The Mysteries of the Yo-Yo
Welcome- a brief introduction to our website.
Antecedents- Showcases the history of the yo-yo and introduces some of it’s predecessors.
Creation- Highlights the origin of the modern day yo-yo.
Popularization- Chronicles the rise of one of the most popular toys in American history.
Documentary- Here you will find a link to our in depth and well researched short format documentary.
Final Bibliography- our complete bibliography.
Preliminary Work- other.
The yo-yo, as we’re sure everyone knows, is one of the most popular children’s toys in American history, a simple device made out of either wood or plastic and some string that can provide countless hours of fun and entertainment to anyone. The reason we chose to delve into the history of this device is due to the fact that despite everyone knowing what a yo-yo is, very few people know even the simplest facts of the toy, and we decided it would be quite interesting to share these facts and history with our fellow students.
While the modern-day yo-yo is definitely an American invention, its ancient predecessors far predate the USA. The earliest iteration of the yo-yo is known to have originated in ancient Greece in 500 B.C., but is also believed to have it’s origins in ancient china as well. Much like today, these devices were created as toys for children, which at the time were known as “Disks”. The disks were made out of materials common in Greece at the time, such as wood, metal, and Terracotta. A tradition that would occur at times involved the children sacrificing their toys, such as disks, to the gods when they came of age in order to appease them.
In the 16th century in the Philippines, another precursor to the yo-yo emerged. This device was not used as a toy however, but as a weapon. Hunters tied small rocks to cords up to 20 feet in length and, after positioning themselves in trees, would launch the rocks at the heads of small animals. A well placed shot would kill them instantly. The cord allowed the weapon to return to the hunters and attack multiple times from the same hiding spot without moving and fear of being discovered. This discovery proves that the yo-yo’s origins can be traced to locations all over the world all throughout history. It also just so happens to be where the inventor of the yo-yo, Pedro Flores, emigrated from.
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