Swing that thing

Ian C. Meyer Arizona Daily Wildcat Yo-Hans, ranked 4th in the nation and 6th in the world at yo-yoing, demonstrated some two-handed tricks at the Yozeum.

I had the privilege of getting a tour of the Yozeum by Mr. Donald Duncan Jr., whose father made the Duncan Yo-Yo a household name. Duncan collected yo-yos ever since he was a little boy. "I never thought it would be a collection," he said, "but I never th rew anything away."

Duncan's collection toured for two and a half years at about 40 different locations around the nation before finally settling here in Tucson. He is still waiting for the other half of his collection to arrive from a museum in California.

A quick history: Donald Duncan Sr.'s claim to fame was popularizing the term "yo-yo." Before the Duncan Yo-Yo acquired its name, it was called the Top or Fliback or Whirly-Gig (aren't you glad we decided to stick with "yo-yo"?). The yo-yo came to the Uni ted States from the Philippines, and in fact, yo-yo means "return" in a Philippine dialect. The term "yo-yo" became so common that eventually Duncan lost the trademark for the word. (It's similar to when Coca Cola lost its trademark for "Cola.") Eventuall y, in 1965 Duncan Yo-Yos couldn't keep up with the competition and went out of business.

As I was walking by the yo-yo displays, I felt like I was in the movie "Forrest Gump." I was Forrest and Duncan was Bubba telling me all the different kinds of yo-yo's that existed. There is (and I'm not kidding) the micro yo-yo, the baseball yo-yo, the b asketball yo-yo, the football yo-yo, the pillow yo-yo (a yo-yo with cushions), a velvet yo-yo, a whistling yo-yo, a harmonica yo-yo, a yo-yo that makes cow sounds, a 14-karat gold pocket yo-yo, bubble yo-yo (that's a yo-yo that blows soap bubbles as it sp ins), yo-yo made for dolls as accessories, yo-yo that lights up when spun, glow-in-the-dark yo-yo, wooden yo-yo, and the hamburger yo-yo.

They had novelty yo-yos, such as the Little Mermaid yo-yo and the Aladdin yo-yo (basically all your Disney yo-yos). They even had a California Raisin with a yo-yo in its hand. Of course, there were those advertising yo-yos which included the Coca-Cola yo- yo, the Long John Silver's yo-yo, Oreo Cookie yo-yo, Texaco yo-yo. Yo-yos were even made as a political campaign gimmick. I saw several Bill Clinton yo-yos on display (There is something to be said about Clinton's head spinning up and down ... ).

Yo-yos have become more than just a pastime activity. Playing the yo-yo is considered a sport because it takes skill and one can compete in it. Yo-yo competitions have been around as early as the 1930s (when yo-yos only cost 15 cents). Now, to get a decen t quality yo-yo with a slip string and a fixed axle will cost you around $7.50 ...but that's going pro.

Like many things, it takes years of practice to become a great yo-yo player. I also had the chance to see a mini-yo-yo performance while at the Yozeum. Yo-Hans, ranked 4th in the nation and 6th in the world, demonstrated some tricks. The creeper, walk the dog, around the world, hop the fence, skin the cat, rock the baby, flying saucer, loop the loop, three leaf clover, and man on the flying trapeze were just some of the tricks he performed.

So, are you yo-yo-ing ideas on what to do this weekend? Take a trip to the Yozeum.

The Yozeum is located at 2900 N. Country Club Road. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. For further information call 322-0100.