Yo-yo
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.
Basic play
To use, the player puts his finger through the loop at the end of the string and grasps the yo-yo. Then the player throws it downwards with a smooth motion. When reaching the end of the string, the yo-yo can be made to "sleep," the axle of the yo-yo spinning within the loop. As the body of the yo-yo spins, a gyroscopic effect occurs, stabilizing the yo-yo on its axis and permitting time to perform a number of movements. By flicking the wrist, the yo-yo can be made to return to the player's hand, with the cord again completely wound into the groove.
Generally, any movement or combination of movements which result in the return of the yo-yo to the player's hand in this fashion is considered a trick, although this is not an absolute standard.
Yo-yoing is a popular pastime around the world. Although generally associated with children, it is common for people who gain a level of proficiency at the sport in youth to continue playing into adulthood. A yo-yo player is referred to as a yo-yoer (most common), yoist, thrower, or simply as a player.
Basic design
A yo-yo has two basic parts: a round body, connected to a string, which is held by the player.
Body
A yo-yo is made from two equally-sized disks, connected by an 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. A string is wrapped around the axle, the gap 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.
String
Traditionally, a yo-yo's string is doubled, its exact middle looped around the axle in a configuration known as a looped slip-string. This allows the yo-yo to spin freely, or "sleep" upon reaching the string's end.
The two halves of the string are tightly twisted along the string's entire length to form a single length of string. The string is twisted tighter around the axle in order to make the yo-yo more "responsive" and come out of a sleep easier.
This method of adjustment is relevant mainly to the traditional yo-yo design with a fixed axle. On a yo-yo with a transaxle (see below), the string is looped and then tightly knotted around the bearing or sleeve.
In either configuration, the free ends of the yo-yo's string are knotted and tied into a loop. However this loop is not itself placed around the player's finger; it is instead tied into a slip-knot to make an adjustable loop. This lets the player easily insert and remove a finger.
Traditionally the yo-yo is tied to the player's middle finger. (If you yo-yo using your right hand, because of your winding sequence, the string tends to tighten. If you are left-handed, the string tends to loosen; Mark Bootz)
History
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 is sometimes said to have derived from Tagalog, translating as "come-come". However, yo-yo is not a Tagalog word for anything (the word for "come" is halika); it is possible that the term came from another Philippine language. 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.
"Weapon" legend
The yo-yo is sometimes cited as having originally been a weapon: according to one account the original yo-yo was "large with sharp edges and studs and attached to thick twenty-foot ropes for flinging at enemies or prey."[1] (this story is referenced in the film Octopussy, in which an Indian villain attempts to kill James Bond with such a weapon). No evidence exists to support this story, and some experts consider it physically unlikely since "once [the yo-yo] struck something, it would be nearly impossible to retract."[2][3]
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 1929, 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. He 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'.
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. They continue 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 centrifugal 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.
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 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.
- 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, 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 tangling (common with string tricks), string breakage (common with looping tricks), or drops (common with offstring tricks).
Yo-yo club (sport)
A yo yo club is a sporting side (typically in soccer / association football) that is regularly promoted and relegated between a higher and lower league and division.
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, 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"[4].
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 to be caught again on the string.
Yo-yos optimized for "off-string" tricks have flared designs, like the butterfly shape.
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.
Standard / traditional
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 shape.
Butterfly
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.
Midline
A compromise between the Butterfly and Traditional shapes, the midline has rounded rims for string tricks, but also a slim body for looping. Most midline deisgns are rim-weighted for better sleep times. Also known as the modern, modified or proyo shape.
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 transaxle 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 YoFactor 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 abillity 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 (for example 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) was 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 axels 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 centrifugal 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.
- 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
- Dif-E-Yo Konkave bearings are shaped to have a groove on their outside to force the string into a single latitude on the yo-yo
- friction stickers other than the ones shipped with the yo-yo are available as a separate purchase
- high-tensile, low-friction string, generally made from polyester or polyester blend, 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 variantions in density that plagues wood yo-yos.
Increasingly, high-end yo-yos are being made of metal, including Aluminum and Magnesium alloys.
Exotic plastics are also coming into play- the "Milk" by manufacturer Born Crucial is made almost entirely from the low-friction plastic Delrin.
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, 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" 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 weight 1/7 to 1/6 the weight of the yo-yo body.
Physical mechanisms
(description of physics behind yo-yo)
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
- Gregory House in the TV series House MD 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 carries her badge. The manga was later made into a anime and after that several live-action feature films.
- 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.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "The History of the Yo-Yo", Mary Bellis, About.com
- ^ "Myth or Fact? MythBusters Quiz"
- ^ "Lucky’s History of the Yo-Yo", Lucky Meisenheimer
- ^ http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040417/bob9.asp Science News, Week of April 17, 2004; Vol. 165, No. 16, p. 250
External links
 | This November 2006's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. |
- The Yo-yo Wiki
- Museum of Yo-Yo History
- 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
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.