On April 12, , the Space Shuttle Discovery carried 11 toys into orbit, and its crew members used the yo-yo for scientific experiments on the effects of microgravity.
On July 31, , the yo-yo again ventured out of this world on the Space Shuttle Atlantis for an educational video on slow-motion yo-yoing. A yo-yo may appear to be a simple toy, but assuredly it is not. Whether used for pure fun or competitive sport, the yo-yo is essentially science in action physics to be exact.
With the right amount of rotational rate, friction, and tugs of the string, a yo-yo pro can entertain and awe young and old alike. During the 18th century, the yo-yo became very popular all over Europe but they had their own names for it. In Britain they called it a bandalore or a quiz yep, just like a test , and in France it was known as an incroyable or a coblentz. Everyone liked playing with yo-yos and there are reports of young King Louis XVII playing with one, Napoleon and his army had yo-yos at their famous Battle of Waterloo, and even the Prince of Wales played with them.
A Filipino American man named Pedro Flores opened up a toy factory in California in the s and became the first person to make modern yo-yos. They became so popular that businessman Donald Duncan bought Pedro's company and wound up making 3, yo-yos a year in the town of Luck, Wisconsin. It's now known as the "Yo-Yo Capital of the World! Traditional wooden yo-yo.
However, the yo-yo was not to be defeated. It experienced a major revival in the early s, and today, the yo-yo is experiencing its greatest popularity yet.
Why is it so popular? Many "baby boomers" who reached the prime of their youth during the Golden Days of Yo-Yo have now reached adulthood and have children of their own. Together both adults and children are rediscovering its charm. In the late s, several yo-yo companies once again began sending out teams of traveling yo-yo men and women. The presence of these teams in the field has also helped rekindle the new yo-yo boom, which began in late and reached fever pitch in and Perhaps more than any other toy, the yo-yo has had its ups and downs.
A basic spinning yo-yo was used to see what effect microgravity would have on it. What they discovered was that a yo-yo could be released at slow speeds and gracefully move along the string. It was also found that the yo-yo must be thrown, not dropped, as there was no gravity to pull it down. And on July 31, , the yo-yo an SB-2 again made its way into space, on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, this time for an educational video including slow-motion yo-ing. Whether the yo-yo was a Chinese, Greek or Filipino invention or some combination is difficult to prove.
By the same token, it is also difficult to say with certainty whether the toy spread from country to country or whether the same basic pattern for the toy appeared in completely different parts of the world for no obvious reason. We do know that its use as a toy around the world and throughout history is unmatched. And, although the yo-yo has gone through periods of hibernation in its trek through the ages, its popularity, just like the toy itself, always comes back.
References: 1. World on a String, Helane Zeiger, 2. Toys in Space, Dr. Carolyn Sumners, 6. While being a fashionable toy for the French nobility, those less fortunate are said to have played with their emigrettes to reduce the understandable tension of their one-way trip to the guillotine. There is a scene where the nervous Figaro enters and conveys his tension, not by the conventional. These yo-yos were hand-carved from a single piece of wood. The yo-yo was unique because it was the first yo-yo that did not have the string tied to the axle.
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