Yo-Yo
String-and-spool skill toy — 'walk the dog', 'around the world', 'trapeze' and thousands more tricks; competitive world championships since 1932.
What is Yo-Yo?
The Yo-yo is one of the oldest toys in history — 500-BCE Greek terracotta yo-yos survive; Chinese, Filipino and Indian variants have existed for centuries. The modern trick yo-yo was popularised in the US by Filipino immigrant Pedro Flores in 1928 (Duncan bought his company in 1929). The World Yo-Yo Championships have run since 1932. Modern competitive yo-yoing includes 5 divisions (1A single-hand looping, 2A two-hand looping, 3A two-hand stringtricks, 4A off-string, 5A counterweight).
Quick facts
Category
Skill Toys
Type
Individual
Players
1–1
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇬🇷 Greece
Estimated origin
500-BCE Greek terracotta yo-yos; modern trick yo-yo popularised 1928 by Pedro Flores (Philippines/USA)
Olympic
No
Popularity
global