Yo! Check this out. Joseph W. Mitchell Jr., BE '89, can walk the dog, rock the baby and snap off an extended sleeper.

The yo-yo aficionado has been to the world championships, appeared on a Good Morning America segment about classic toys and has been offered a chance to teach the skill to an actor in a soon-to-be-released Ben Stiller movie

Most recently, Mitchell was elected president of the American Yo-Yo Association.

Mitchell, whose family owns Mitchell's toy store in Fairfax, Del., came to his interest in yo-yos late in life. It was not until four years ago, when a young family member suggested that the store sell yo-yos, that he discovered the joy of the spinning cylinder.

Mitchell says he decided to heed the youngster's advice and began stocking various brands of yo-yos, including technologically advanced models that feature ball bearings and clutches.

As part of the store's marketing, it sponsors numerous extracurricular activities, such as clubs and contests, Mitchell says.

He organized a yo-yo club--still quite active--and a contest. "We expected maybe 30 kids to compete," Mitchell says, "but more than 70 people showed up. One club came from southern Virginia, and another club came from NYU. We had hoped to hold the contest in the store, but we were a little overwhelmed."

Yo-yoers were everywhere, he says, filling the aisles and threatening the stock as they warmed up their flipping fingers.

It was a revelation. The store has held four contests since, and, in September 2000, hosted the Middle Atlantic regional championships, which drew competitors from New England to Florida.

Through the contests, Mitchell developed a strong relationship with the American Yo-Yo Association, and he ran for a slot on the board of directors two years ago.

In January, he was elected president of the organization. That, he jokes, makes him the "chief yo-yo in America."

As chief yo-yo, Mitchell has developed a strong working knowledge of the toy, which he says was named the toy of the 20th century by the A&E television network.

It is believed that the yo-yo is the second oldest toy in history, following the doll, with a history dating back about 2,500 years. Historians speculate that the yo-yo had its origins in China, although the first evidence of its existence comes from ancient Greece.

The word yo-yo is from Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines, and it means "come come," Mitchell says.

The yo-yo became popular in Europe as the 19th century opened. Napoleon Bonaparte used it to relieve stress.

D.F. Duncan Sr., the inventor of the Eskimo Pie and the parking meter, introduced the yo-yo to America in the 1920s. Its popularity, following its usual trajectory, has been up and down.

"Yo-yo popularity is, in general, very cyclical," Mitchell says. "It goes in 10-year cycles, seven down and three up."

Yo-yos were big in the 1930s and again in the 1940s, and were very big for a period in the 1950s. That boom saw the first professionals, who traveled the country to build interest in the pastime, and scores of contests.

Advances in yo-yo technology fueled the most recent boom, which came in the 1990s, Mitchell says.

"New models were equipped with ball bearings, so they could spin for a long time," he says, and the company Yomega developed "a yo-yo with a brain." The "brain" is a clutch to regulate the spin.

Those advances sparked a revolution. "Kids now can do tricks that were unthinkable years ago," Mitchell says.

In April, a former NFL football player set the record for the longest sleeper (when a fast-spinning yo-yo is fully suspended on its string)–more than 13 minutes. "He's a big guy," Mitchell says. "He can throw it with a lot of force."

The activity remains popular, Mitchell says, because it is relaxing, pressure-free and fun. Basic tricks like walking the dog can be picked up in an afternoon, while more difficult tricks can be mastered only over time. "Everybody can do it to a certain extent," he says, "so it is easy to appreciate when somebody does a trick this complex."

Some people have begun collecting yo-yos, particularly the old wooden models. The highest price a yo-yo has brought at auction is $16,000, Mitchell says, noting that that particular yo-yo had been used by President Richard Nixon on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Nixon, who also signed the yo-yo, had been encouraged to perform by country musician Roy Acuff, himself a yo-yo enthusiast.

Mitchell appeared on a Good Morning America segment about toys and recently was asked by a New York filmmaker to train an actor to appear in the Ben Stiller movie.

Shaking his head, Mitchell says he didn't think the offer of $100 per day would cover the cost of daily trips to New York, so he declined. It turned out the yo-yoer who accepted was flown to California and given a small part in the movie.

Although Mitchell says he wishes he had answered when opportunity knocked, there is an object lesson in the toy he has grown to love–opportunity will likely knock again...and again...and again.

For more information about Mitchell's yo-yo club, log on to [www.mitchells.com].

–Neil Thomas, AS '76