I have always wondered about this. You may know it or not, but ‘yoyo’ has been symbolized as the number 44 one way or another. Mostly in Asian nations such as Japan. For example, there is 44CLASH, a yoyo contest in Japan. Before it was called yoyorecreation, Kengo Kido called his yoyo brand 44re:creation. Some of the Japanese players have their online handles in websites with the number 44 on it. Coincidence? I don’t know.
I am asking those who know the history of this, the people who have been involved in this hobby for many years, to answer this question I’ve always been curious about.
What started this whole 44 thing? And how did that number become a number that symbolizes ‘yoyo’?
Oh, right! I almost forgot about playing with words.
I am learning Japanese and I am aware of their love with playing with words and numbers. That people can make words just by looking at numbers. I almost forgot about that possibility.
Yeah, the number 4 can be pronounced as either ‘shi’, ‘yon’, or ‘yo’
It’s the third kind of pronunciation makes 44 -> よよ -> ヨーヨー -> ‘yo-yo’ and it makes a whole lot of sense.
That explains the Japanese number wordplay.
Thanks, guys! The answer took a little sooner than I expected, thinking there’s something more than just an innocent play of words. I was overthinking it.