Yo-Yos

In today's episode, Katie has 30 minutes to become an "expert" on... Yo-Yos! The world's second oldest toy. The long history of the yo-yo spans many centuries and several countries. If you've ever heard that yo-yos were initially used as weapons, we think you're wrong! But we also think we might know why you think that. Americans didn't get their hands on yo-yos in any real way until the 1920s, but then they got wayyyyy into it. Thank Pedro Flores, Donald F. Duncan, and 40 million kids who purchased a total of 45 million yo-yos in 1962 alone. This was a fun topic to read about, but it's even more fun to watch. Search anything to do with "yo-yo" on YouTube (may we suggest Gentry Stein?) and you will be absolutely floored by the skill of those yo-yo-ers!

Highlights include: 

- A yo-yoing four-year-old Prince Louis XIV

- The violent (fake?) history of the yo-yo

- 45 million yo-yos sold in one year!

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Podcast artwork by Rick Radvanksy

Intro and Outro music by Jake Radvanksy