Ironically, the very sign erected by the town advertising that fact contributed to Duncan losing its trademark. In 1962 Royal Yo-yo sued Duncan claiming the word Yo-yo was a generic term referring to all return tops. In 1965 the Supreme Court ruled in Royal's favor. In the decision, the court cited the sign as referring to Luck as the 'Yo-yo capital of the world'. If Yo-yo was a trademark Duncan should have insisted the sign read 'Home of the Yo-yo brand return top' or similar words that reinforced Duncan's claim that Yo-yo was a brand name and not a generic term. Interestingly, Duncan had purchased the Canadian Yo-yo company Cheerio in 1954. Al Gallo, Cheerio's principal demonstrator, had already bought Cheerio's right to the Yo-yo trademark in Canada. Gallo formed National Yo-yo and Bo-lo Company after leaving Cheerio. In a similar suit, the Canadian Supreme Court decided in National's favor. The term Yo-yo is still a trademark in Canada. Al Gallo sold his company to Parker Brothers in 1978. Hired as a consultant by Parker Brothers, Gallo continued as a demonstrator into early 1981. Lee Thurber, Craig Hamilton (also known as writer Stash Cairo) and Harry Lee were some of the final demonstrators for Parker before Parker sold their rights to the trademark in Canada in 1982.

1960s resurgence

Declining sales after the Second World War prompted Duncan to launch a comeback campaign for his trademarked "Yo-Yo" in 1962 with a series of television advertisements. The media blitz was met with unprecedented success, and thanks in great part to the introduction of the Duncan Butterfly, the yo-yo was more accessible to the beginner than ever.

This success would be short-lived, however, and in a landmark trademark case in 1965, a federal court's appeals ruled in favor of the Royal Tops Company, determining that yo-yo had become a part of common speech and that Duncan no longer had exclusive rights to the term. As a result of the expenses incurred by this legal battle as well as other financial pressures, the Duncan family sold the company name and associated trademarks in 1968 to Flambeau Plastics, who had manufactured Duncan's plastic models since 1955. Flambeau Plastics continues to run the company today.

The 1970s and the rise of the ball bearing

The 1970s saw a number of innovations in yo-yo technology, primarily dealing with the connection between the string and the axle. In 1978, dentist and yo-yo celebrity Tom Kuhn patented the “No Jive 3-in-1” yo-yo, creating the world's first "take-apart" yo-yo, which enabled yo-yo players to change the axle.

Soon afterwards in 1980, Michael Caffrey patented what would later become the Yomega Brain, a yo-yo with a centripetal clutch transaxle. Designed with a free-spinning ball bearing linkage, "The Brain" could spin much longer than previous fixed-axle designs. In addition, the axle was "clutched" with spring-loaded weights which would pull away from the axle at higher speeds and grab again at lower speeds. The result is an automatic return of the yo-yo when speed drops below a given threshold.

Swedish bearing company SKF briefly manufactured novelty yo-yos with ball bearings in the 1970s.

In all transaxle yo-yos, ball bearings significantly reduce friction when the yo-yo is spinning, enabling longer and more complex tricks. Subsequent yo-yoers used this ability to their advantage, creating new tricks that had not been possible with fixed-axle designs.

1990s technological renaissance

The 1990s saw a resurgence of the popularity of the yo-yo and yo-yo culture.

Continued development of yo-yo technology is evident in the widespread sale of the Yomega Brain, based on Michael Caffrey's design, and the Playmaxx Pro-yo, a take-apart fixed axle yo-yo.

In 1990, Tom Kuhn released the SB-2 yo-yo (short for Silver Bullet 2), a high-performance ball bearing transaxle made with aluminum. This marked a major breakthrough for the modern yo-yo, as it was the first ball bearing yo-yo that actually worked. This ensured extremely long spin times and the ability to return as well. This yo-yo, (along with his many other accomplishments in the yo-yo world), eventually brought him the title "Father of the modern yo-yo", receiving the "Donald F. Duncan Family Award for Industry Excellence" in 1998. He was the first to receive this award.

In the late 1990's, Yomega partnered with HPK Marketing and helped fuel the yo-yo boom that spread across the globe. From this partnership, Team High Performance was born, a group of skilled demonstrators that toured the world. In this period, Yomegas were heavily marketed in Japan, where Bandai produced several yo-yos under the Yomega name which were sometimes different from those sold in the US.

At the turn of the century, 1999-2000, Yomega partnered with McDonald's and distributed a large number of Yomega X-Brain and Firestorm yo-yos at outlets throughout the US.

Contemporary Yo-yo culture

Yo-yo contests

The World Yo-Yo Contest is held every year in Florida, USA during early August or late July. This contest takes the winners from national yo-yo contests around the world and pits them against each other. Countries such as the United States, Brazil, Japan and the UK hold competitions at the national and regional levels. In addition, national yo-yo contests, without regionals, are held every year by Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, France, Germany, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Australia.

A yo-yo competition normally consists of two parts, a set of compulsory tricks and a freestyle, where points are scored for each and the winner is the Yo-yoer who scores the most points. Compulsory tricks ( also known as a Trick Ladder ) are a set of tricks that have been chosen before the contest, and the competitor must successfully complete each trick on their first or second attempt to score points. The freestyle is when the yoist performs a routine to their choice of music in front of a panel of judges, and is judged based on difficulty of the tricks, synchronization with the music and artistic performance.

The TV Times world Yo-Yo championship was held in the United Kingdom in 1974 with heats across the United Kingdom and a final in London in 1975, the championship was sponsored by the Louis Marx toy company with the 'Lumar' Brand of Yo-Yo. The competition was judged by a celebrity panel in each city and also Lumar demonstrator and European Yo-Yo champion Don Robertson. The winner of the final was Simon Harris (intermediate category). The championship was not repeated.

Contest divisions

Currently there are eight yo-yo divisions to compete in:

• 1A The player uses a long sleeping yo-yo to perform string tricks which usually require the manipulation of the string.
• 2A The player uses two yo-yos simultaneously to perform reciprocating or looping tricks OR uses a long spinning yo-yo to perform tricks that involve manipulation of the string. This tends to be the most visually entertaining style with some players incorporating acrobatics into their routines.
• 3A The player uses two long spinning yo-yos and performs tricks with both simultaneously/conjunctionally.
• 4A The player uses an offstring yo-yo, often releasing the yo-yo into the air and attempting to catch it on the string.
• 5A The player uses a yo-yo with a counterweight on the other end of the string rather than having it attached to a finger.
• AP This is Artistic Performance where the yoist uses any type of yo-yo or other prop in order to perform a freestyle.
• CB This is the Combined Division held only at the world competition, where players have to compete and demonstrate skill in multiple styles.

Competitors usually bring a number of yo-yos to the performance stage with them to allow for mid-routine replacements in the case of knots/jams (common with string tricks), string breakage (common with looping tricks), or drops (common with offstring tricks).

Yo-yo techniques

Sleeping

Keeping a yo-yo spinning while remaining at the end of its uncoiled string is known as sleeping. Sleeping is the basis for nearly all yo-yo tricks other than looping, the player first putting the yo-yo in a "sleep" before throwing the yo-yo around using its string.

In competition, mastery of sleeping is the basis for the 1A division.

Looping

Looping is a yo-yo technique which emphasizes keeping the body of the yo-yo in constant motion, without "sleeping"^[2].

Yo-yos optimized for looping have weight concentrated in their centers so they may easily rotate about the string's axis without their mass contributing to a resistance due to a gyroscopic effect.

In yo-yo competitions, looping plays a strong role in the 2A division.

Off-string

In the off-string technique, the yo-yo's string is not tied directly to the yo-yo's axle, and the yo-yo is launched into the air by performing a "forward pass" to be caught again on the string.

Yo-yos optimized for "off-string" tricks have flared designs, like the butterfly shape, which makes it easier to land on the string.

Yo-yo competitions have the 4A division for off-string tricks.

Freehand

In freehand tricks, the yo-yo's string is not tied to the player's hand, instead ending in a counterweight. The counterweight is then thrown from hand to hand and used as an additional element in the trick.

Developed in 1999 by Steve Brown, freehand is considered to be the fastest-growing style of yo-yo play. Steve Brown was awarded a patent on his freehand yo-yo system, which was assigned to Flambeau Products (Duncan's parent company).

In yo-yo competitions, counterweight yo-yos are emphasized in the 5A division.

Yo-Yo shapes

Yo-yo bodies come in a number of form factors or "silhouettes," each designed with specific advantages in mind.

Imperial

The original shape of the Yo-yo, as created by the Duncan Toys Company, the "traditional" shape is rounder than the other forms. This enables easier "looping" play due to the position of the string upon release from the player's hand.

Popularized in 1954 by Duncan as the "Imperial," this shape is still the best-selling Yo-yo shape.

Satellite

An obsolete Yo-yo shape. Basically the butterfly turned inside out.

Butterfly / Wing

Debuting in 1958, the butterfly has a wider string gap to make it easier to catch the yo-yo body on the string. The butterfly looks a bit like the separated halves of a standard yo-yo that have been reconnected back-to-back. More advanced players use butterfly shaped yo-yo to perform better. Although the butterfly shape is good for 'string tricks' its not very good at 'looping'.

yo-yo

Weight distribution

Each silhouette may have more weight distributed at either the center of the yo-yo or the rim. More weight towards the rim will make the yo-yo more stable for string tricks; more weight towards the center will make the yo-yo easier to turn and therefore better for looping tricks.

Heavier Yo-yos will have more angular momentum when spinning at a given speed, and thus will spin freely for a longer period.

Yo-yo innovations

Body

Some modern yo-yos are made from a "take-apart" design, designed to be taken easily apart and reassembled by the player. This enables the replacement of yo-yo components, including the string, renewable friction sources, or even trans-axle components.

Some take-apart designs allow the player to reconfigure the yo-yo's halves. In the Tom Kuhn No Jive 3-In-1, the halves may be attached in three different configurations, resulting in a traditional, butterfly, or "pagoda" silhouette. In the Yo-yo Factory FlyMaster, the body has two different "shells" to convert to and from an off-string yo-yo.

Another innovation to the yo-yo is the ability to adjust the gap between the two halves of the yo-yo. In most designs, this is accomplished by twisting the yo-yo halves, but some designs (such as the Tom Kuhn Silver Bullet) can be disassembled for adjustment without twisting. This second option eliminates the possibility of the yo-yo coming out of adjustment during play.

• John Jerome McAvoy, Jr. was awarded patent for the gap-adjustable yo-yo #6066024 on May 23rd, 2000, and patent #5389029 on January 1st, 2001.
• Harry Baier (creator of the "Mondial" yo-yo) and the Flambeau Products Company (owner of Duncan) were awarded patent #6162109 on December 19th, 2000 for a gap-adjustable yo-yo which has discrete positions for specific gap widths. This patent is now implemented in the Duncan Mondial.

Axle/bearing differentiation

The basic innovation since the 1990s is the transaxle, a system where the string is not directly connected to the axle that connects the two halves of the yo-yo.

• Fixed axle yo-yos are represented by the original yo-yo design popularized in the first half of the 20th century, where the axle is directly connected to the string and halves of the yo-yo body. In order to enable the throwing of a "sleeper", the player must ensure the string is not wound too tightly around the axle, because it must freely spin in order to accomplish this move. Yo-yos designed for "looping" tricks tend to be fixed-axle yo-yos.
  • Some more exotic fixed-axle yo-yos have axles made from low-friction materials such as ceramic alloys-- this allows for easier "sleeping," which is essential for string tricks.
• The majority of trick yo-yos sold are Bearing transaxle yo-yos. In these transaxle yo-yos the string is not connected to the axle directly, but rather it is wrapped about a ballrace bearing. The bearing, in turn, surrounds the true axle of the yo-yo. In this way, the body of the yo-yo may spin freely about the string's point of contact.
  • There are transaxle systems which do not use a ball bearing, such as the Duncan ProFire and Yomega Fireball. These use a low-friction metal or plastic collar around the axle.
• The clutch transaxle, innovated by Yomega with the Yomega Brain, is a transaxle which can be engaged or disenganged.
  • the Yomega Brain is a centripetal clutch transaxle-- when spinning at a sufficiently high speed, counterweights inside the yo-yo body disengage the axle, automatically allowing the yo-yo to "sleep." Conversely, when the speed slows below the threshold, the yo-yo will return automatically.
  • Other clutch transaxles feature a manual switch which can engage or disengage the axle.

Friction sources

With the innovation of the transaxle, the notion of a yo-yo's response has become important to players. The "response" is a qualitative estimate of how easily the yo-yo will exit a "sleep" and return to the hand of the player.

• A starburst is a series of bumps molded into the surface of the plastic of each half of the yo-yo. The bumps form a star pattern, radiating out from the axle. Because the starburst is made of the same material as the yo-yo body, it tends to last the life of the yo-yo, but the yoyo's responsiveness cannot be adjusted for the same reason.
• An O-ring response system is a rubber ring embedded in a recessed groove in the inside side wall of each half of the yo-yo body, surrounding the axle. Because it is made of a weaker material than the body, it wears down and is designed to be replaceable.
• Silicone, like the O-ring, is a rubber component recessed into the side of the yo-yo around the axle.
• Friction stickers, popularized by Duncan, are O-shaped stickers that affix to the inside wall of each half of the yo-yo body, and are very slightly tacky to the touch. They are made to be replaceable. Some players remove one of the two stickers their yo-yo is shipped with to reduce response, using the second as a "spare" when the first wears down.

Performance accessories

A number of yo-yo accessories are available as "after-market" modifications-- players buy items separately from the yo-yo to augment performance over the original model shipped from the factory.

• Ceramic bearings tend to be faster and more durable. They say that a ABEC 3 ceramic is equivalent to a steel ABEC 5.
• Dif-E-Yo Konkave bearings are shaped to have a groove on their outside to force the string into a the center of the ball bearing on the yo-yo.
• Friction stickers other than the ones shipped with the yo-yo are available as a separate purchase.
• Brake Pads Kind of like friction Stickers only better with less damage to the string.
• High-tensile, Slick Strings, generally made from polyester and cotton, is added by some players to improve sleep times (thinner string touches less of the yo-yo gap) and for better looping (low friction string performs "faster" and will not break as easily).
• Weight rings are affixed to the yo-yo's rim to increase the weight and percentage of mass at the yo-yo's rim, thus improving sleep time.

Exotic materials

Originally manufacturing yo-yo's from wood, yo-yo technology improved in the 1960s when the industry switched to plastic. A plastic yo-yo has a uniform weight distribution and is unaffected by the variations in density that plague wood yo-yos.

Increasingly, the highest of high-end Yo-yos are being made of metal, Normally Aluminum, Steel, Titanium, and very rarely Magnesium, alloys.

Exotic plastics are also coming into play: the "Milk", by manufacturer Born Crucial; the "Silk", by manufacturer Alchemy; and the "Gung Fu", by manufacturer Death by Yo Yo, are made almost entirely from the low-friction plastic Delrin. Yo-yos made from Delrin are also just as high end as metal ones.

Counterweights

The counterweight is a small weight fastened to the free end of the yo-yo's string. Popularized as a red die by Steve Brown ( Duncan ), the most common form of counterweight is still a 16mm dice with a hole drilled through the center. Designed to be passed from hand to hand or thrown as part of a trick, the presence of a counterweight enables an entire class of trick, the "freehand" trick. A yo-yo with a counterweight is often called a "freehand yo-yo."

Freehand is not the technical name of the competition style, however "5A" is. "Freehand" is a name copyrighted by Duncan for their "freehand" "freehand 2" "freehand MG" and "freehand zero" products, which are still the only yo-yo's sold specifically for the purpose of counterweight style play.

For best trick results, a counterweight tends to weigh 1/7 to 1/6 the weight of the yo-yo body.

Physical mechanism

The operation of a yo-yo comes from rotational inertia causing the string to be wound in the opposite direction returning the yo-yo. When the string is connected to the shaft with a loop, the yo-yo will continue to spin at the end of the string instead of returning, unless the yo-yo is jerked slightly allowing the slack string to bind and allowing return.

Patents have been issued to create more complicated mechanisms to allow tension control and an adjustable mechanism.^[3][4]

The Yo-yo in popular culture

The yo-yo and "yo-yoing" have been a part of popular culture for nearly a century, and it is hardly surprising that yo-yos appear in many fictional works and even historical events.

• In 1968, activist Abbie Hoffman was cited for contempt of Congress for, amongst other acts, "walking the dog" during a session of the House Subcommittee on Un-American Activities.
• In 1974 President Richard Nixon briefly played with a yo-yo at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
• A yo-yo craze features prominently in the 1992 Simpsons episode Bart the Lover. In the story, a yo-yo manufacturer puts on an elaborate production of children doing yo-yo tricks in order to boost sales.
• Gregory House in the TV series House is often seen playing with a yo-yo whilst pondering complex ideas.
• The Japanese manga Sukeban Deka (スケバン刑事 "Delinquent Girl Detective") features the adventures of Saki Asamiya, a girl who solves crimes, frequently employing her yo-yo as a weapon, which also conceals her police badge. The manga was later made into three live-action television series, three live-action feature films, and a two-episode anime series.^[5]
• In one chapter of the Japanese Manga Yu-gi-oh, a gang uses Yo-yos as weapons during a yo-yo fad period.
• In the 2001 comedy Zoolander, Owen Wilson's character Hansel performs yo-yo tricks throughout the film.
• The fourth incarnation of The Doctor (played by Tom Baker), in the long running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who is seen playing with a yo-yo from time to time. He claims in the episode "Ark in Space" that he is playing with the yo-yo to judge the gravitational field present on a space station.
• In the Guilty Gear video game series, the character Bridget uses a yo-yo as one of his main weapons.
• In the Earthbound video game series, the main character Ness uses a yo-yo as a secondary weapon.
• In the NES video games StarTropics and The Goonies 2 the main characters use a yo-yo as the main weapon.
• In the MMORPG Flyff the Acrobat character class, along with the Jester subclass, can use yoyos as a weapon.
• In the cartoon Recess an episode features one of the main characters, Gretchen, learning to yo-yo, and then competing in a yoyo competition.
• In the MMORPG RuneScape in the Christmas event of the year 2004, you were able to get a special toy which was a Yo-yo. It featured some of the tricks with a yo-yo as well.
• In the Japanese Anime Yu Yu Hakusho, team Rokuyukai first fighter, Rinku is master of the Serpent Yo-Yo, an attack that transfers his spirit energy into the strings of the yo-yo causing them to act as if they are extensions of his own body.
• In the Super Smash Bros. games, Ness (the main character from the Earthbound video game series) uses a yo-yo as a weapon.
• In the Japanese Anime Hunter X Hunter, Gon's best friend, Killua uses two yo-yos to fight.
• Tommy Smothers of The Smothers Brothers portraying the Yo-Yo Man.^[6]
• In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, one of the orderlies is seen playing with a yoyo in the hallway towards the beginning of the film.
• The Detention character Duncan is almost always seen with a yo-yo, and uses it to communicate with the other characters.

See also

• Chinese yo-yo
• Diabolo
• Yo-yo de-spin (used by spacecraft)

Notes and references

External links

• ChineseYoYoWorld Supplier of chinese yoyos with videos and trick tutorials
• The Yo-yo Wiki
• Museum of Yo-Yo History
• European Yo-Yo Page
• Lucky's Guide to Yo-Yo Collecting
• Exhaustive list of U.S. yo-yo patents and design patents compiled by Rick Brough, yo-yo memorabilia collector
• Yo-Yo Associations Worldwide
• Team Yo-Yo Maniacs
• GYYA-German Yo-Yo Association

Trick instructions

• Ken's World on a String Yo-Yo Tricks site with colorful illustrations and videos
• MasterMagic.NET Advanced trick list with slow-motion video instructions.
• Trick videos and instructions
• More trick videos and instructions
• How to Yo-Yo Clearly illustrated beginner yo-yo tricks.