Duncan Toys Company
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | November 15, 1929 |
| Headquarters | Middlefield, Ohio |
| Products | Toys |
| Parent | Flambeau, Inc. |
| Website | duncantoys |
Duncan Toys Company is an American toy manufacturer based in Middlefield, Ohio.[1] The company was founded in 1929 by Donald F. Duncan Sr. and purchased the Flores Yo-Yo Company from Pedro Flores, who brought the yo-yo to the United States from the Philippines.[2][3][4]
Duncan popularized the yo-yo through competitions; it was promoted in publications by William Randolph Hearst in exchange for a requirement that contestants had to sell subscriptions to Hearst newspapers as a condition of entry.[2] In 1965, a federal court ruled that Duncan did not have exclusive rights to the word "yo-yo" because the word had become a part of common speech.[5] In 1968, Duncan Toys became a division of Flambeau.[6][7]
In 1999, the Duncan yo-yo was inducted into the Strong National Museum of Play's National Toy Hall of Fame.[8]
In 2017, the makers of Rubik's Cube sued Duncan Toys Company over their "Quick Cube", alleging that the toy "mimics the features and overall appearance" of the Rubik's Cube puzzle.[9][10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Duncan Toys Company | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Scott, Sharon M. (January 1, 2010). Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-35111-2.
- ^ "Museum of Yo-Yo History". www.yoyomuseum.com. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ Jack, Albert (May 7, 2015). They Laughed at Galileo: How the Great Inventors Proved Their Critics Wrong. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4721-1671-0.
- ^ Shontell, Alyson (September 17, 2010). "15 Words You Had No Idea Used To Be Brand Names". Business Insider. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- ^ "History". Flambeau. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
- ^ "Duncan Toys Rides New Yo-Yo Craze". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ "Duncan Yo-Yo". The Strong National Museum of Play. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ Whitheouse, Kaja (August 29, 2017). "Rubik's Cube creator sues maker of knockoff toy". Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (August 29, 2017). "Rubik's Cube maker sues Duncan Toys, Toys "R" Us over knock-off cube". Reuters. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Rubik's Cube maker sues Duncan Toys, Toys "R" Us over knock-off cube". CNBC. Retrieved December 2, 2022.