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Donald Duncan
Donald Duncan was a businessman first and foremost, but he brought a marketing flair into his various businesses. Duncan purchased the trademark name for "yo-yo" from Pedro Flores in 1928 and turned the product of yo-yos into a household name. Duncan had been successful with earlier business ventures such as when he created and marketed a Good Humor product called ice-cream-on-a-stick (later Eskimo Pie.) Duncan moved to Oak Park with his family in 1931 and lived at 344 N. Kenilworth Ave. During his residence in Oak Park, Duncan not only continued to produce yo-yos, but he also started an offshoot company called Duncan Industries. Duncan decided in 1936 to experiment with manufacturing parking meters, but the production soon overflowed into the toy making business and the two eventually had to separate. Originally, the yo-yo was wooden and round. Duncan introduced the first plastic yo-yos in the 1950s, along with the first butterfly-shaped yo-yo. This made complex tricks possible. It became a pop cultural icon when famous Americans took notice. Tom Smothers, of the Smothers Brothers comedy duo, created a sketch called the Yo-Yo Man. President Richard Nixon made headlines as he showed the nation he could do various yo-yo tricks while on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1974. The yo-yo was even brought into outer space in 1985 during a Discovery mission as part of the "Toys in Space" project. This year marks the 75th anniversary for Duncan Yo-Yos. June 6 also is the birthday of Donald Duncan and is recognized as National Yo-Yo Day!!! |
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