Have you ever thought about what toys looked like 2,500 years ago? After dolls being the most oldest, yo-yo toys are known to be the second most oldest toy known to humanity, however the special thing about the specific toy unlike dolls is that during the ancient times, it had multiple usage apart from being a toy.

![mans-hand-yoyoing-on-white-picture-id153510593.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY5HTPaWjsozQ1f1Rz23GDur5YzcWM7Yk7VCoM5wj9nCX/mans-hand-yoyoing-on-white-picture-id153510593.jpg)
[source](https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/mans-hand-yoyoing-on-white-picture-id153510593?k=6&m=153510593&s=612x612&w=0&h=LfkBnHXIbX4ocNNLVL43N_MV-spdeNBI2iWELRXNPhk=)

yo-yo have being around for over twenty-five hundred years. The Yo-Yo is accepted to have orginated from a Chinese toy known as the Diabolo. From China, it is suspected that the toy extended its fame in two ways. The first was toward Europe, Ancient Greece to be more correct, and furthermore to the Philippines, in southeast Asia. In ancient Greece, the toy was made of wood, metal and earthenware. The Greeks designed the two parts of the yo-yo with photos of their gods. As a privilege of entry into adulthood Greek kids frequently surrendered their toys and set them on the family altar to pay homage.

![yo+yo+greek.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWKF6ExPp13dVbLDmP6dXUWXbb1nQQJMXTBwjtePkCp4v/yo%2Byo%2Bgreek.jpg)
[source](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQKHRaaY76I/WNlVuqbBTxI/AAAAAAAAEaw/ARII3v2zKvQWsYdPDpvqiqs98beUnlj_wCLcB/s1600/yo%2Byo%2Bgreek.jpg)

Around 1800, the yo-yo moved into Europe from the Orient. The British called the yo-yo the bandalore, quiz or the Prince of Wales toy. The French utilized the name incroyable or l'emigrette. In any case, it is a Tagalog word, the local dialect of the Philippines, and signifies "return". In the Philippines, the yo-yo was utilized as a weapon for more than 400 hundred years. Their version was extensive with sharp edges and studs and connected to thick twenty-foot ropes for throwing at enemies or prey.

In 1765, the yo-yo rose in India, from where it made a trip back to Europe as a fascinating and secretive toy of the Orient.

With respect to the United States, it nearly took an additional 100 years for the viral game to reach its shores. In 1866, two men from Ohio offered their "enhanced bandalore" which was presented in a comparable way as in Europe.

It was in the Philippines that the yo-yo came to be called yo-yo! A yo-yo signifies 'return' which is the thing that the toy does. In 1920, a savvy Filipino, Pedro Flores, found that on the off chance that he spent a couple of millions assembling this toy, millions would return back to him through sales. So he moved to the United States and in 1928 started a yo-yo company in California.

![220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-101-36A,_Berlin,_Jo_Jo-Spiel.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfKZXiNh4KkQ7qMCFkuskkpiWKmEdmjyyDzrPctxmksew/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-101-36A%2C_Berlin%2C_Jo_Jo-Spiel.jpg)
[source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-101-36A%2C_Berlin%2C_Jo_Jo-Spiel.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1985-101-36A%2C_Berlin%2C_Jo_Jo-Spiel.jpg)

His yo-yos were extraordinary as they were the first yo-yos that did not have the string fixing to the pivot. Rather, the string was circled around the hub, permitting the yo-yo to spin or 'rest' toward the end of the string allowing the yo-yo to complete an unbounded number of tricks

![60561893_973850_ED.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiwFhjbXxoGCZbpmAcbzuJtFXV3C1UATqHEm2zXCrA1k/60561893_973850_ED.jpg)
[source](http://media.tiffany.com/is/image/Tiffany/60561893_973850_ED?$EcomItemL2$&id=4SqrL1&fmt=jpg&fit=constrain,1&wid=1250&hei=1250)

In 1929, Flores sold the right of the yoyo to another smart man, Donald F. Duncan Sr., An American business man and the creator of the parking meter and the Eskimo Pie ice-cream

Duncan likely called it the 'O-Boy Yo-yo Top'. The rest is yo-yo history. The yo-yo toy became so popular in America that the demand for it became greater than what was produced. Notwithstanding, Duncan had rivalry. In 1932, Duncan petitioned for and was relegated a trademark for the word 'yo-yo'. This hindered the opposition briefly and Duncan's rivals were compelled to utilize terms like 'return', 'whirl-a-gig', and so forth for their version of the yo-yo.

In 1946, Duncan moved to Luck, Wisconsin, which was fortunate for him for a brief period. Fortunes came to be known as the 'Yo-Yo capital of the world'. In 1960, plastic yo-yos were introduced Deals trebled. By 1962, the Duncan organization alone sold a record 45 million yo-yos in a nation with just 40 million children.

![yoyo-ball-toys-2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbmk8FDH823tvfGCLeitWksG5QgKWH5R6ieEHeiRE1Nqd/yoyo-ball-toys-2.jpg)
[source](http://www.cutebabyz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/yoyo-ball-toys-2.jpg)

Be that as it may, Duncan lost the fight to monopolize the trademarked word 'yo-yo'. In 1965, the Federal Court of Appeals ruled against Duncan's trademark for the word 'yo-yo'. The term yo-yo had turned out to be widespread to the point that it was presently a changeless piece of the dialect and it was no longer just described as a toy.

Duncan was compelled to sell his trademark and name to Flambeau Plastics Company. Today, the Flambeau Plastics Company produces and offers eleven distinct models of the yo-yo. In any case, Duncan was appropriately recognised  for his effort. June 6, Duncan's birthday, was esteemed National Yo-Yo day in his honour.

Notwithstanding its ubiquity in pop culture, yo-yo was the first toy ever to reach space, when an astronaut David Griggs brought it with him on the 1985 shuttle mission.

![1a-605-e1448161581169.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbjBgjWrRnZQ9q1iBrPmpVAYuNd69Fh9hyLf5QCmcVEQC/1a-605-e1448161581169.jpg)
[Yo-yo contest](https://worlds16.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1a-605-e1448161581169.jpg)

Till date, the toy is still considered popular and has since accomplished a religion status. The World Yo-Yo Contest keeps on pulling in various enthusiasts who wish to flaunt their skills. The toy remains well known in Japan, the United States and the Czech Republic, which facilitated the contest in 2014, the first ever competition held outside of North America. Furthermore, despite the fact that the yo-yo has experienced high points and low points through the ages, its prominence has never gone down for good.

### REFERENCES

* http://www.yoyomuseum.com/museum_view.php?action=profiles&subaction=yoyo

* http://ipfactly.com/ancient-filipinos-used-the-yoyo-as-a-weapon/

* https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1928/who-invented-the-yo-yo-and-why/

![U5dsi31ck7TCk8dwnmUvtohEH162JxC_1680x8400.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZnsBJw4PRR1n6AUdvHXTHJvRMPZsBzYysdUyQoDEmxjv/U5dsi31ck7TCk8dwnmUvtohEH162JxC_1680x8400.png)

![U5dtVP43GQ72TGdALkHXD3xDqjXWWLs_1680x8400.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZj91gBeYUfEwFp6YwUhP8dvjZ1dz86ZS2JNHz7m5qW93/U5dtVP43GQ72TGdALkHXD3xDqjXWWLs_1680x8400.jpg)