Yo-yo is low-tech toy with worldwide appeal

You wanted to know

“Where was the yo-yo invented?” asked a young patron at the Vernon Area Library’s yo-yo workshop last month.

Most likely, your mom and dad have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to yo-yoing, and your grandparents might be pretty good yo-yo-ers, too.

In the U.S., the action-packed, low-tech toy has been a standard for girls and boys for more than 80 years. This seemingly simple spinning disc has worldwide appeal, with yo-yo clubs, associations and competitions across the globe.

“Yo-yo popularity goes up and down, just like everything else,” said self-proclaimed Yo-yo Man Barry North, 73, of Rolling Meadows.

North recently wowed patrons at the Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire with his daring yo-yo stunts, like “’Walk the Dog,” followed by a yo-yo skills workshop.

The toy disc-on-a-string that we call a yo-yo has been a cherished child’s treasure and awe-inspiring pastime for more than 2,000 years. Berlin’s Altes Museum features a Greek urn dating to 400 B.C. decorated with an image of a boy using a yo-yo. No one really knows exactly where the toy originated.

North described how he first became interested in yo-yoing: “When I was young growing up in Chicago, we didn’t have TV. We played with marbles and yo-yos.”

Back in the 1950s, yo-yo manufacturer Duncan, headquartered in Chicago, would hire yo-yo whizzes to run yo-yo contests in major cities to boost toy sales.

“I have a twin brother. Both of us won all the contests, all the time. I won my very first contest in 1951 when I was 11,” North said.

Although North won the title of Chicago’s second best yo-yoer at age 13, earning an oversized green yo-yo trophy that he still owns, he tabled his toy passion until much later in life, after retirement. Now, North visits area libraries to teach his love of yo-yoing to boys and girls.

Business experts say yo-yo popularity swings around every 8 or 10 years. Business must be on the upswing now as manufacturers produce yo-yos in nearly 50 colors and styles, available on toy store shelves and online.

“Around the World,” “Walk the Dog,” and “Shoot the Moon” are advanced yo-yo tricks, and yo-yo superskilled tricksters like North can be found everywhere around the world.

“There are world contests in Japan, which has good yo-yo players, and Mexico. Everybody all over the world knows what a yo-yo is,” he said.

An international competition, the World Yo-yo Contest will be held in Orlando, Fla., in August, attracting hundreds of competitors in freestyle and trick events. The 2014 and 2015 World Yo-yo Contests will be in the Czech Republic and Japan.

North’s beginner basic tip is to look for online yo-yo teaching videos.

“The three basic tricks are the ‘Throw Down/Sleeper,’ the ‘Forward Pass’ and the ‘Breakaway.’ All tricks come off these three moves,” he said.

Meet North at the Palatine Public Library Sept. 21 or the Glen Ellyn Public Library

Check it out

The Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire suggests these titles on yo-yos:

Ÿ “Yo-Yo!: Tips & Tricks From A Pro,” by Ron Burgess

Ÿ “Awesome Yo-Yo Tricks,” by Shar Levine

Ÿ “Yo-Yos: Tricks to Amaze Your Friends,” by Ingrid Roper

Ÿ “Ultimate Yo-Yo Book,” by Larry Sayco

Ÿ “You Can Yo-Yo,” by Bruce Weber