: please, don’t mock the yo-yo :

 

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Contrary to popular usage, yo-yo is not an epithet. The word should never be applied to stoopid or insane or unpredictable people, which is the informal definition according to the New Oxford American Dictionary.

No.

Yo-yos are a toy, a fun little whatsit. How could anyone not like a yo-yo? It’s a piece of string tied to a spool. It goes up. It goes down. It goes up. It goes down. It spins. It goes u–you get the idea. It has no batteries or microchips, it operates on kinetic energy alone. Who needs flashing lights and buzzers when we have string and a spool? They’re very entertaining.

So let’s show a little respect. After all, the yo-yo’s been around since the ancient Greeks or maybe the 1700s, depending on your sources. The point is, they’re still here. They’ve endured for centuries because they’re silly and mindless and portable and come in bright, shiny colors. Simple as that.

While we’re on the subject, here’s a little yo-yo trivia:

» The highest price ever paid for a yo-yo was $16,029. It was signed by President Richard M. Nixon, who presented it to Roy Acuff in 1974 at the Grand Ole Opry.

» The largest working wood yo-yo is on display at the National Yo-Yo Museum in California and weighs 256 pounds.

» On April 12th, 1985, the yo-yo traveled into space aboard the shuttle Discovery.

And there you have it, the grand and glorious yo-yo.

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