世界節(jié)假日博覽 第109期:全國(guó)溜溜球日

June 6 is National Yo-Yo Day. This is the date of birth of the man who popularized yo-yos in the USA. His name was Donald Duncan and he got into the yo-yo business in 1930. Of course there were ups and downs before yo-yoing became an American pastime. Any story about yo-yos would not be complete without a little up-and-down joke. Donald Duncan saw a yo-yo for the first time in the 1920s. A Filipino-American, Pedro Flores, mass-produced the toys in California. Duncan saw the potential to make money and bought Flores’ yo-yo factory. He hired Flores to take the yo-yo all around America. Flores held competitions in all the states he visited. Children loved the yo-yo and Duncan’s business went from strength to strength.
6月6日為全國(guó)溜溜球日。這天是溜溜球倡導(dǎo)者唐納德·鄧肯誕辰。1930年，鄧肯進(jìn)入溜溜球產(chǎn)業(yè)。但成為美國(guó)休閑娛樂(lè)之前，溜溜球的發(fā)展經(jīng)歷了跌宕起伏。沒(méi)有點(diǎn)驚濤駭浪，溜溜球發(fā)家史也不會(huì)完整。20世紀(jì)20年代，鄧肯第一次見(jiàn)到溜溜球。菲律賓裔美國(guó)人佩德羅·弗洛雷斯在加州大量生產(chǎn)溜溜球。鄧肯看到市場(chǎng)潛力，并決定買下弗洛雷斯的溜溜球工廠。弗洛雷斯成為鄧肯下屬，并幫助鄧肯將溜溜球在全美傳播開(kāi)來(lái)。所到之處開(kāi)展溜溜球比賽。孩子們熱愛(ài)溜溜球，鄧肯的事業(yè)如日中天。


The true history of the yo-yo goes back several thousand years. It is thought to have originated in China. From there, it travelled to Greece. Records from the ancient Greek empire, around 500BC, describe a circular toy made out of wood. The world’s oldest yo-yo dates to this period. Not all yo-yos were toys. There are reports that the yo-yo was a weapon for over 400 years in the Philippines. Today, the yo-yo is a part of every child’s toy cupboard. Young and old love playing with it and demonstrating their skills. It is perhaps one of the most successful toys ever. All around America, there are yo-yo competitions on June 6. Many yo-yo enthusiasts believe it should be an Olympic sport. There is definitely an art and a skill to good yo-yoing.
溜溜球史可追述到幾千年前。并一直認(rèn)為它源于中國(guó)。并從中國(guó)傳入希臘。據(jù)古希臘帝國(guó)史料記載，大約在公元前500年間，有關(guān)于木質(zhì)原型玩具的記載。世界上最古老的悠悠球誕生于該時(shí)期。悠悠球并非都是玩具。有記載稱四百多年以來(lái)，菲律賓曾將溜溜球用作戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)武器。如今，悠悠球已經(jīng)成為了孩子們的玩具。成為了男女老少的摯愛(ài)，人們?cè)诹锪锴蛏险宫F(xiàn)精彩技藝。它或是史上最叫賣玩具之一。每年6月6日，全美會(huì)舉辦溜溜球大賽。溜溜球愛(ài)好者建議將其列為奧運(yùn)會(huì)項(xiàng)目。溜溜球運(yùn)動(dòng)定是藝術(shù)與技藝的完美展現(xiàn)。