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"The yo-yo is set to be this year's biggest playground craze", according to retailers who have reported a ten-fold increase in sales over the past year.
The simple toy, which first became popular during the decade following the Wall Street crash of 1929, is taking off once again as the recession encourages children and parents to turn to "pocket money toys".
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Wiki tells me that "The earliest surviving yo-yo dates to 500 BC and was made using terra cotta skin disks. A Greek vase from this period shows a boy playing yo-yo. (see above).
Greek records from the period describe toys made out of wood, metal, or painted terra cotta (clay). 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."
The modern version took off in 1929 when an entrepreneur Donald Duncan took over a successful Californian toy company, and started Yo-Yo competitions to encourage the craze.
In the 1940s his factories were making 3,600 yo-yo's an hour and by 1962 the Duncan Company alone sold a record 45 million yo-yo's in the USA – a country at the time with just 40 million children.
Retailers and yo-yo manufacturers are gearing up for 2010 to be the biggest year for the toy since 1998, when nearly four million were sold in Britain – the equivalent of one for every three children in the country.
I had one as a child but can't ever remember seeing a child with one since. I would have thought simple things like yo-yo's, skipping ropes and marbles were far too elementary for today's 'techno-kids'.
I bet you didn't expect some sheet music though?
But there was.....and I have a very rare copy!
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A very young looking Billy Cotton from 1932. It is a bit rude, or I should say suggestive. I expect you know what I mean. I have just found it on YT, here.
You get two for the price of one today.
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There isn't a lot to say about this except that I do have a recording of this on cassette.
Dear me, all these suggestive songs and cards from the 1930's.
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Let's put out the lights.... I remember it well! Heehee I mean the song!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if yo-yo's were back in fashion, they were in the Christmas crackers this year. I've been playing with it ever since.... grins.
Laurel & Hardy video - very tongue in cheek and in comparison with songs nowadays, very tame, KD. There's a song, written by Matt McGinn from Glasgow, asking "Did you Find My Red Yo-Yo" but your readers who are not from Glasgow might finds the words a little hard to understand. It can be found here YOUTUBE
ReplyDeleteYo-yos were big at his school,when my son was about 7-8 (he is now 20). He has several, including glow in the dark and flashing ones. He would make all sorts of shapes with the string as the yo-yo whirred round.The one that made us laugh was "Y fronts".
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Yo Yo's had been going for so long!
ReplyDeleteI never could get the hand of all those fancy tricks with them.
s a kid I couldn't do anything fancy with my yo yo and irritated me terribly that my Mother and Grandfather could.
ReplyDeleteMust have been a very small yo-yo Valerie!... to come in a cracker.
ReplyDeleteAnd it worked like full size one?
Mrs S: That was great! Thanks for that link....now I have two songs on yo-yo's. Regional accents can be difficult sometimes but my view is that they add character to the song.
If I ever get stuck I have Scottish/English dictionary to look it up. It is a serious book ..not a joke thing.
Hi Kath: How big is 'big'? I thought they were all one size, although Valerie found a little one in a cracker. I remember the flashing ones. Never had one though. Woolworths sold cheap metal ones probably for 6d. The 'Rolls Royce' wooded ones were more like half a crown. They were more balanced.
I didn't know that they went back to 500BC either Cherie: It just shows you how inventive they were in those days.
Hi DD: You are not alone...I couldn't either! I expect the reason that your Mother and Grandfather could, was because in those days they did not have anything else to play with. With fewer toys you had time to become an 'expert' with what you had. parents
If you really get into yo-yo's you can get them to go in different directions from vertical. I thinnk you can get fancyones that will do lots of "tricks" but that's probably cheating.
ReplyDeleteI have seen teeny weeny ones so they're not all the one size.
Hi Foody:
ReplyDeleteYou may be able to get them to go in different directions.....but I bet I can't. I can't imagine the little ones would work very well as they don't seem to have enough mass.
I know you can't listen at work to my links but when you are home give them a try. Mrs Successful has a link to another Yo-Yo song from North of the Border.
Must have been a very small yo-yo Valerie!... to come in a cracker.
ReplyDeleteAnd it worked like full size one?
It's average size, Bernard, and works well, or rather it would if I was better at managing the string. They have decent crackers where we have our Christmas meal.