Does a Yo-Yo Work in Space? An Astronaut Demonstrates

You might think that in zero gravity a yo-yo would be a totally worthless toy. Thanks to astronaut Don Pettit, currently orbiting Earth in the Internatinal Space Station, we get to see why it's actually a hundred times more fun.

Don's been living and working up there since December, and in his spare time he's been filming fun videos that teach you things about the physics in space that you just can't learn from your pitiful Earth-dwelling. Today's lesson: the dreamy slow-motion of the weightless yo-yo actually allows you to do all the difficult tricks that you might never master otherwise. Way harder to bonk yourself in the head!

Of course, being in space makes all sorts of other everyday activities far more difficult. Don't worry, Don's on the case! Back in 2008 he demonstrated how you could turn a clear piece of plastic into a perfect sippy-cup for coffee (or any other liquid that you don't want flying around in your space-pod).