Yo-Yos were once used as weapons

A popular belief is that the yo-yo was a weapon for over 400 years in the Philippines.^[1] However, the idea was debunked by the former president of the Filipino American National Historical Society^[2] and by the chairman of the American Yo-Yo Association’s History and Collecting Committee.^[3] Nonetheless, the allegation was used in a Diet Mountain Dew commercial in 2008 as part of the drink's "Surprising Facts" ad campaign.^[4]

Sources:

1.  Mary Bellis, The History of the Yo-Yo, inventors.about.com, http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa120297.htm, retrieved on 9 March 2008 
2. Eloisa Gomez Borah, Was the Yo-Yo really a weapon?, http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#yoyo, retrieved on 9 March 2008 
3. Lucky Meisenheimer, M.D, Lucky’s History of the Yo-Yo, Yo-Yos.net, http://www.yo-yos.net/Yo-yo%20history.htm, retrieved on 9 March 2008 
4. Diet Mountain Dew Surprising Facts - Yo-Yo Spot, RepNation, http://dewcrew.repnation.com/ShareVideo.aspx?r=6803e4f0-25f1-4db5-9e02-95f381c0fbb5&i=2, retrieved on 30 March 2008 

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