Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-07
TRY AT DIAB0L 0
HYPNoTIzED BY AN OLE GAME
OF NEW FRANCE.
Conducive to Suppleness, as Is Dane
ing, It Has Become the Fad OF
the Un,racefu1.
Written for The Star.


tn, twang of the string. the sIIri KS of de
light at success and the unprintable ex-
carnations at failure have mud,. the pao
pie of the earth brethren ALL
One touch of nature makes the whole
world kin" and one try at diabolo in
itiatrs another candidate into the Order
of the DiaboIese. which has its chap
tiers north. east. south and west, on
mountain. plain and sea.
What is dabolo? Possibly it might
be less amiss to ask. Why is liabolo?'
To answer the first query the super
1icidl observer might say casually,
That's the new game everybody play
ing. But lie who views all innovations
with the measuring eye. who sees in
each mercy ir.N CIopm|ut Of some
thing winch has gone before. looks
back into the mus past and knows
that new cycle Is compete aud thar
another amusement has toUnd another
rctncdrna ton. so to speak.
Away back At the dawn of the last
.entury-to he exact. about ISL. when
America and Great britain were war
ring on the ScAS-au France got the
didDoio craze. some Denefactor of the
cternaily bored had dug up out Of the
flies of the past Il game which he called
lie Giab!r. IL Is said by SOM ~
have been played in Europe two hun
ursd years BEFORE that. and others VINO
80 back stun farther find that it was
Nnown in China even centuries before
At any rate, It's absolute origin was
not considered important enough 40 call
Tor Il monument to the inventor. 50 his
tory mercy brands il as ancient
p%stime and lets 1t SO at that
The Old Game.
The Frcnchmau who started the 1872
craze Tor le dIIDIe used two sticks.
bit of string connecting the Zip %
nd a. Iii .iff W
lie spun and tossed on the bridge Oh
twine made taut by extending the
sticks which he neld one in each hand
France became so infatuated with the
game that the craze inspired articles III
the papers and cartoons which are to
be found III museums DIT Paris TO this
uay.
According TO c. Il. Frey, the great Eng
Iisn cricketer. French engineer, Nj.
Gustav Fhilappart came across the an
cent implements Tor lie uiable few
months ago. de took the oid-fashiOned
bOboIn ana from it made a sort OF two
headed top. cut with geometrical care TO
maxi the game one OF precision. Then
lie gave his discovery TO the country
and 10 the world. called it ''diabolo.
and the world today is diaboio mad.
from Paris the revival of the game
spread to London, and the British public,
conservative in all things, looked at II
with interest Then King Edward saw
some children playing 1t one day, and,
The story goes. he was initiated into
its mysteries. He fell under its subtle
spe !. ana the news went forth that the
king had Endorsed the game with his own
roy al hands.
This explains in part the query as to
the reason for the craze. somewhat flip
PANTY made ahoVe. 80 far as England
Is concerned, for with his majesty play
ing dabolo all mis- empire joined in forth
with.
Across the North sea it went next and
over the continent. bridging the
broad Atlantic at d bound IL landed on
the shores of America. while the great
ships that brought the crowds home from
the summer rush abroad carried thou
sands who played the game all the way
over. Into every state it has gone, and
now 1t rivals the records made by ping
pong and tiddledewinks of blessed MEM |
DRY.
The English Game.
In England they have rugged up nets
and courts and are playing diabolo along
the lines of tennis. Two. four. six or
eight play 1t when sociability is desired,
but countless thousands make it a game
nj solitaire. Par.or, back yard, pave
nent and open field resound with the
cries of the players. and youth and age
know no distinction where the craze is
concerned
1t is almost as sunerfiuous to describe
the method of play as it was to describe
the implements used. but for the benefit
of those who are still loyal to ping-pong
II may not be amiss to shed a ray of light
upon the operation.
The lonely player merely delights HIM
self by tossing the spinning bobbin in the
air and catching 1t on the string again.
He takes the sticks. one in either hand
holding them foot or two apart and
placing the bobbin or diabOlo with its cleft
on the string. makes It revolve by moving
the arms up and down alternately. Having
tra1 he ah<1z ~
spin, lie losses it in the air and catches
IL on the string again. The PLAYERS
vigor. or the degree of fascination, is a
factor. in determining how often he re-
peatS the performance.
When more than one play. the spinning
bohpin is tossed from one side to the
other. over a net. like tennis. Of across
any given space. The object of this sort
OF same is to catch the d!abolo tossed
by an opponent and to return it, There is
;-.so simpler way Of serving" the dab
olO over the net. and making it fall in a
square diagonally across, following the
tennis rule. In this case the opponent
picks up the bcbbin and begins to spin
70 all over.
TIE bobbins are made of wood, rubbe.
ol tin. Some have whistles inserted to
give the top musical sound when it
spins.
EnGland's madness for the pastime has
developed to such a degree that writer's
and speakers are making the craze the
Sdpt'Si VI dIlt'iSS ana speeches..
As an Exercise.
II Is cOntcnded by those VINO favor the
game that II develops the muscles, the
lungs and the figure. Athlatic women
who possess natural strength but lack
son't thing Of grace have seized upon 1t as
being as conducive to supplenass as dane
Ing. Athletes cont nd that it trains the
. and is part CulIrly beneficial in help
Ing - jCdge distances.
L ON among tie advCrsr criticism
comes minor chord from Emil Reich,
who. IN a very pes:mistic article. traces
tn craze in France to the desire of Che
people To forget that their nation is
metaphorically speaking. on the 'tobog-
gan slide" He says they have lost power
and p tstigc among the countries of the
world. and therefor they seek to drown
the thought in VARIOUS diversions and eX-
rftrmcr;S
~ IS tha craze Of tn decadent. of
ih- wSakiiEE.' - says In a savage sum
ming up of tEr indictment
Rut he is particularly concerned about
the BritonS w!o ar diabolo mad. He
traces tha diSu.d I which drives them to
the game To 'mgdarH boredom. hysteria
AID vague apprehensiveness" WHICH
he thinks has ipped the nation. 'R.ils
- forGctfulaesS" III calls the distractions
ak n t. dialDlo. and re adds:
In times when the nation is full OF
its high vocation. iu!l of energy full of
ar ~ Il eds done md doing all