How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?












7















How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?










share|improve this question




















  • 13





    What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

    – LangLangC
    Jan 25 at 12:22








  • 10





    Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

    – vsz
    Jan 25 at 12:55






  • 3





    How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

    – only_pro
    Jan 25 at 16:58


















7















How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?










share|improve this question




















  • 13





    What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

    – LangLangC
    Jan 25 at 12:22








  • 10





    Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

    – vsz
    Jan 25 at 12:55






  • 3





    How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

    – only_pro
    Jan 25 at 16:58
















7












7








7


1






How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?










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How long ago was the yo-yo first used as a weapon?







weapons






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share|improve this question













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share|improve this question








edited Jan 25 at 12:51









Mark C. Wallace

23.6k972111




23.6k972111










asked Jan 25 at 1:43









Abraham RayAbraham Ray

23419




23419








  • 13





    What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

    – LangLangC
    Jan 25 at 12:22








  • 10





    Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

    – vsz
    Jan 25 at 12:55






  • 3





    How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

    – only_pro
    Jan 25 at 16:58
















  • 13





    What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

    – LangLangC
    Jan 25 at 12:22








  • 10





    Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

    – vsz
    Jan 25 at 12:55






  • 3





    How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

    – only_pro
    Jan 25 at 16:58










13




13





What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

– LangLangC
Jan 25 at 12:22







What has your research on this shown you? For example: was it ever used as a weapon?

– LangLangC
Jan 25 at 12:22






10




10





Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

– vsz
Jan 25 at 12:55





Why would anyone use a yo-yo as a weapon? Were stones in such a short supply that you have to retrieve it after each throw? And what kind of target is where you want to throw stones at it multiple times from a distance of a meter or two at most?

– vsz
Jan 25 at 12:55




3




3





How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

– only_pro
Jan 25 at 16:58







How could a yo-yo possibly be used a weapon? And why? It makes no sense. Just think about it for one second. Throwing a rock would be a far better and cheaper option...

– only_pro
Jan 25 at 16:58












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















3














According to the 9 July 1932 Spectator at page 44:




Poor Yo-Yo. . . . Centuries ago, in the Philippines, you were a deadly weapon, an unseen terror which struck suddenly from above and returned to the hand of the ingenious Filipino who lay stretched out lazily on an overhanging branch.




The 1974 Guinness Book of Records says:




The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord.




According to the 1958 José Rizal, Patriot and Martyr:




I had with me a yo-yo, European and Americans were astounded to see me use it as an offensive weapon




And the 1907 Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal states (with reference to 1888):




Allí hice conocimientos con mucha gente, y como traía conmigo un yo-yo, los europeos y americanos se quedaban pasmados de ver cómo yo me servía de él como una arma ofensiva.




Filipino Martial Culture (2011) says:



Jones notes that the primitive yo-yo was a stone attached to a vine, whose initial function was most likely hunting. [reference 17] In 1888, Dr. Jose Rizal visited the United States and demonstrated the use of the yo-yo as not only a pacifying toy but a deadly projectile weapon.






share|improve this answer


























  • This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:24













  • A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:28











  • If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:34













  • Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:44








  • 1





    @PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

    – DavePhD
    Jan 26 at 13:50



















8














It's unlikely it ever was.



Practically speaking, anyone who's used a yo-yo knows that if you happen to let it hit the floor, it'll wobble to a stop and then you have to spend 10 minutes rewinding it. Even though experts do tricks, it's still wildly unusable as a weapon when compared with simply extending an arm and whacking someone with a cosh.



The most iconic memory that many of us have of this weapon is in James Bond's Octopussy film, which may lead people to believe that it's a weapon of some heritage:



enter image description here




The yo-yo saw fictional weapon consisting of an axle connected to two razor-sharp disks, and a cable looped around the axle. The weapon is usually dropped from a height, allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the cord. The device then winds itself back to the metal handle in the wielder's hand, via its spin (and the associated rotational energy).




Given the fact that yo-yos work by generating momentum, something heavy enough to make some damage also takes a lot of effort to gather the neccessary momentum.



The film-makers didn't manage to make this contraption actually work (let alone be lethal, except as a falling lump of jaggy metal).




Two practical effects were created for its scenes: one which functioned like a Yo-Yo and a functional, motor-driven buzz-saw blade on the end of a pole-arm




The source for this information is described in a documentary on the film's BluRay disk.



https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Yo-yo_saw






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

    – jamesqf
    Jan 25 at 18:03











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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














According to the 9 July 1932 Spectator at page 44:




Poor Yo-Yo. . . . Centuries ago, in the Philippines, you were a deadly weapon, an unseen terror which struck suddenly from above and returned to the hand of the ingenious Filipino who lay stretched out lazily on an overhanging branch.




The 1974 Guinness Book of Records says:




The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord.




According to the 1958 José Rizal, Patriot and Martyr:




I had with me a yo-yo, European and Americans were astounded to see me use it as an offensive weapon




And the 1907 Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal states (with reference to 1888):




Allí hice conocimientos con mucha gente, y como traía conmigo un yo-yo, los europeos y americanos se quedaban pasmados de ver cómo yo me servía de él como una arma ofensiva.




Filipino Martial Culture (2011) says:



Jones notes that the primitive yo-yo was a stone attached to a vine, whose initial function was most likely hunting. [reference 17] In 1888, Dr. Jose Rizal visited the United States and demonstrated the use of the yo-yo as not only a pacifying toy but a deadly projectile weapon.






share|improve this answer


























  • This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:24













  • A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:28











  • If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:34













  • Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:44








  • 1





    @PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

    – DavePhD
    Jan 26 at 13:50
















3














According to the 9 July 1932 Spectator at page 44:




Poor Yo-Yo. . . . Centuries ago, in the Philippines, you were a deadly weapon, an unseen terror which struck suddenly from above and returned to the hand of the ingenious Filipino who lay stretched out lazily on an overhanging branch.




The 1974 Guinness Book of Records says:




The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord.




According to the 1958 José Rizal, Patriot and Martyr:




I had with me a yo-yo, European and Americans were astounded to see me use it as an offensive weapon




And the 1907 Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal states (with reference to 1888):




Allí hice conocimientos con mucha gente, y como traía conmigo un yo-yo, los europeos y americanos se quedaban pasmados de ver cómo yo me servía de él como una arma ofensiva.




Filipino Martial Culture (2011) says:



Jones notes that the primitive yo-yo was a stone attached to a vine, whose initial function was most likely hunting. [reference 17] In 1888, Dr. Jose Rizal visited the United States and demonstrated the use of the yo-yo as not only a pacifying toy but a deadly projectile weapon.






share|improve this answer


























  • This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:24













  • A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:28











  • If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:34













  • Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:44








  • 1





    @PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

    – DavePhD
    Jan 26 at 13:50














3












3








3







According to the 9 July 1932 Spectator at page 44:




Poor Yo-Yo. . . . Centuries ago, in the Philippines, you were a deadly weapon, an unseen terror which struck suddenly from above and returned to the hand of the ingenious Filipino who lay stretched out lazily on an overhanging branch.




The 1974 Guinness Book of Records says:




The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord.




According to the 1958 José Rizal, Patriot and Martyr:




I had with me a yo-yo, European and Americans were astounded to see me use it as an offensive weapon




And the 1907 Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal states (with reference to 1888):




Allí hice conocimientos con mucha gente, y como traía conmigo un yo-yo, los europeos y americanos se quedaban pasmados de ver cómo yo me servía de él como una arma ofensiva.




Filipino Martial Culture (2011) says:



Jones notes that the primitive yo-yo was a stone attached to a vine, whose initial function was most likely hunting. [reference 17] In 1888, Dr. Jose Rizal visited the United States and demonstrated the use of the yo-yo as not only a pacifying toy but a deadly projectile weapon.






share|improve this answer















According to the 9 July 1932 Spectator at page 44:




Poor Yo-Yo. . . . Centuries ago, in the Philippines, you were a deadly weapon, an unseen terror which struck suddenly from above and returned to the hand of the ingenious Filipino who lay stretched out lazily on an overhanging branch.




The 1974 Guinness Book of Records says:




The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord.




According to the 1958 José Rizal, Patriot and Martyr:




I had with me a yo-yo, European and Americans were astounded to see me use it as an offensive weapon




And the 1907 Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal states (with reference to 1888):




Allí hice conocimientos con mucha gente, y como traía conmigo un yo-yo, los europeos y americanos se quedaban pasmados de ver cómo yo me servía de él como una arma ofensiva.




Filipino Martial Culture (2011) says:



Jones notes that the primitive yo-yo was a stone attached to a vine, whose initial function was most likely hunting. [reference 17] In 1888, Dr. Jose Rizal visited the United States and demonstrated the use of the yo-yo as not only a pacifying toy but a deadly projectile weapon.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Jan 25 at 19:47

























answered Jan 25 at 19:20









DavePhDDavePhD

2,24911119




2,24911119













  • This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:24













  • A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:28











  • If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:34













  • Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:44








  • 1





    @PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

    – DavePhD
    Jan 26 at 13:50



















  • This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:24













  • A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:28











  • If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:34













  • Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

    – Pieter Geerkens
    Jan 26 at 2:44








  • 1





    @PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

    – DavePhD
    Jan 26 at 13:50

















This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:24







This is absurd; and physically impossible: "The yo-yo originates from a Filipino jungle fighting weapon recorded in the 16th century weighing 4lb. with a 20 ft 6 m cord." (1) How do you get it spinning with a cord longer than the height of an outstretched arm? How much does a vine that long weigh? another 4-5 lbs most likely. Where are you going to put that on a rock the size of a half brick? King Kong barely has the wrist strength to flip an object with that much angular momentum.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:24















A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:28





A man's shot put weighs ~ 16 lbs, two to three times what that contraption of stone and vine would have to weigh, and requires a put from the shoulder to go, at a world record, 75 or so feet. How are you going to dangle that thing at the end of a finger, spinning at several dozen RPM, and launch it with a wrist flip.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:28













If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:34







If you miss the target on the first launch, no problem - your should is probably now dislocated from stopping the %$*% thing - then it returns at speed with intent to kill, as it most certainly is heavy enough to do if it hits you in the face.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:34















Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:44







Note that an NFL football is 14-16 oz.; less than 1 lb, never mind the 4 lbs of rock and unknown weight of vine needed for this contraption. I've never seen an NFL QB throw a caught football longer than ~60 yds through the air; to achieve distance longer than that you need to use the massive muscles of the leg.

– Pieter Geerkens
Jan 26 at 2:44






1




1





@PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

– DavePhD
Jan 26 at 13:50





@PieterGeerkens You're mixing several unrelated references (some of which might be wrong), and making assumptions about how the historic yo-yos operated. The "stone" and "vine" description is from Jones, reference 17 of Filipino Martial Culture, so we would have to find that reference and see how credible it is. I was just trying to collect literature references to yo-yo weapons. I haven't made any conclusion about which are accurate, although the first hand account of Jose Rizal seems very credible.

– DavePhD
Jan 26 at 13:50











8














It's unlikely it ever was.



Practically speaking, anyone who's used a yo-yo knows that if you happen to let it hit the floor, it'll wobble to a stop and then you have to spend 10 minutes rewinding it. Even though experts do tricks, it's still wildly unusable as a weapon when compared with simply extending an arm and whacking someone with a cosh.



The most iconic memory that many of us have of this weapon is in James Bond's Octopussy film, which may lead people to believe that it's a weapon of some heritage:



enter image description here




The yo-yo saw fictional weapon consisting of an axle connected to two razor-sharp disks, and a cable looped around the axle. The weapon is usually dropped from a height, allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the cord. The device then winds itself back to the metal handle in the wielder's hand, via its spin (and the associated rotational energy).




Given the fact that yo-yos work by generating momentum, something heavy enough to make some damage also takes a lot of effort to gather the neccessary momentum.



The film-makers didn't manage to make this contraption actually work (let alone be lethal, except as a falling lump of jaggy metal).




Two practical effects were created for its scenes: one which functioned like a Yo-Yo and a functional, motor-driven buzz-saw blade on the end of a pole-arm




The source for this information is described in a documentary on the film's BluRay disk.



https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Yo-yo_saw






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

    – jamesqf
    Jan 25 at 18:03
















8














It's unlikely it ever was.



Practically speaking, anyone who's used a yo-yo knows that if you happen to let it hit the floor, it'll wobble to a stop and then you have to spend 10 minutes rewinding it. Even though experts do tricks, it's still wildly unusable as a weapon when compared with simply extending an arm and whacking someone with a cosh.



The most iconic memory that many of us have of this weapon is in James Bond's Octopussy film, which may lead people to believe that it's a weapon of some heritage:



enter image description here




The yo-yo saw fictional weapon consisting of an axle connected to two razor-sharp disks, and a cable looped around the axle. The weapon is usually dropped from a height, allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the cord. The device then winds itself back to the metal handle in the wielder's hand, via its spin (and the associated rotational energy).




Given the fact that yo-yos work by generating momentum, something heavy enough to make some damage also takes a lot of effort to gather the neccessary momentum.



The film-makers didn't manage to make this contraption actually work (let alone be lethal, except as a falling lump of jaggy metal).




Two practical effects were created for its scenes: one which functioned like a Yo-Yo and a functional, motor-driven buzz-saw blade on the end of a pole-arm




The source for this information is described in a documentary on the film's BluRay disk.



https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Yo-yo_saw






share|improve this answer



















  • 1





    And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

    – jamesqf
    Jan 25 at 18:03














8












8








8







It's unlikely it ever was.



Practically speaking, anyone who's used a yo-yo knows that if you happen to let it hit the floor, it'll wobble to a stop and then you have to spend 10 minutes rewinding it. Even though experts do tricks, it's still wildly unusable as a weapon when compared with simply extending an arm and whacking someone with a cosh.



The most iconic memory that many of us have of this weapon is in James Bond's Octopussy film, which may lead people to believe that it's a weapon of some heritage:



enter image description here




The yo-yo saw fictional weapon consisting of an axle connected to two razor-sharp disks, and a cable looped around the axle. The weapon is usually dropped from a height, allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the cord. The device then winds itself back to the metal handle in the wielder's hand, via its spin (and the associated rotational energy).




Given the fact that yo-yos work by generating momentum, something heavy enough to make some damage also takes a lot of effort to gather the neccessary momentum.



The film-makers didn't manage to make this contraption actually work (let alone be lethal, except as a falling lump of jaggy metal).




Two practical effects were created for its scenes: one which functioned like a Yo-Yo and a functional, motor-driven buzz-saw blade on the end of a pole-arm




The source for this information is described in a documentary on the film's BluRay disk.



https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Yo-yo_saw






share|improve this answer













It's unlikely it ever was.



Practically speaking, anyone who's used a yo-yo knows that if you happen to let it hit the floor, it'll wobble to a stop and then you have to spend 10 minutes rewinding it. Even though experts do tricks, it's still wildly unusable as a weapon when compared with simply extending an arm and whacking someone with a cosh.



The most iconic memory that many of us have of this weapon is in James Bond's Octopussy film, which may lead people to believe that it's a weapon of some heritage:



enter image description here




The yo-yo saw fictional weapon consisting of an axle connected to two razor-sharp disks, and a cable looped around the axle. The weapon is usually dropped from a height, allowing gravity (or the force of a throw and gravity) to spin the yo-yo and unwind the cord. The device then winds itself back to the metal handle in the wielder's hand, via its spin (and the associated rotational energy).




Given the fact that yo-yos work by generating momentum, something heavy enough to make some damage also takes a lot of effort to gather the neccessary momentum.



The film-makers didn't manage to make this contraption actually work (let alone be lethal, except as a falling lump of jaggy metal).




Two practical effects were created for its scenes: one which functioned like a Yo-Yo and a functional, motor-driven buzz-saw blade on the end of a pole-arm




The source for this information is described in a documentary on the film's BluRay disk.



https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Yo-yo_saw







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Jan 25 at 13:19









SnowSnow

813214




813214








  • 1





    And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

    – jamesqf
    Jan 25 at 18:03














  • 1





    And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

    – jamesqf
    Jan 25 at 18:03








1




1





And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

– jamesqf
Jan 25 at 18:03





And of course if the descending yo-you saw actually cut into something at the bottom of its descent, it would lose energy, and not be able to wind itself back up.

– jamesqf
Jan 25 at 18:03


















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