When was the yo yo first introduced

Pedro Flores Yo-yo Circ. Duncan succeeded in turning yo-yos into the first modern children toy craze using new mass advertising techniques. He sent out teams to demonstrate yo-yo tricks. In fact, Duncan hired Flores to serve as one of the first 42 original yo-yo demonstrators. Nor were they sold as educational, even though yo-yos can illustrate such principles of physics as motion, friction, inertia, acceleration, momentum, and velocity.

Not surprisingly, the yo-yo has had its ups-and-downs, only to bounce back. Cross, Gary S. As a result of the cost of fighting the lawsuit, as well as an expensive investment in the means to produce plastic yo-yos, Duncan became bankrupt and its assets were sold, including its products and goodwill to Flambeau Plastics Company , which now produces Duncan yo-yos [6]. The Duncan equipment would go to Strombecker Toys , which produced yo-yos under the Medalist name for a number of years.

In , Mike Caffrey applied for a patent on an auto-return mechanism for a yo-yo that consisting of several different embodiments for an internal clutch. This US patent 4,, was issued to Caffrey on June 1, The first commercially available yo-yo based on this mechanism was the Yomega Brain in [7]. There exists an interesting story pertaining to the development of the first auto-returning prototype.

Caffrey hired engineer, Bill Lakin, to develop a working prototype around his pending patent. That first prototype's design was seriously flawed, as the central spool was so large that virtually no wound-up string engaged the parallel, internal yo-yo halves. When this prototype was thrown, the clutch would open just inches from the player's hand, then would proceed to fall without imparting any additional rotational force upon the yo-yo.

Caffrey devised an ingenious "work-around" to test the viability of the clutch; he made an 11' string that DID fill the spool and engage the internal parallel faces. Caffrey threw this modified yo-yo from the roof of his father's house in Tucson, AZ.

Not only did this long string get the yo-yo prototype rotating, the clutch closed at the proper time, returning the yo-yo more than 5' up the string. Lakin designed a second prototype with the right-sized central spool. Yomega's original Brain yo-yo was developed around that second prototype.

In , Duncan released their World Class yo-yo, which featured a couple of innovations, one of which would one day become standard. The World Class' axle featured a special coating that, when combined with scientifically rim-weight Inertia Rings, allowed it to spin longer than anything else and even setting a former Guiness World Record for the longest-spinning yo-yo. In , the first ball bearing yo-yo was produced by Svenska Kullagerfabriken SKF in a promotion, marking the beginning of a huge change to yo-yo design.

However, the effect of this innovation would not be appreciated for about 10 years. The same year, Tom Kuhn introduced the Silver Bullet , the first yo-yo to feature a full-metal body machined from aluminum. On April 12th, , a yellow plastic Duncan Imperial became the first yo-yo in space, as part of a series of experiments called "Toys in Space", where various toys were tested to see how weightlessness affects them.

Originally, a Tom Kuhn No Jive 3-in-1 was to be the first yo-yo in the experiments, but it was rejected for not meeting fire safety requirements. In , Yomega releases the Fireball , which featured a plastic transaxle sleeve over a metal axle, allowing it to spin three times longer than a standard fixed axle yo-yo.

This yo-yo would come to be one of the most popular in the s. In , the first World Yo-Yo Championships were held, and the contest itself included true freestyle. After this, freestyles became a major part of yo-yo competitions. A number of new yo-yoing styles were created in the s.

The most prominent of these are freehand and offstring. Ten years later, in , after the introduction of the ball-bearing trans-axel yo-yo, the AYYA record was more than 13 minutes. Eleven years later, in , the new world record was set at 30 minutes and 28 seconds, using a specially designed yo-yo from the Hong Kong firm C3yoyodesign.

These technological transformations in the nature of the yo-yo have profoundly changed the way in which people relate to them. The sound is the bearing—it needs oiling. The security guard stared for a moment and then seemed to make a decision. He smiled suddenly and broadly. He was smiling with the eagerness of an excited child.

I noticed he was carrying a gun. It flew over my left index finger and then my whole right hand before dropping it into a "wrist mount. The yo-yo has been charming and enchanting people for centuries, even when it simply moved up and down a string as a predictable instance of rotational physics and gyroscopic stability. Anyone can pick up a fixed-axel yo-yo and bounce it around; the therapeutic value of this repetitive action is well documented, and the amount of skill required is minimal.

It gives people a particular kind of thrill to feel in control of such a dynamic, energetic, and animated object. You need to play with a modern yo-yo. It participates like an animated companion. It collaborates, cooperates, and, also, resists. It seems to act. You have to coax it or force it or trick it. The expressive possibilities enabled by this simple, circular toy are immense. The yo-yo has become an instrument of urban expression, like hip-hop, graffiti, and skateboarding.

This happens a lot.