Watch The 2013 World Yo-Yo Champion’s Greatest Tricks

Waaay beyond "walking the dog"
Bibi Saint-Pol on Wikimedia Commons
1A Finals – 1st – Janos Karancz – 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest Champion

Looking for something new to learn in the next year? Why not consider becoming a master yo-yo-er? Kottke found and posted this video from this year’s winner of the World Yo-Yo Contest.

Kottke also posted videos from yo-yo contests and ads in 2000, 1989 and 1976, to show the evolution of yo-yo tricks over time. But yo-yos have been around for long before that. Ancient Greek vases depict people playing with the toys and bronze and terra cotta versions have survived to modern times.

Sooo, which of these folks do you think is best at picking up favored partners with his or her yo-yo skills? My vote goes for Mr. Flexibility, winner of the 2000 World Yo-Yo Contest:

World yoyo contest 2000 Yu Kawada 1A 1st.

Kottke

 
products on a page that says best of what's new 2025

2025 PopSci Best of What’s New

 
Francie Diep is a science journalist based in Santa Barbara, California. Besides Popular Science, her work has appeared in Scientific American, Smithsonian, and elsewhere. She's fascinated by genes, cells, robots, archives, and weird stuff on the internet.