Today in 1866, the first US patent for a spinning toy known then as a bangalore.
We now call it a yo-yo; it’s been around in various forms since ancient times, and there have even been a few occasions when it’s gone into space.
The yo-yo’s first trip into orbit came in April 1985, on board the space shuttle Discovery.
During the weeklong mission, the crew deployed two satellites (they even had to do a spacewalk to make sure everything was working) and conducted a number of scientific and medical experiments.
And they took part in a program called Toys In Space.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science was developing a curriculum to teach students about physics, and what better way to demonstrate those principles than showing how everyday toys act differently in microgravity?
Actually, some toys, like paper airplanes, worked more or less the same (or maybe even a little better) in Earth orbit.
But many of the toys couldn’t do their usual stuff without Earth gravity.
For example, you can’t play ball and jacks if the jacks aren’t staying put and ready to be grabbed.
And a Slinky isn’t going to go down a set of stairs up there, because why would it?
As a camera rolled, astronaut David Griggs put a yo-yo through its paces.
In most respects, it worked beautifully in space: Griggs could make the toy do some tricks at even sharper angles than yo-yo-ers could do back on our home planet.
The main difference was in the trick called “sleeping,” the one where you send the yo-yo down and it stays down, without coming back up.
You can’t really do that one the same way in space as it’s done on Earth.
But you can do just about everything else.
In fact, yo-yos have gone back into space several times since that mission, and the astronauts have not only demonstrated some pretty amazing tricks up there, they’ve invented a few new ones too.
Starting tomorrow in Claremore, Oklahoma, it’s Dickens on the Boulevard.
It’s a trip back in time, with dancers, carolers, blacksmiths and woodturners all wearing Victorian outfits and partaking in 19th Century food and drink.
So is there an Oklahoma-style street fair in London around this time of year? Thanks etc
Toys in space (UPI)
Dickens on the Boulevard (TravelOK)
