science · 20 November 1866 · 158 years ago
In 1866, the first U.S. patent for a yoyo was issued to James L. Haven and Charles Hittrick of Cincinnati, Ohio. Although termed a “Whirligig” or a “Bandalore” in the patent title, it had the familiar construction of a yoyo with two disks “coupled together at their centers by means of a clutch.” It was also the first time rim-weighting to maintain momentum was mentioned in a patent. “It will be observed that the marginal swell ... exercises the function of a flywheel.” This patent is important since it shows the first use of patents to protect design improvements in the manufacture of a yoyo. Messrs. Haven and Hettrick were in the business of mass-producing yoyos over a half century before the better known Flores brand.
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