I know it’s not just me. It definitely feels like the world is like a yo-yo right now. We’ve got the uncertainty of Iran, fast-food CEOs are all eating their #1 selling hamburgers on camera, and Jim Carrey is not Jim Carrey. Emotions are up, down, up, down. But we’re going to get through it. Like we have gotten through everything else. And to help keep happiness in our hearts, we’re talking about the iconic childhood toy that never loses its fun: the yo-yo.

Did you know that the yo-yo toy has been around since roughly 440 BC? Maybe even older, but not necessarily documented. That’s wild. And the way it was brought to the United States is even more so. This toy is of Greek origin and made its way east, becoming extremely popular in the Philippines by the early 1900s. It was a Filipino immigrant by the name of Pedro Flores who brought it to the U.S. and founded the Flores Yo-Yo company. In 1929, a man by the name of Donald Duncan purchased this company, and Duncan Toys Company was born.

Peak popularity of the yo-yo in the U.S. hit in the 1960s and since then has made a resurgence at least once every decade after that.

Now, I don’t know if I would agree that the yo-yo is the OG fidget spinner. Fidget spinners require zero skills, unlike the yo-yo. It takes time. And it takes patience. It most certainly takes mad skill.

But I remember the yo-yo craze passing through my elementary school in the early 90s. I can also vaguely remember it stemming from a yo-yo performer doing a little demonstration for all the students. From that day on, everyone had a yo-yo at school. We spent every recess working on our tricks that we had just seen this performer do. Pretty sure the only one I was able to actually accomplish was “Walk the Dog.” And based on my attempt at it just the other night, one I am no longer able to accomplish.

And speaking of yo-yo tricks, there is a whole group of professionals out there who take the art of yo-yo very seriously. Not just performances. Competitions. I remember watching a competition once on TV. It looked something like this:

These professionals are amazing. Again, time, patience, mad skill, and I’ll even throw in, dedication.

Feeling like you want to take on the art of the yo-yo? Of course you can find these classic toys almost anywhere. But when you shop, be sure to get yourself the top-of-the-line: Duncan yo-yo.