So apparently, on January 21st, 1933, yoyos were banned in Syria by superstitious Muslims who believed they were causing a drought.
Luckily, nowadays we have things like The Weather Channel to clear up the causes of such things. So while our favorite toy is still referred to erroneously as an “ancient hunting weapon” by people who swear up and down they learned it in school, at least we can be sure that yoyos don’t chase away rain and kill crops. Thanks, science!
And thanks to Ben McPhee for finding this gem of an article and passing it along.