Information AboutYo-yo |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT YO-YO | |
| 1930s fads | |
| 1990s fads | |
| national toy hall of fame | |
| yo-yos | |
| genericized trademark | |
|
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 or her 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), ''yoer'', ''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. On some yo-yos the gap size can be adjusted. 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. When wound, the string is twisted tighter or loosened. If the player uses his or her right hand, the string tends to tighten due to the winding sequence. If using the left hand, the string tends to loosen. 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'' 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. "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." "The History of the Yo-Yo" , Mary Bellis, About.com (this story is referenced in the film '' Octopussy '', in which an India n 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 yo-yo struck something, it would be nearly impossible to retract, and not only would it be nearly impossible to retract, but it would hurt quite a lot upon return." "Myth or Fact? MythBusters Quiz" "Lucky’s History of the Yo-Yo" , Lucky Meisenheimer 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 () 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:
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) See Also: yo yo club 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"http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040417/bob9.asp Science News, Week of April 17, 2004; Vol. 165, No. 16, p. 250. 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 5A division for off-string tricks, along with freehand. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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, Magnesium, Steel and Titanium alloys. Exotic plastics are also coming into play- the "Milk" by manufacturer Born Crucial and the "Silk" by alchemy 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.
Sukeban Deka at the Internet Movie Database .
SEE ALSO NOTES AND REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
Trick instructions
|
|
|