CUT THE RIBBON, PEDRO FLORES

Posted on May 20, 2013 by admin

Donald F. Duncan was the co-patent genius behind the promotion the first Yo-Yo. Though Duncan was not the inventor of the yoyo. This game was considered the second oldest toy in history, the oldest being the doll. In ancient Greece it was made of wood, metal and terra cotta. Around 1800, the yoyo moved into Europe from the Orient. The British called the yoyo the bandalore, or the Prince of Wales toy. The French used the name incroyable or l’emigrette. However the name comes from Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines. It means “come back”. In the Philippines, the yoyo was used as a weapon for over 400 hundred years. The man who invented the Yoyo and cut the ribbon is actually Pedro Flores. He is the first yo-yo maker in the US. Born in Vintar, Philippines he came to the United States in 1915. While working as a bellboy, Flores read an article about a self-made millionaire who made his money by selling a ball attached to a rubber band. At this point he remembered the yo-yo, a game which has been played for hundreds of years in the Philippines. Flores thus saw a good market opportunity. Between 1928 and 1932, Flores started and ran the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara before selling the company and trademark to Duncan who continued to market and sell Flores yo-yos alongside the Duncan line. Flores never personally claimed to have invented the yo-yo, always mentioning its past history as a centuries old Philippine game. Duncan, the smart entrepreneur bought the company from Flores, acquiring not only a unique toy, but also the magic name.