The exact origins of the
yo-yo are unknown. It is assumed to have been invented in
China, but the first record of the yo-yo comes from
Greece, circa 500 BC. They were made out of wood, metal, or
terra cotta (the terra cotta yo-yo's, too fragile to be used as a toy, were most likely used as a gift to various gods as a symbol of the transition from youth to adulthood).
The yo-yo, in some form or another, was used in the Philippines as recently as the 16th century, though it is likely that it was a common to the area long before then. There is some evidence that suggests it was used as a weapon. Filipino hunters would hide in trees with long strings attached to rocks, which they would then hurl down at their prey. The story, however, is most likely apocryphal, as the string on a yo-yo is used to slow the objects fall, making it less than ideal for use as a hunting device. The hunters would have been better served had they simply thrown the rocks, which is in all likelihood what they did. The name "yo-yo" most likely comes from the Filipino language Tagalog, in which it means "come back".
The yo-yo made its way to Europe in the late 18th century, most likely via India. It became very popular among the aristocracy of France, Scotland, and England. In France it was known as "l’emigrette" or "de Coblenz", both references to the forced emigration of the aristocracy during the French Revolution ("l'emigrette" means "leave the country" and "de Coblenz" is the name of the city to which many of the French fled).
The yo-yo found its way to the United States throughCharles Kirchof, an immigrant from Germany who patented and manufactured the "return wheel" in 1867. It failed to capture the attention of the general population, however, and remained in relative obscurity until 1916, when Scientific American published an article on "Filipino Toys", the focus of which was a toy they called the "yo-yo".
In 1920 Pedro Flores, an immigrant from the Philippines, brought a Filipino yo-yo to California. Noticing that the device was basically unknown in the US, in 1928 he started a yo-yo company (named, appropriately enough, the Yo-Yo Company). The yo-yo's were hand carved from a single piece of wood. He differentiated it from the traditional yo-yo by looping the string around the axle, rather than attaching it. This allowed the yo-yo to "sleep", which is the heart of practically every yo-yo trick.
The yo-yo almost immediately caught the eye of toy manufacturer Donald F. Duncan Sr. Duncan purchased the entire yo-yo company for $25,000 and began a massive advertising campaign. He had teams of "Duncan Yo-Yo Professionals" travel throughout the United States, teaching and demonstrating yo-yo tricks to drum up business. The yo-yo was a wild success. By 1962, Duncan had sold 45 million yo-yos (at at time when there were only 40 million children in all of the United States!).
The wild success of the yo-yo is, ironically, in no small way responsible for the financial ruin of the Duncan company. Demand far outpaced supply, forcing Duncan to pay overtime wages that thet could not afford. In 1962, Duncan's trademark on the word "yo-yo" was declared invalid, as the term had become so widespread it had become part of the English language. Today the Duncan yo-yo is actually manufactured by the Flambeau Plastics Company. In honor of Ducan's influence, June 6 (his birthday) has been declared National Yo-Yo Day.
The yo-yo has even worked its way into politics. In 1968, Abbie Hoffman, under investigation by the House Subcommittee on Un-American Activities, was cited for contempt of court for "walking the dog" when he attempted to entertain the committee members. In 1974, Richard Nixon gained national attention for yo-yoing at the opening of the Grand Ole Oprey in Nashville.
Advances in technology have not ignored the yo-yo. Along with the obvious switch from wood to plastic, there have been changes in the fundamental design of the yo-yo. In 1978, Tom Kuhn patented the "No Jive 3-in-1" yo-yo, the first yo-yo that could be taken apart (so you could, for example, replace the string) and the first having a replaceable axle. In 1980, Michael Caffrey patented "The yo-yo with a Brain." "The Brain" has a "centrifugal spring loaded clutch mechanism" that forces the yo-yo to return automatically when the rotational spin slows to below a certain rate.
The yo-yo remains one of the most popular toys of all time. The American YoYo Association (http://ayya.pd.net/) has thousands of members, and sponsors events around the nation throughout the year. It is also a great jumping off point for anyone interested in getting involved with yo-yoing.