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Not many toys have as long and storied a history as the illustrious yo-yo. It’s been around so long, and in so many iterations, that it’s earned the moniker of toy-legend. The simple combination of wood or plastic and string has stood the test of time since the ancient world, and continues to be one of the world’s most beloved toys.

 

Historians believe the yo-yo was developed in ancient China, but the earliest yo-yos were discovered in Greece from about 500 B.C. They were probably part of a coming-of-age ceremony, decorated with mythological creatures, and offered to the gods at the temple. A boy playing with a yo-yo was painted on a Greek vase from that period, and the National Museum in Athens has the actual terra-cotta yo-yos from the time.

 

By the 16^th century, the yo-yo had traveled to the Philippines, where it became a popular children’s toy. A modified yo-yo was also used by hunters – they tied a rock to a string and repeatedly hit their prey while sitting safely in a tree. From there, the toy found its way to India. An Indian hand-painted box from 1765 shows a young girl playing with a yo-yo.

 

By the end of the 1700’s the yo-yo had been introduced in Europe and became instantly popular. In France, the toy was known as "l'emigrette," a phrase meaning "leave the country,” as the nobility who so loved the toy were being forced to flee during the French Revolution. Both adults and children were avid yo-yo fans - a 1789 painting shows King Louis XVII playing with his yo-yo.

 

From the continent, the yo-yo traveled next to England where it was known as the quiz, the incroyable (a term for a French Dandy), and the bandalore. The Prince of Wales was a big fan, and it subsequently became the game that all well-bred aristocrats would play. Its first appearance in the United States was in 1866, when two men received a patent for an "improved bandalore." However, it would take a few more decades for the yo-yo to really hit it big in America.

 

It was in the Philippines where the yo-yo was truly the national pastime. In 1928, Filipino-American Pedro Flores started the first American yo-yo company in California. He developed the name “yo-yo”, which came from the Filipino word for "spring." It was made from hand-carved wood, and boasted a new feature: the string was looped around the axle instead of being tied to it. This allowed the yo-yos to spin in place or “sleep” , a move that enabled many of the yo-yo tricks of today, such as “Walk the Dog,” “Rock the Baby,” and go “Around the World.”

 

Local California businessman, Donald Duncan, saw great potential in this new toy. Seizing a business opportunity, he bought out the Flores Company and hired Pedro Flores to work with him in promotions. Then he got a trademark for the word “yo-yo” so that competitors had to use other, less well-known names like "the twirler," "the comeback" and "the whirl-a-gig." And in a brilliant marketing move, he got free advertising in the many newspapers of tycoon William Randolph Hearst in exchange for hosting yo-yo competitions that required participants to sell subscriptions to Hearst newspapers as their entry fee.

 

In 1946, Duncan moved the company to Luck, Wisconsin because of the abundance of hard maple trees needed to make his yo-yos. It became known as “The Yo-Yo Capitol of the World,” turning out yo-yos at the rate of 3,600 an hour. By 1962, Duncan had sold 45 million yo-yos in a country that only had 40 million kids. Eventually, sales inevitably took a downturn, while Duncan had to contend with the rising legal costs of keeping the yo-yo name trademarked.

 

When the Federal Court of Appeals ruled in 1965 that Duncan’s trademark was null and void, the yo-yo name became fair game to competitors. Duncan eventually went bankrupt and was bought by the Flambeau Plastics Company. They still put out a line of 12 different Duncan yo-yos today. In 1967, Fred Strombeck bought Duncan's yo-yo turning lathes and used them to market the "Medalist" yo-yo. These were made until 1972 and were the last Duncan-shaped wooden yo-yos for 24 years.

 

In the groovy ‘70’s, yo-yo manufacturers began to jazz up their yo-yos. They introduced yo-yos that glowed in the dark, whistled, came in the hourglass-looking "Butterfly" shape, and in some cases began adding weight to the rims of their yo-yos to increase their spin. The "No Jive 3-in-1" was patented in 1978 by Tom Kuhn and had a replaceable axle and was the first yo-yo that could be taken apart by hand. "The yo-yo with a Brain," patented in 1980 by Michael Caffrey had a centrifugal spring-loaded clutch mechanism that made the yo-yo return automatically to the user's hand when its rotation slowed to a pre-determined rate. Transaxle yo-yos were developed in the 1990's, using ball bearings to dramatically increase spin time.

 

Yo-yos were part of a scientific experiment in 1985 when they were brought aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. How did a yo-yo perform in zero gravity? It could still be spun, but would not "sleep" at the end of the string since it did not have the pull of gravity to pull it down. 

 

The Smothers Brothers television show in the 1980’s also featured a sketch with a yo-yo called “The Yo-Yo Man.” Tom Smothers would do amazing yo-yo tricks for the audience while his brother Dick explained how Tom was in a "State of Yo." 

 

In 1990, the first international yo-yo convention was held alongside the annual International Juggler's Association convention in Los Angeles. This soon developed into the modern World's Championships. Also in the ‘90’s, the "Return of the Yo-Yo" exhibition began touring malls around the U.S. Included was the original Duncan family collection, and several "opening day" demonstrations gave the audience a new look at the top level of yo-yo performance. This exhibit collection would eventually form the core of the National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, California.

 

The American Yo-Yo Association was founded in 1993, the year the first modern National Yo-Yo Contest held in Chico, California. Duncan made the move into TV advertising a few years later with the “Video Boy,” a campaign showing that yo-yos were more exciting and fun than video games. They also commissioned Dr. James Watson of Ball State University to develop the "Teaching Science with the Yo-Yo®" lesson program. This five-day science planner gave educators an interactive, hands-on program that showed them how to teach science theories to their students using classroom-based yo-yo lessons.

 

Duncan reintroduced the wooden Duncan Super Tournament yo-yo in 1996, and yo-yo enthusiasts rejoiced. It was a faithful reproduction of the original 1995 model, and came in five classic colors packaged with the original "1955 Yo-Yo Trick Book®." Australia, Britain and Japan jumped on the bandwagon and yo-yo popularity in those countries soared. 

 

The most recent Duncan endeavor is the first transaxle yo-yo, the "Trans-aXtion®." Pop icons Devo were hired to pitch the new yo-yo, and recorded a new version of their classic song "Whip It." Devo vocalist Jerry Casale also directed the TV spot. The new toy was hit – but how could it be otherwise? If there’s one rule of nature, it’s that the yo-yo always bounces back up.