One Clean Sleeper, Then a Knot and a Chair
Yo-Yoing 🎮 Play: Around the Sleeper14:10 — Person beside the second-hand shop till throws a yo-yo. Leaves it spinning at the bottom. Continues talking.
Small tug. Back into the hand.
Apparently the pause is deliberate. Childhood me spent most of his yo-yo ownership winding string around an axle, with brief interruptions for striking furniture.
Bought it. Blue plastic. A scuff on one rim. Forgot to look at the books.
14:46 — Cleared a patch of carpet. Moved the mug farther than seemed necessary, then farther again.
First throw returned immediately. Excellent service. Unfortunately I had requested a sleeper.
Second throw leaned sideways and unwound itself into a slow orbit beneath my hand. Wrote “throw straight” in the notebook. Very useful. Will also try “be good.”
14:55 — Watched André Boulay demonstrate the sleeper.
Palm up after release. Keep it there. Turn palm down when ready to retrieve. Avoid bouncing the throw.
My hand turns over almost before the yo-yo leaves it. Had to watch my wrist instead of the toy to catch this happening.
Practised leaving the empty palm facing the ceiling. Oddly difficult to persuade a hand that its job has finished.
15:07 — A sleeper.
Still spinning, despite the name. String hanging down. Blue halves reduced to a blur around the scuff.
Held it there long enough to become concerned about what happened next. Turned my hand over. Small tug. Caught it.
Tried again immediately. Returned before I asked.
Have one successful sample and several possible explanations.
15:19 — Opened the yo-yo over a tray. Bearing in the middle. Dark rings beside the gap.
The response-system explanation helped: free rotation lets it sleep; something still has to grip the string to wind it back. Starbursts, friction stickers, O-rings. Several ways to provide the necessary drag.
Resisted touching the bearing. Put the halves together.
The return is quite forceful when it catches me inspecting it.
15:32 — Better throws when I stop trying to make impressive ones.
Starting with the yo-yo held level helps. Or appears to. A crooked release produces a crooked sleeper often enough that I should probably keep checking the release.
Remembered dropping the kendama handle to receive the ball, after all that unsuccessful stabbing at the hole. Tried allowing a little give as the yo-yo reached the string’s end.
Less bounce on that attempt. Also threw more gently. Changed two things. Notebook unimpressed.
15:48 — Tea.
Yo-yo on the table beside the notebook. String has arranged itself into small curls.
“String tension” needs a margin note. Here people are talking about the amount of twist in the string. I had been interpreting it as how hard to pull.
Held the loose string up. Watched it turn.
No photograph could make this look like an afternoon well spent.
16:02 — Found the UFO demonstration. A nearly horizontal sleeper that can adjust string twist. Maintenance performed as a trick.
Watched it twice. Decided I could manage without the flourish.
Took the loop off my finger and let the yo-yo hang and turn. Waited until it settled. Put the loop back on. String looked less curly afterwards.
The UFO remains available for when I can reliably throw in the intended direction.
16:17 — Attempted a simple front mount. Opposite forefinger under the string. Bring the spinning yo-yo onto the waiting segment.
Missed the segment.
Next attempt landed, briefly, then climbed towards my fingers. Pulled my hands apart in surprise. This did not improve the arrangement.
Everything now attached to everything else.
Chair required. Better light too.
16:29 — Knot close to the gap. Couldn’t tell which loop had gone through which. Stopped pulling.
Unscrewed the halves over the tray again. Lifted the string clear. Reassembled.
Small dent in the notebook cover from putting the yo-yo down too sharply.
16:41 — Returned to sleepers. One clean throw. Retrieved it when I meant to.
Next throw tilted. Caught that too, awkwardly.
Phone rang during the rewind. Left the yo-yo beside the chair, string only partly wound.