Editing Yo-yo (section)

==Etymology and history==
The word yo-yo probably comes from the [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]] term yóyo, or a [[cognate]] word from the [[Filipino language|Philippines]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yo-yo|title=Definition of YO-YO|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=September 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>Vanoverbergh, Morice. (1956). Iloko-English Dictionary, Catholic School Press, Baguio City. p. 370 [Translated, augmented & revised version of Carro, Andres. (1888). Vocabulario Iloco-Español. Vicaria de Agustinos de Filipinas, Intramuros, Manila]</ref>

[[File:Yo-yo player Antikensammlung Berlin F2549.jpg|thumb|Boy playing with a [[terracotta]] yo-yo, [[Attica|Attic]] [[kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]], c. 440 BC, [[Antikensammlung Berlin]] (F 2549)]]
[[File:1791-Yo-Yo-Bandalore.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A 1791 illustration of a woman playing with an early version of the yo-yo, which was then called a "bandalore"]]
[[File:Lady with a Yo-yo Northern India.jpg|thumb|upright|Lady with a yo-yo, Northern India (Rajasthan, Bundi or Kota), c. 1770 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper]]
A [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] [[vase painting]] from 440 BC shows a boy playing with a yo-yo (see right).<ref name="Miller2004">{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Stephen G.|author-link=Stephen G. Miller|title=Ancient Greek Athletics|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientgreekathl00mill|url-access=registration|access-date=March 19, 2013|year=2004|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300115291|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientgreekathl00mill/page/169 169]–}}</ref> Greek records from the period describe toys made out of wood, metal, or painted [[terra cotta]] (fired clay).<ref name="Miller2004"/> The terra cotta disks were used to ceremonially offer the toys of youth to certain gods when a child came of age—discs of other materials were used for actual play.{{Citation needed|reason=The source listed for Greek yo-yos does not mention anything like ceremonial offerings of toys nor terra-cotta exceptionality, could not find sources for these statements.|date=April 2024}}

=== First yo-yo company ===
[[File:Mexican yoyos.jpg|alt=|thumb|After the yo-yo was introduced to the United States, it spread to Mexico—a pile of handmade wood Mexican yo-yos is pictured.]]

In 1928, [[Pedro Flores (Yo-yo manufacture)|Pedro Flores]], a [[Filipino people|Filipino]] immigrant to the United States, opened the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in [[Santa Barbara, California]].<ref name=flores>{{Citation
|url=http://www.nationalyoyo.org/museum/pedroflores.htm
|title=Pedro Flores
|publisher=National Yo-Yo Museum
|access-date=February 18, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080120172822/http://www.nationalyoyo.org/museum/pedroflores.htm |archive-date = January 20, 2008}}</ref> The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November 1929, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los Angeles and Hollywood, which all together employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily.<ref name=flores />

The principal distinction between the Filipino design popularized by Flores and the more traditional yo-yos is in the way the yo-yo is strung. In older (and some remaining inexpensive) yo-yo designs, the string is tied to the axle using a knot. With this technique, the yo-yo just goes back and forth; it returns easily, but it is impossible to make it sleep. In Flores's design, one continuous piece of string, double the desired length, is twisted around something to produce a loop at one end which is fitted around the axle. Also termed a ''looped slip-string'', this seemingly minor modification allows for a far greater variety and sophistication of motion, thanks to increased stability and suspension of movement during free spin.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Shortly thereafter (c. 1929), entrepreneur [[Donald F. Duncan Sr.|Donald F. Duncan]] recognized the potential of this new fad and purchased the Flores yo-yo Corporation and all its assets, including the Flores name, which was transferred to the new company in 1932.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The name "Yo-yo" was registered in 1932 as a trademark by {{ill|Sam Dubiner|he|סם_דובינר|vertical-align=sup}} in Vancouver, Canada,<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=yo-yo&allowed_in_frame=0 Online Etymology Dictionary]. Etymonline.com. Retrieved on April 9, 2012.</ref> and [[Harvey Lowe]] won the first World Yo-Yo Contest in London, England.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/story.html?id=e758b728-d280-4d01-8bae-deb3c3b5cb11 |title='Great ambassador' passes away |last=Hopkins |first=Michelle |date=April 19, 2009 |work=Richmond News |access-date=April 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830015953/http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/story.html?id=e758b728-d280-4d01-8bae-deb3c3b5cb11 |archive-date=August 30, 2009 }}</ref> In 1932, Swedish [[Kalmartrissan]] yo-yos started to be manufactured as well.<ref name="kalmarlansmuseum">[http://www.kalmarlansmuseum.se/1/1.0.1.0/51/1/?item=art_art-s1/1592 "Kalmartrissan" och andra "trissor"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821071826/http://www.kalmarlansmuseum.se/1/1.0.1.0/51/1/?item=art_art-s1%2F1592 |date=August 21, 2010 }}, County Museum of Kalmar {{in lang|sv}}</ref><ref name="dn">"Kalmartrissan snurrar vidare", ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' December 19, 2012 (not available in the on-line edition) {{in lang|sv}}</ref><ref name="sr">[http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=86&artikel=38136 Kalmartrissan fyller 70 år], [[Sveriges radio]], January 25, 2002, retrieved March 22, 2013 {{in lang|sv}}</ref>

In 1933, yo-yos were banned in [[Syria]], because many locals superstitiously blamed the use of them for a severe drought.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= YO&ndash;YO BANNED IN SYRIA|url= https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48418581|work= Barrier Miner|location= Sydney, Australia|date= January 23, 1933|access-date= July 8, 2018}}</ref>

In 1946, the [[Duncan Toys Company]] opened a yo-yo factory in [[Luck, Wisconsin]]. The Duncan yo-yo was inducted into the [[National Toy Hall of Fame]] at [[The Strong]] in [[Rochester, New York]], in 1999.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

=== 1960s resurgence ===
Declining sales after [[World War II]] prompted Duncan to launch a comeback campaign for his trademarked "Yo-Yo" in 1962 with a series of television [[advertising|advertisements]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In a trademark case in 1965, a federal court of appeal ruled in favor of the Royal Tops Company, determining that ''yo-yo'' had become a part of common speech and that Duncan no longer had exclusive rights to the term.<ref name="names">{{cite web |url= https://www.genericides.org/trademark/yo-yo|title= Has yo-yo become a generic trademark?  |access-date= March 2, 2021 |website= genericides.org |date= March 31, 2020 }}</ref> As a result of the expenses incurred by this legal battle as well as other financial pressures, the Duncan family sold the company name and associated trademarks in 1968 to Flambeau, Inc, which had manufactured Duncan's plastic models since 1955.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} {{as of|2020}}, Flambeau Plastics continued to run the company.<ref>[https://www.flambeau.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Flambeau-Corporate-Brochure-English-Sept2020.pdf Flambeau Corporate Brochure], flambeau.com</ref>
[[File:Metallyoyos.jpg|thumb|left|Modern yo-yos, some made of both aluminium and stainless steel]]

=== Rise of the ball bearing ===
As popularity spread through the 1970s and 1980s, there were a number of innovations in yo-yo technology, primarily regarding the connection between the string and the axle. In 1979, dentist and yo-yo celebrity [[Tom Kuhn]] patented the "No Jive 3-in-1" yo-yo, creating the world's first "take-apart" yo-yo, which enabled yo-yo players to change the axle.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Swedish bearing company [[SKF]] briefly manufactured novelty yo-yos with [[ball bearings]] in 1984. In 1990, Kuhn introduced the SB-2 yo-yo that had an aluminum transaxle, making it the first successful ball-bearing yo-yo.<ref>[http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/retro-archives/classic-toys/the-yo-yo/ Classic Toys: The Yo-Yo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003185659/http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/retro-archives/classic-toys/the-yo-yo/ |date=October 3, 2011 }}. Retro Planet (May 12, 2009). Retrieved on April 9, 2012.</ref> The SB2 was originally offered only in a natural silver color, but as time went on, it became available in many different colors, with various decorative embellishments.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

[[File:TomKuhnSB2YoYos.jpg|thumb|Tom Kuhn SB2 ball-bearing yoyos: left, original model from the early 1990s; right, a modern colored offering.]]

[[File:TomKuhnSB2Case.jpg|thumb|Tom Kuhn leather case for SB2 yoyo, 1990s.]]

In all transaxle yo-yos, ball bearings significantly reduce friction when the yo-yo is spinning, enabling longer and more complex tricks. Subsequent yo-yo players used this ability to their advantage, creating new tricks that had not been possible with fixed-axle designs.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

There are many new types of ball bearings in the market which deviate from the original design and/or material of the standard [[stainless steel]] ball bearing. For example, a certain type of bearing has an inward facing curved surface, to prevent the string from rubbing on the sides of the yo-yo, which would cause unwanted friction when performing intricate string tricks. Other manufacturers replicate this with a similar inwardly curved surface, but use minor modifications. Some high-end bearings use [[ceramic composite]]s in the balls of the bearing, to reduce internal friction, again making for a smoother spinning yo-yo. Precious materials such as ruby have also been used as a material in prototype ball bearings for its properties such as extreme hardness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BjKxSvcHh9L/|title=Wolf Yoyo Works on Instagram: "Just testing out #wolfyoyoworks Amarok with a 1 of 1 ruby bearing, you saw it here first! What is your favourite bearing type?"|website=Instagram|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref> The material was first tested in a prototype bearing made by Wolf Yoyo Works in May 2018.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

=== Modern yo-yo ===
The era following the yo-yo boom of the late 1990s is often referred to as the "modern" era of yo-yo. The modern era of yo-yo is characterized by markedly more complicated and sophisticated yo-yo techniques than came before in addition to a plethora of different yo-yo designs created to serve various niche purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced Yo-Yos |url=https://shop.yoyoexpert.com/collections/advanced-yo-yos |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=YoYoExpert}}</ref> This increased complexity of yo-yo play was allowed by the introduction of the ball-bearing technology to yo-yos, which enabled yo-yos to spin much longer than was previously possible. This, in addition to the advent of the bind technique and unresponsive yo-yoing equipped yo-yo players with an essentially limitless amount of freedom, with which they were able to create myriad yo-yo tricks and techniques.

In the wake of this revolution that took place in yo-yo, a landscape of yo-yo competitions tailored towards this modern style of yo-yo play emerged. One example of such competitions is the [[World Yo-Yo Contest]]. Outside of the competition scene, yo-yo players regularly share videos of their yo-yo tricks on the Internet; a common place players do so is on [[Instagram]], using the [[hashtag]] "#trickcircle".{{cn|date=February 2025}} Some yo-yo players have also found modest success outside the yo-yo community, going viral on [[TikTok]], gaining significant YouTube followings, or being featured guests on television programs.{{cn|date=February 2025}}