Author: Erin Madden

Origins of the yo-yo can be found in Greece in 500 B.C., but it is believed that ancient China also has origins of the toy. A Greek vase can be seen from 500 B.C. depicting a boy playing with a yo-yo. This vase can be seen in the Staatliche Museum Preussischer Kulturbesitz Antikemuseum in Berlin, Germany. (1)

Popularity in Europe:

The yo-yo became very popular in Europe during the 18th century. Different countries around Europe called the yo-yo different things. For example, Britain called the yoyo a bandalore or a quiz, while in France the yoyo was known as an incroyable or a coblentz.  There have been reports of European nobles playing with yo-yos. These include King Louis XVII, Napoleon and his army had yoyos at Waterloo, and even the Prince of Whales.

The Yo-yo Comes to America:

The yo-yo has been a popular toy since it came to America in 1928. The toy was brought over from the Philipines by a man named Pedro Flores. In the same year he immigrated to the United States, Flores began to show off his toy and even hosted the first yo-yo competition in Santa Barbara, California. It was there in Santa Barabara that Pedro Flores decided to open up his own toy manufacturing company. The toy became popular and could be even seen with instructions on how to build one in Popular Mechanics, a very popular magazine at the time.

Donald Duncan:

Donald Duncan, a businessman, saw the yo-yo as a business opportunity for himself. He wanted to make his own yo-yos. To make his business plan work, Duncan bought the trademark from Flores. This gave Duncan the access to the name “Yo-Yo”. As his company was just starting out Duncan looked for a way to advertise his yo-yo’s. He met Randolph Hearst to try and get the newspapers to advertise Duncan Yo-yos. Duncan proposed that Hearst Newspapers would advertise the yo-yos to kids. The advertisements would also be competitions for the kids with prizes including bikes and other nice sporting equipment. Hearst thought the proposal would work and he would sell more papers. After Duncan’s proposal was accepted a 30-day campaign could be seen in the newspapers in Philidelphia. During the 30-day newspaper campaign, 30 million Duncan yo-yos were sold. As the yo-yos popularity increased, the newspapers started to publish pictures of celebrities playing with the yo-yo. In 1974, President Nixon could be seen learning yo-yo tricks as he attended an event at the Grand Ol Opry.

By this point in time, other companies have caught on to how popular the yo-yo had become. The Russel company could be seen making yo-yos in allegiance with Coca-Cola. It was seen in a ten-week campaign that 4 million Coca-Cola branded yo-yos were sold.  At the time many advertisements could be seen on tv advertising the coca-cola branded yo-yo.

During the 1990s the popularization of the yo-yo soared even more than it ever did before. During the 1990s yo-yo competitions came back in full swing. These competitions were different than the other competitions. These competitions were for yo-yo tricks primarily. It was during this time that records were being set, including the record for the longest spin time. The first modern National Yoyo Championships were held in Califonia in 1993. As popular as the yo-yo was the popularization started to diminish as new toys started to emerge.

Notes:  

1. Museen zu Berlin. “Museums & Institutions – Antikensammlung.” Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin. Finanzgruppe, 2019. Last modified 2019. Accessed December 1, 2019. https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/antikensammlung/home.html.
2. Ordoñez Aristizabal, Daniela. “Fotos.” Revolucion Francesa. Facebook Historical, 2018. Last modified 2018. Accessed December 1, 2019. https://facerevolucionfran.wixsite.com/revolucion-francesa/copia-de-fotos-3?lightbox=dataItem-jidrld312.
3. “Advice to Joe [1951].” CONELRAD. Accessed December 1, 2019. http://www.conelrad.com/media/atomicmusic/platter_07.html.
4. YoPromotionsUK. “Remember the 80’s Yo-Yo Craze.” YouTube. YouTube, August 24, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbviSr-vLqw.