Uncle John’s Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

by Bathroom Readers' Institute

  • “In 1790,” Zeiger continues, “the yo-yo made its way from the Orient to Europe, where it became popular among the British and French aristocracies…and inherited some new names. In England the yo-yo was known as the bandalore, quiz, or Prince of Wales’s toy. (A painting from the 1700s shows King George IV, then Prince of Wales, whirling a bandalore.)”

  • In France, the yo-yo picked up the nicknames incroyabley l’emigrette, and jow-jou. “One contemporary account of the French Revolution notes that several French noblemen were seen yo-yoing in the carts hauling them off to the guillotine.” And Napoleon’s soldiers amused themselves with yo-yos between battles.

  Ants have five noses. Each one smells a different odor.

  Coming to America

  Bandalores appeared in the United States in the 19th century. For about 100 years, they occasionally popped up as local fads in areas on the East Coast…then faded in popularity each time. They never disappeared completely but didn’t attain greater success until the early 20th century.

  ENTER DONALD DUNCAN

  The turning point for the yo-yo came in 1928, when a businessman named Donald Duncan happened to see Pedro Flores, owner of the Flores Yo-Yo Corporation, demonstrating yo-yos in front of his store. Duncan was impressed with the huge crowds that had gathered to watch the tricks. He figured that a mass-produced yo-yo, if heavily promoted, would make a lot of money—so in 1929 he and Flores began manufacturing yo-yos on a larger scale. A year later Duncan bought Flores out for $25,000 and renamed the company after himself.

  No Strings Attached

  Yo-yo historians disagree on whether Flores or Duncan deserves credit for the innovation, but the yo-yos that Duncan manufactured in 1929 boasted an important new feature: the yo-yo string was looped loosely around the axle (the center post between the two halves of the yo-yo), rather than being firmly secured to it. This allowed a Duncan Yo-Yo to spin freely at the end of the string. It transformed the yo-yo from a device that could only go up and down to one that could perform an endless number of tricks.

  Duncan started out with just one model—the O-Boy Yo-Yo Top—but by the early 1930s had a whole line of yo-yo products…and a trademark on the name “yo-yo.” Legally, his company was the only one in the United States that could call its toy a yo-yo.

  SALES HYPE

  But it took more than a technical innovation to make the yo-yo a national fad. It took promotion—and Duncan was a promotional genius. He immediately created…

  There are 20 days in the Aztec week.

  • The “Yo-yo Champion.” Many Filipinos living in the United States had played with yo-yos since they were kids. Duncan hired 42 of them (including his former business partner, Pedro Flores), gave them each the title “Champion,” and sent them on tour to demonstrate yo-yos all over the country. At its peak, the company had one demonstrator on the road for every 100,000 people in America.

  • The yo-yo contest. To drum up local support, Duncan sponsored neighborhood yo-yo contests all over the country, awarding new yo-yos, “All American Yo-Yo Sweaters,” baseballs, gloves, bicycles, and other prizes to winners.

  HELP FROM HEARST

  But Duncan’s most productive effort came one afternoon in 1929, when he walked uninvited into the San Simeon mansion of newspaper press baron William Randolph Hearst, talked his way past the butler, and made a quick sales pitch to Hearst, telling him how he could use yo-yo contests to boost newspaper circulation.

  Duncan’s idea was simple: Hearst’s newspapers would publicize his yo-yo competitions, and in exchange for the free publicity, Duncan would require all entrants to sell three Hearst newspaper subscriptions as the price of admission to the contests. Hearst knew a good idea—and a good product—when he saw one. He took Duncan up on the offer. The promotions worked; in 1931, for example, one month-long effort in Philadelphia helped sell three million yo-yos.

  Picture Perfect

  To make newspaper coverage of his product as exciting as possible, Duncan arranged to photograph as many actors, professional athletes, and other celebrities playing with yo-yos as he could. He got lucky: two of the first stars who agreed to the photos were Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford—then Hollywood’s biggest stars. Their superstar status guaranteed that other celebrities would enthusiastically follow suit.

  Some celebrity endorsements went beyond mere photographs: he got Bob Hope to perform yo-yo tricks for U.S. troops during World War II, and talked a young singer named Bing Crosby into singing promotional songs for the company, including this one:

  Cats have two sets of vocal chords: one for purring, one for meowing.

  What is the dearest thing on earth, that fills my soul with joy and mirth? My yo-yo.

  What keeps my sense in a whirl, and makes me break dates with my best girl? My yo-yo.

  THAT’S A LOT OF YO-YOS

  These promotional efforts paid off. By the early 1930s, annual sales had shot from thousands of yo-yos to millions. The yo-yo craze spread all over the world. Demand became so great that in 1946 Duncan had to build a huge plant in Luck, Wisconsin, to keep up. The factory could turn out 3,600 yo-yos an hour—but at times Duncan still couldn’t fill all the orders…even running the plant 24 hours a day.

  Still, long-term sales were unpredictable. In boom years, the demand for yo-yos was insatiable. Other years, the demand declined by as much as 90%.

  UPS AND DOWNS

  The biggest yo-yo craze in history took place in the 1960s. In 1962 alone, according to news reports, 45 million were sold—despite the fact that there were only 40 million kids in the country. This should have been the Duncan Yo-Yo Company’s finest hour—but it was their undoing. Why?

  1. To meet the demand, they expanded and got too far into debt.

  2. They stuck with wood when they should have switched to plastic. Wood had to dry for as long as six months, so they couldn’t increase production fast enough.

  3. They lost their “yo-yo” trademark. There was so much money to be made selling yo-yos that competitors challenged the trademark in court. As proof that the term had become generic, they pointed to a billboard Duncan itself had erected near its factory: Welcome to Luck, Wisconsin,Yo-yo Capital of the World. If there was a yo-yo capital, that must mean yo-yos were made elsewhere, too. In 1962 a Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the trademark was invalid because the word yo-yo was the name of the toy itself.

  These problems, combined with increasing costs and competition from Frisbees, skateboards, and other toys, sent the company into a tailspin. In 1965 the Duncan Co. filed for bankruptcy.

  On average, females hear better than males at every age.

  Three years later, the Flambeau Plastics Corporation bought the rights to the Duncan name and began cranking out plastic yo-yos. The Duncan name survives to this day (its yo-yos still have an 80% to 85% market share), and yo-yo fads still come and go; Donald Duncan, Jr. is even still in the business, producing yo-yos for the educational market under the name Playmaxx. But for purists, the end of the era came in 1965.

  YO-YO FACTS

  • Donald Duncan applied his promotional genius to other products: he also invented the Eskimo Pie, originated the Good Humor ice cream truck, co-patented the first four-wheel hydraulic automobile brake, and was the first person to successfully market the parking meter to cities and towns. (At one point, his parking meter company manufactured 80% of all meters in the United States.)

  • In the early 1900s Hubert Meyer of Toledo, Ohio, patented an edible yo-yo.

  • The Lego company built yo-yos for sale in the 1930s, but like Duncan, it sometimes found itself with huge inventories and low demand. One year it had so many unsold yo-yos in its warehouses that it sawed them in half and used them for wheels on toy trucks and cars.

  • In 1984 astronaut David Griggs brought a yo-yo on board the Space Shuttle as part of NASA’s “Toys in Space” experiments. His finding: yo-yos don’t “sleep” in space—they just reach the end of their string and bounce right ba
ck up.

  • The world’s record for yo-yoing was set by John Winslow of Gloucester, Virginia. He started on November 23, 1977 and didn’t stop for five days—120 hours.

  • The world’s largest yo-yo, Big-Yo, is 50” tall and 31-1/2” wide, and weighs 256 pounds. The string is 3/4” braided Dacron rope. In 1980 the “You Asked for It” TV show launched it off Pier 39 in San Francisco. But the string accidentally got wet before the launch and Big-Yo kept spinning in a “sleeper” position until its axle overheated and the string burned through. The yo-yo plunged 30 feet into San Francisco Bay and frogmen had to keep it from drifting away until it could be retrieved and towed to shore.

  Genetically speaking, a guinea pig is more closely related to a cow than it is to a rat.

  CELEBRITY SUPERSTITIONS

  They’re only human, after all.

  John Madden: As Oakland Raiders coach, he wouldn’t let his team leave the locker room until running back Mark van Eeghen belched.

  Confederate General Stonewall Jackson: Jackson always charged into battle with his left hand held over his head, for “psychic balance.”

  Alfred Hitchcock: The cameo appearance he made in each film he directed was for good luck.

  Michael Jordan: Always wears his North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform. “As long as I have these shorts on…I feel confident,” he says.

  The Barrymores: Lionel, Ethel, and John always gave each other an apple on the night of a show’s premiere.

  Jimmy Connors: Wouldn’t compete in a tennis match without a little note from his grandma tucked into his sock.

  Jack Lemmon: Whispers “magic time” as filming starts.

  Thomas Edison: Carried a staurolite, a stone that forms naturally in the shape of a cross. Legend has it that when fairies heard of Christ’s crucifixion, their tears fell as “fairy cross” stones. Also a lucky piece for Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

  Greta Garbo: Wore a lucky string of pearls.

  Mario Andretti: Won’t use a green pen to sign autographs.

  Kichiro Toyoda: A fortuneteller told him it was good luck to change his product’s name to Toyota and only use car names beginning with “C” (Celica, Camry, etc.).

  John Wayne: Considered it lucky to be in a movie with actor Ward Bond.

  John McEnroe: Thinks it’s bad luck to play on a Thursday the 12th. Carefully avoids stepping on a white line on the tennis court.

  Randy Johnson: Eats pancakes before pitching.

  More than 50% of all the lakes in the world are in Canada.

  FAMILIAR PHRASES

  More unusual origins of everyday words.

  PARTING SHOT

  Meaning: A final cutting remark or severe look at the end of an argument.

  Origin: Unlikely as it seems, this term apparently evolved from the term Parthian shot or Parthian shaft. In about 1 B.C. in Western Asia, Parthian warriors were known for firing arrows backwards as they were retreating from an enemy.

  TO LICK SOMETHING (OR SOMEONE) INTO SHAPE

  Meaning: Improve something/someone; make them presentable

  Origin: Comes from the old belief that bear cubs were born featureless, as “shapeless masses of flesh and fur” and needed constant licking from their parents to achieve their final shape.

  NO-MAN’S LAND

  Meaning: Any desolate or dangerous place.

  Origin: A thousand years ago in London, retribution for criminal acts was swift and severe. Most crimes were punishable by death. It was customary to transport condemned men just outside of the north wall of the city, where they would be hanged, impaled, or beheaded, and their bodies disposed of. Long after the surrounding territory was settled, no one laid a claim to the land where the executions had been held. Since no one owned it, it was designated as no-man’s land.

  TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

  Meaning: Be skeptical; examine something carefully before accepting a statement’s accuracy.

  Origin: In ancient times, salt was rare and people thought it had special powers. Among other uses, they sprinkled it on food suspected of containing poison. It became customary to eat a questionable dish only if it was accompanied with a dash of salt.

  Most snails travel at the speed of 25 miles per day.

  IT’S THE LAW!…OR IS IT?

  Most of us think we know more about the law than we actually do. We challenge you to take the BRI’s version of the Bar Exam. Can you tell the difference between legal myths and legal reality? Answers are on page 499.

  PROBLEM #1

  Bill and his wife get divorced, and he’s socked with a hefty alimony payment. His drinking buddy tells Bill to get out of it by declaring bankruptcy. Can he do it?

  a) Yes—if he moves around a lot and doesn’t hold a steady job.

  b) Nope. In his case, love may be temporary…but alimony is forever.

  c) Of course. Once the bankruptcy is final, all of his debts will be erased.

  PROBLEM #2

  Susan and Tom are first cousins who’ve fallen in love. They want to get married and raise a family. Tom’s brother tells them they’re out of luck—it’s not legal. So they do some research and find out:

  a) Tom’s brother is right. It’s illegal in the United States for first cousins to marry.

  b) They can get married, but first they’ll have to undergo psychological and genetic testing to evaluate the chances of insanity or birth defects. If the results are okay, a court will grant permission.

  c) They should start packing and head for Georgia.

  PROBLEM #3

  Speed-limit signs of 5 MPH are posted at the local mall. One of the mall’s security officers calls the local police to have some teenagers arrested for speeding through the parking lot. The police dispatcher tells the security officer to forget it—he’s not sending out an officer. Why not?

  a) The security guard didn’t have a radar gun, so the case would be thrown out of court for lack of evidence

  b) It’s not the police’s problem.

  c) Speeding violations are a low priority for local police.

  In Sarasota, Florida, it’s illegal to wear a swimsuit while singing in a public place.

  PROBLEM #4

  You bounce a check at the corner grocery store. Legally, what can they do about it?

  a) They’re required to request payment as soon as the check is returned to them. If you make good on it immediately, they can only charge you for the amount of the check.

  b) They can stick it to you and charge you for up to ten times the amount of the check.

  c) If they wanted to, they could have you arrested for theft.

  PROBLEM #5

  Sally loses her bank card, but doesn’t notice it’s gone until a couple of days have gone by; then she calls the credit card company right away. What’s her maximum liability?

  a) $50.

  b) None—the card is automatically insured.

  c) $500.

  PROBLEM #6

  You have a great idea for a new product. Your friends advise you to get it patented right away. Is that the best idea?

  a) Yes, it’s always the best protection for your idea.

  b) You can’t get a patent for something until you’re ready to produce it, so you’ll have to get manufacturing deals set up first.

  c) Not always. If you apply for a patent, you might be limiting your ability to make money from it.

  PROBLEM #7

  Your friend dies in a climbing accident in Yosemite National Park in California. Before he left, he told you, “If anything happens to me you can have my guitar.” Do you have any legal claim to the instrument?

  a) Sorry, no. Wills have to be in writing, signed by witnesses, and notarized.

  b) Yes—as long as there were credible witnesses to the promise.

  c) Sure, if he hasn’t already promised the guitar to someone else.

  How can you tell when a kangaroo is nervous? It licks its forearms. Nobody knows why.

  Q&A: ASK THE EXPERTS
<
br />   More random questions, with answers from America’s trivia experts.

  A LOT OF BULL

  Q: Do animals see color?

  A: We often act as if they do, but the truth is, most don’t. “Apes and some monkeys perceive the full spectrum of color, as may some fish and birds. But most mammals view color only as shades of gray.” So, for example, “bulls don’t charge because a cape is red. They charge because of the movement of the cape.” (From The Book of Answers, by Barbara Berliner)

  CARROT TRICK

  Q: What are the “baby carrots” sold in plastic bags at supermarkets?

  A: “Take a closer look. Right there on the bag, it says clearly: ‘baby-cut.’ These aren’t now and never were baby carrots. In the early 1990s, a carrot packer in Bakersfield, California thought of a clever way to use his misshapen culls. Mechanically he cut them into short pieces, then ground and polished them until they looked like sweet, tender young carrots.

  “Baby-cut packers today don’t rely on culls….They use a hybrid carrot called ‘Caropak’ that grows long and slender; it doesn’t taper much and has little or no core. In the processing shed, the carrots are cleaned, cut into pieces, sorted by size, peeled in abrasive drums, then polished. Bagged with a little water and kept cold, they stay crisp and bright orange.” (From the S.F. Chronicle)

  THREAD OF TRUTH

  Q: Is fiberglass really made of glass?

  A: “It is, literally, tiny strands of glass that are anywhere from .0004 inches to two-millionths of an inch in diameter. They can be from six inches to more than a mile long.

  “It’s made by either of two processes. The longer, thicker fibers are made by melting glass marbles, then drawing melted strands through holes in a platinum bushing. Shorter, thinner fibers are made by an air-stream or flame blowing process that pulls bits of melted glass into tiny fibers. As the glass fibers cool, they are sprayed with a polymer that protects their surface and keeps the fibers strong.” (From Everything You Pretend to Know and Are Afraid Someone Will Ask, by Lynette Padwa)