Yo-Yos

A yo-yo is easily recognizable by children and adults around the world, and most people have played with a yo-yo at one time or another. Although a yo-yo has a simple design and seems equally simplistic to master, this belies the versatility of play and the complexity of tricks that are possible. In addition to the emotional satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from playing with a yo-yo, there are psychological and physical benefits that stem from the simple motion of the yo-yo gliding up and down its string.

A yo-yo is almost irresistible: place a yo-yo in front of almost anyone, and he or she will inevitably pick it up and begin playing with it. A child will delight in learning how to perform tricks with a yo-yo, and an adult can be a kid again while recreating tricks that were learned years before. Playing with a yo-yo also has therapeutic benefits: as the yo-yo away is tossed away gently and returns, stress is relieved as the player must focus on the soothing, repetitive motion required to keep a yo-yo in play. Doing so also stimulates eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, and mental acuity, as a break in concentration will cause the yo-yo's journey to end abruptly, most likely leaving it spinning helplessly on the end of its string.

Mastering the basic mode of play provides a sense of power and control, as a player can make an inanimate object go and return at will, and playing with a yo-yo also stimulates the imagination, for its simple design and construction enables a player to perform an almost infinite number of tricks. When a player is able to make the yo-yo stop at the end of the string and return at will, a trick called “sleeping,” the door to much more versatile and complex tricks opens, and the sense of accomplishment a player develops through mastering such tricks aids him or her psychologically and emotionally through pride and a sense of achievement, the fun of playing, and the praise and amazement of others, for whom a player can demonstrate his or her skills. Whether a player is a beginner or a pro, there are always more tricks to learn, create, and show off, which is why the yo-yo has been popular for over two and a half centuries, making it the world's second-oldest toy.

Yo-yos have been a popular toy in Greece, China, France, Great Britain, the Philippines, and the United States. As it entered new cultures, the yo-yo gained popularity as well as some technological improvements. Having first been constructed of clay or wood, yo-yos are now also available in plastic and even metal, and the string, originally tied to the adjoining axle, is now tied in a loop to provide more flexibility in performing tricks. Duncan, a leading manufacturer of yo-yos, also offers models with a ball-bearing transaxle, various sizes of bearing spacers, and friction stickers to increase [Page 798]the complexity of possible tricks and to aid the yo-yo's aerodynamic qualities and the quality of play.

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