banana, fruit of the genus Musa, of the family Musaceae, one of the most important fruit crops of the world. The banana is grown in the tropics, and, though it is most widely consumed in those regions, it is valued worldwide for its flavour, nutritional value, and availability throughout the year.

Banana, port on the Atlantic coast in far southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, central Africa, at the mouth of the Congo River. One of the nation’s older towns, it was known as a trading centre in the 19th century, mainly during the slaving era. In the 1970s and 1980s its port was

Musaceae, the banana family of plants (order Zingiberales), consisting of 2 genera, Musa and Ensete, with about 50 species native to Africa, Asia, and Australia. The common banana (M. sapientum) is a subspecies of the plantain (M. paradisiaca). Both are important food plants. The slender or conical

bonefish, (Albula vulpes), marine game fish of the family Albulidae (order Elopiformes). It inhabits shallow coastal and island waters in tropical seas and is admired by anglers for its speed and strength. Maximum length and weight are about 76 cm (30 inches) and 6.4 kg (14 pounds). The bonefish

Banana Massacre, the unprovoked killing of United Fruit Company workers and their supporters in Ciénaga, Magdalena department, Colombia, by federal troops under the command of Colombian Gen. Carlos Cortés Vargas on December 6, 1928. Estimates of the number of deaths range from fewer than 50 to more

Zingiberales, the ginger and banana order of flowering plants, consisting of 8 families, 92 genera, and more than 2,100 species. Members of Zingiberales are widely distributed in the tropics, particularly as shade plants in tropical regions. Several genera of the order are of major economic

banana republic, derogatory term for a country that has an economy dependent solely on revenue from exporting a single product or commodity. As a result, such countries are typically controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries. Banana republics usually have a highly stratified socioeconomic

wandering spider: The Brazilian wandering spiders, Phoneutria fera and P. nigriventer, are sometimes also referred to as banana spiders because they are frequently found on banana leaves. They have an aggressive defense posture, in which they raise their front legs straight up into the air. Phoneutria are venomous,…

Panama disease, a devastating disease of bananas caused by the soil-inhabiting fungus species Fusarium oxysporum forma specialis cubense. A form of fusarium wilt, Panama disease is widespread throughout the tropics and can be found wherever susceptible banana cultivars are grown. Notoriously

Bananal Island, island, Tocantins estado (state), central Brazil. The island is formed by the Araguaia River, which for 200 miles (320 km) divides into major (western) and minor (eastern) branches, with Bananal Island lying between them. The major branch of the Araguaia forms part of the boundary

Bananal Island, island, Tocantins estado (state), central Brazil. The island is formed by the Araguaia River, which for 200 miles (320 km) divides into major (western) and minor (eastern) branches, with Bananal Island lying between them. The major branch of the Araguaia forms part of the boundary

bananaquit, (Coereba flaveola), bird of the West Indies (except Cuba) and southern Mexico to Argentina. It is sometimes placed with honeycreepers in the family Emberizidae (order Passeriformes); however, because of disagreements over its taxonomy, many authorities assign the bananaquit to its own

Woody Allen: The 1970s: Bananas (1971), the first of Allen’s directorial efforts for United Artists, starred him as a hapless, neurotic Manhattanite who is drawn into a revolution in a fictional Central American country. Though somewhat undisciplined, Bananas offered snatches of absurdist humour that rank among Allen’s funniest film…

Bonanno crime family: …appointments before his death was Joseph Bonanno (“Joe Bananas”), a young battle commander and enforcer who served under him. When Maranzano died, Bonanno took charge of the family that later came to bear his name. He remained in power for more than 30 years. Under his leadership, the family’s criminal…

Varanasi, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the left bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River and is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism. Pop. (2001) city, 1,091,918; urban agglom., 1,203,961; (2011) city, 1,198,491; urban agglom., 1,432,280. Varanasi is one of

India: The first partition of Bengal: …Malaviya (1861–1946) founded his private Banaras Hindu University in 1910.

Treaties of Banaras: …is otherwise known as the Treaty of Faizabad. It was forced on the new vizier of Oudh by the company’s governing council after the death of Shujāʿ. The vizier had to pay a larger subsidy for the use of British troops and cede Banaras (now Varanasi) to the East India…

Treaties of Banaras, (1773 and 1775), two agreements regulating relations between the British government of Bengal and the ruler of the Muslim state of Oudh (Ayodhya). The defense of Oudh had been guaranteed in 1765 on the condition that the state’s ruler, Shujāʿ al-Dawlah, pay the cost of the

Satyajit Ray: Early life: …the novel Pather Panchali by Bibhuti Bhushan Banarjee, the cinematic possibilities of which began to intrigue him. Ray had long been an avid filmgoer, and his deepening interest in the medium inspired his first attempts to write screenplays and his cofounding (1947) of the Calcutta Film Society. In 1949 Ray…

Banas River, river in Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It rises near Kumbhalgarh and cuts its way tortuously through the Aravalli Range. It then flows in a northeasterly course onto the plains and joins the Chambal River, just north of Sheopur, after a course of 310 miles (500 km). The Banas is

Banat, ethnically mixed historic region of eastern Europe; it is bounded by Transylvania and Walachia in the east, by the Tisza River in the west, by the Mures River in the north, and by the Danube River in the south. After 1920 Banat was divided among the states of Romania, Yugoslavia, and

Romania: Relief: Among the massifs themselves, the Banat and Poiana Ruscăi mountains contain a rich variety of mineral resources and are the site of two of the country’s three largest metallurgical complexes, at Reșița and Hunedoara. The marble of Ruschița is well known. To the north lie the Apuseni Mountains, centred on…

Banat, ethnically mixed historic region of eastern Europe; it is bounded by Transylvania and Walachia in the east, by the Tisza River in the west, by the Mures River in the north, and by the Danube River in the south. After 1920 Banat was divided among the states of Romania, Yugoslavia, and

Banaue rice terraces, system of irrigated rice terraces in the mountains of north-central Luzon, Philippines, that were created more than 2,000 years ago by the Ifugao people. Although located in several villages, they are collectively known as the Banaue rice terraces. In 1995 various sections of

India: Subsistence and technology: From Banawali and sites in the desiccated Sarasvati River valley came terra-cotta models of plows, supporting the earlier interpretation of the field pattern.

Pamplona, capital of both the provincia (province) and the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Navarra, northeastern Spain. It lies on the western bank of the Arga River in the fertile La Cuenca region. Situated in an irrigated cereal-producing area, Pamplona is a flourishing agricultural

Banbridge: …roads connect the town of Banbridge with the towns of Lisburn to the north and Newry to the south.

Banbridge, town and former district (1973–2015) within the former County Down, now part of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon district, southeastern Northern Ireland. Located on the River Bann, the town of Banbridge came into existence following the building of a stone bridge across the river in

Banbury, town (parish), Cherwell district, administrative and historic county of Oxfordshire, England. It lies along the River Cherwell and is the administrative centre for Cherwell district. For centuries Banbury was noted for its ale, cheese, and Banbury cakes, a spiced currant pastry. Part of

plastic: Compounding: The Banbury mixer resembles a robust dough mixer in that two interrupted spiral rotors move in opposite directions at 30 to 40 rotations per minute. The shearing action is intense, and the power input can be as high as 1,200 kilowatts for a 250-kg (550-pound) batch…

Nouâdhibou: Also nearby is Banc d’Arguin National Park, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989. Pop. (2000) 72,337; (2005 est.) 94,700.

Bank One: and Banc One. Although the 1998 merger created one of the country’s largest banks, it performed poorly until Jamie Dimon, a former Citigroup executive, became chief executive officer and revamped operations. Based in Chicago, Bank One became a leading provider of personal banking services, business loans,…

Bangka, island, Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. The island is situated off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, which is only 9 miles (14 km) wide at its narrowest point. On the east, Gelasa Strait separates Bangka from Belitung island. The island has

Italy: Domestic policies: The Banca Romana scandal of 1893 was the first of many famous Italian corruption scandals, and, like the others, it discredited the whole political system.

Union Bank of Switzerland, former Swiss bank, one of the largest banks in Switzerland until its merger with the Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998. Headquarters were in Zürich. The bank was founded in 1912 in the merger of Bank in Winterthur (established 1862) and Toggenburger Bank (1863). It

Adriano Banchieri was one of the principal composers of madrigal comedies, choral pieces that suggest plots and action to be imagined by the performers and listeners. He spent almost his whole life at the monastery of San Michele in Bosco, near Bologna, becoming abbot in 1620. Banchieri was second

BBVA SA, Spanish financial group with its strength lying in the traditional business of retail banking, asset management, insurance, private banking, and wholesale banking. Headquarters are in Madrid. BBVA is the result of the 1999 merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV) and Banco Argentaria. BBV was

Portugal: Sovereign debt crisis: …Portugal’s largest privately held bank, Banco Espírito Santo (BES), imploded in August 2014. Quick action by Portuguese officials restored calm, however; BES was nationalized, and its toxic assets were quarantined.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), international organization founded in 1959 by 20 governments in North and South America to finance economic and social development in the Western Hemisphere. The largest charter subscribers were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States.

Banco National Park, national park, southeastern Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It lies immediately north of Abidjan, the national capital. Declared a national park in 1953, Banco conserves both flora and fauna in some 116 square miles (300 square km). Tropical hardwood trees occupy most of the park;

Banco Santander, SA, leading financial group in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. It offers services in traditional commercial banking, private banking, investment banking, treasury, and asset management. Headquarters are in Madrid. BSCH was formed as a result of the 1999 merger of Banco

Banco Santander, SA, leading financial group in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. It offers services in traditional commercial banking, private banking, investment banking, treasury, and asset management. Headquarters are in Madrid. BSCH was formed as a result of the 1999 merger of Banco

El Banco, city, northern Colombia, at the junction of the Magdalena and César rivers. The conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quezada arrived at the site in 1537 and found the Indian village of Sompallón; he called it Barbudo (“Bearded One”) because of its bearded chief. In 1544 Alonzo de San Martín

Banco National Park, national park, southeastern Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It lies immediately north of Abidjan, the national capital. Declared a national park in 1953, Banco conserves both flora and fauna in some 116 square miles (300 square km). Tropical hardwood trees occupy most of the park;

Chililabombwe, mining town, north-central Zambia, east-central Africa. It is located just south of the international frontier with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies at an elevation of 4,459 feet (1,360 metres) in Zambia’s rich highland copper belt. Chililabombwe is the northern

Bancroft, town, Hastings county, in the highlands of southeastern Ontario, Canada. Bancroft lies 60 miles (95 km) northeast of Peterborough. It originated as a farming settlement called York River in 1855 but later became a lumbering community and was renamed in 1878 for Phoebe Bancroft, wife of

Ann Bancroft is an American explorer who was the first woman to participate in and successfully finish several arduous expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. Bancroft grew up in rural Minnesota in what she described as a family of risk takers. Although she struggled with a learning disability,

Anne Bancroft was an American actor whose half-century-long career was studded with renowned successes on stage, screen, and television. She won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for one of her most physically and emotionally demanding roles, that of Helen Keller’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, in

Edward Bancroft was the secretary to the American commissioners in France during the American Revolution who spied for the British. Although he had no formal education, Bancroft assumed the title and style of “Doctor.” In 1769 he established his credentials as a scientist with the publication of

Sir Squire Bancroft: He married the theatre manager Marie Effie Wilton in 1867. At the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, they produced all the better-known comedies of Thomas William Robertson, among them Society (1865) and Caste (1867). These productions swept away the old crude methods of writing and staging. Later they produced new plays…

John Cromwell: Early career: …was The Mighty (1929), starring George Bancroft; Cromwell played a small part in the film.

George Bancroft was an American historian whose comprehensive 10-volume study of the origins and development of the United States caused him to be referred to as the “father of American history.” Bancroft’s life presented a curious blend of scholarship and politics. Although he was educated at

Hubert Howe Bancroft was a historian of the American West who collected and published 39 volumes on the history and peoples of western North America. His work remains one of the great sources of information on the West. Born into a sternly religious and hard-working family, Bancroft abandoned

Richard Bancroft was the 74th archbishop of Canterbury (1604–10), notable for his stringent opposition to Puritanism, his defense of ecclesiastical hierarchy and tradition, and his efforts to ensure doctrinal and liturgical conformity among the clergy of the Church of England. He also played a

Sir Squire Bancroft was an English actor and manager whose espousal of careful craft in the writing and staging of plays did much to lay the foundations of modern theatrical production. Left fatherless at an early age, Bancroft was educated privately in England and France. He first appeared on the

dengue: Dengue through history: …the early 1900s Australian naturalist Thomas Lane Bancroft identified Aedes aegypti as a carrier of dengue fever and deduced that dengue was caused by an organism other than a bacterium or parasite. During World War II, dengue emerged in Southeast Asia and rapidly spread to other parts of the world,…

filariasis: Types of filariasis: … is commonly used to designate Bancroftian filariasis, caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, organisms that are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, usually Culex quinquefasciatus. The nematode lives principally in the lymph nodes and lymph vessels, notably those draining the legs…

band, (from Middle French bande, “troop”), in music, an ensemble of musicians playing chiefly woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, in contradistinction to an orchestra, which contains stringed instruments. Apart from this specific designation, the word band has wide vernacular application,

ruff, in dresswear, crimped or pleated collar or frill, usually wide and full, worn in Europe, especially from the mid-16th century into the 17th century, by both men and women. The beginnings of the ruff can be seen in the early years of the 16th century, when men allowed the top of the shirt to

band, in anthropology, a notional type of human social organization consisting of a small number of people (usually no more than 30 to 50 persons in all) who form a fluid, egalitarian community and cooperate in activities such as subsistence, security, ritual, and care for children and elders. The

Carboniferous Period: Pennsylvanian subsystem: …intervals, and marine horizons, called bands, are named either for their characteristic fossil occurrence (i.e., Listeri Marine Band) or for a geographic locality (i.e., Sutton Marine Band). This process is followed in most areas outside North America. Major Pennsylvanian coal fields occur throughout Europe, especially in the central Pennines (Lancashire…

fascia, In architecture, a continuous flat band or molding parallel to the surface that it ornaments and either projecting from or slightly receding into it, as in the face of a Classical Greek or Roman entablature. Today the term refers to any flat, continuous band, such as that adjacent and

blood group: Chemistry of the blood group substances: An abundant glycoprotein, band 3, contains ABO, Hh, and Ii antigens. Another integral membrane glycoprotein, glycophorin A, contains large numbers of sialic acid molecules and MN blood group structures; another, glycophorin B, contains Ss and U antigens.

Bob Geldof: …was marketed under the name Band Aid. It was the number-one Christmas hit that year and the best-selling British pop single for nearly 15 years. Over three million copies have been sold, with £0.96 (just over $1 in 2023) from each being donated to charity and all royalties going to…

belt drive, in machinery, a pair of pulleys attached to usually parallel shafts and connected by an encircling flexible belt (band) that can serve to transmit and modify rotary motion from one shaft to the other. Most belt drives consist of flat leather, rubber, or fabric belts running on

band gap, in solid-state physics, a range of energy levels within a given crystal that are impossible for an electron to possess. Generally, a material will have several band gaps throughout its band structure (the continuum of allowed and forbidden electron energy levels), with large band gaps

saw: The vertical bandsaw blade is an endless narrow metal strip, with teeth along one edge, that runs around two large motorized pulleys or wheels that are mounted on a frame so that one is directly above the other. The blade passes through the table on which the…

Raoul Walsh: Last films: In Band of Angels (1957) Gable and Walsh teamed again in a compromised version of Robert Penn Warren’s novel about the antebellum south. Dubbed “The Ghost of Gone with the Wind,” the film was a box-office failure. Walsh tackled his most-daunting literary source with The Naked…

history of film: France: …1963; Bande à part [Band of Outsiders], 1964; Une Femme mariée [A Married Woman], 1964). With Masculin féminin (1966), Godard turned from narrative to cinema verité-style essay, and his later films became increasingly ideological and structurally random (Made in U.S.A., 1966; Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle…

saw: The vertical bandsaw blade is an endless narrow metal strip, with teeth along one edge, that runs around two large motorized pulleys or wheels that are mounted on a frame so that one is directly above the other. The blade passes through the table on which the…

spectrum: Band spectra is the name given to groups of lines so closely spaced that each group appears to be a band—e.g., nitrogen spectrum. Band spectra, or molecular spectra, are produced by molecules radiating their rotational or vibrational energies, or both simultaneously.

band theory, in solid-state physics, theoretical model describing the states of electrons, in solid materials, that can have values of energy only within certain specific ranges. The behaviour of an electron in a solid (and hence its energy) is related to the behaviour of all other particles around

Fred Astaire: Later musicals: Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, and The Band Wagon: …films during this period was The Band Wagon (1953), often cited as one of the greatest of film musicals; it featured Astaire’s memorable duet with Cyd Charisse to the song “Dancing in the Dark.”

Tony Shalhoub: …for his work (2017–18) in The Band’s Visit, a musical about an Egyptian police band stranded in an Israeli desert village.

the Band, was a Canadian-American band that began as the backing group for both Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan and branched out on its own in 1968. The Band’s pioneering blend of traditional country, folk, old-time string band, blues, and rock music brought them critical acclaim in the late 1960s and

the Band: Yet it was The Band (1969) that really defined the group’s grainy character. Recorded in a makeshift studio in Los Angeles in early 1969, the album was a timeless distillation of American experience from the Civil War to the 1960s.

Buyid dynasty: …works, building hospitals and the Band-e amīr (Emir’s Dam) across the Kūr River near Shīrāz; it had relations with the Samanids, Ḥamdānids, Byzantines, and Fatimids; and it patronized artists, notably the poets al-Mutanabbī and Ferdowsī. The Shiʿi nature of the state was manifest in the inauguration of popular and passionate…

Shāpūr I: …from that time as the Band-e Qeyṣar, Dam of Caesar.

band-pass filter, arrangement of electronic components that allows only those electric waves lying within a certain range, or band, of frequencies to pass and blocks all others. The components may be conventional coils and capacitors, or the arrangement may be made up of freely vibrating

short-horned grasshopper: The band-winged grasshoppers, subfamily Oedipodinae, produce a crackling noise during flight. When they are not in flight, their conspicuous, brightly coloured hind wings are covered by their forewings, which blend into surrounding vegetation. The band-winged grasshoppers are the only type of short-horned grasshoppers that can produce…

Banda, city, southern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located near the Ken River (a tributary of the Yamuna River). Banda is an agricultural marketplace and lies at a road junction on a major rail line. The city’s trade has declined, however, and the road leading southward is no longer

Latin American dance: Mexico: Banda (literally, “band”), for example, is considered a strictly Mexican genre. The music makes reference to a synthesis of traditional dance rhythms (e.g., polka, cumbia, son, and waltz) that have been imaginatively transformed by the use of electronic recording technology and a hyperactive performance style.…

western Africa: The wider influence of the Sudanic kingdoms: …emerged such as Bono and Banda, both of which were probably in existence by about 1400. As the economic value of gold and kola became appreciated, the forest to the south of these states—which had hitherto been little inhabited because it was less favourable for agriculture than were the savannas—became…

Banda, a people of the Central African Republic, some of whom also live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon and possibly in Sudan. The Banda speak a language of the Adamawa-Ubangi subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family that is related to that of their Gbaya and Ngbandi

Banda Aceh, kota (city), capital of the autonomous Aceh daerah istimewa (special district; with provincial status), Indonesia. It is located on the Aceh River at the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra, facing the Andaman Sea. Banda Aceh is known as the “doorway to Mecca,” for historically it

Banda Islands: …miles (44 square km), is Great Banda (Banda Besar) Island. An inland sea, formed by three of the group, provides an outstanding harbour; the coral gardens beneath the sea are virtually unrivaled. Great Banda has coral rock to a height of 400 feet (120 metres), with lava and basalt up…

Banda Islands, island group, Maluku propinsi (province), Indonesia. The islands lie in the Banda Sea, southeast of Ambon Island and south of Ceram. The largest of the nine islands, which have a total land area of 17 square miles (44 square km), is Great Banda (Banda Besar) Island. An inland sea,

Argentina: Dominance of Buenos Aires: …nothing was done about the Banda Oriental (the east bank of the Uruguay River), which was occupied first by Portuguese and then by Brazilian troops. By 1824 both problems were becoming urgent. Britain was willing to recognize Argentine independence, but only if Argentina established a government that could act for…

Banda Sea, portion of the western South Pacific Ocean, bounded by the southern islands of the Moluccas of Indonesia (Alor, Timor, Wetar, Babar, Tanimbar, and Kai on the south and Ceram, Buru, and Sula on the north). It occupies a total of 180,000 square miles (470,000 square km) and opens to the

Banda Singh Bahadur was the first Sikh military leader to wage an offensive war against the Mughal rulers of India, thereby temporarily extending Sikh territory. As a youth, he decided to be a samana (ascetic), and until 1708, when he became a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, he was known as Madho

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the first president of Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) and the principal leader of the Malawi nationalist movement. He governed Malawi from 1963 to 1994, combining totalitarian political controls with conservative economic policies. Banda’s birthday was officially given as May

Joyce Banda is a Malawian politician who served as vice president (2009–12) and president (2012–14) of Malawi. She was the first woman to serve as head of state anywhere in Southern Africa. Banda’s official government profile states that she obtained a bachelor’s degree from Atlantic International

Banda Sea, portion of the western South Pacific Ocean, bounded by the southern islands of the Moluccas of Indonesia (Alor, Timor, Wetar, Babar, Tanimbar, and Kai on the south and Ceram, Buru, and Sula on the north). It occupies a total of 180,000 square miles (470,000 square km) and opens to the

Joyce Banda: …did her subsequent marriage to Richard Banda, a barrister would who would later serve as chief justice of Malawi (1992–2002) and whom she credited as being supportive of her efforts. Before focusing on politics, Joyce Banda founded and directed various businesses and organizations, including a garment-manufacturing business, a bakery, the…

Zambia: Zambia in the 21st century: …in the interim, Vice President Rupiah Banda (also of the MMD) served as acting president. The election, held on October 30, was contested by four candidates, including Banda and Sata. Banda won, although by only a narrow margin, and Sata, who finished a close second, alleged that the vote had…

Mumbai: Transportation of Mumbai: …the road network are the Banda-Worli Sea Link (opened 2009), which bridges Mahim Bay on the west side of the city, and a new expressway between eastern Mumbai and Navi Mumbai (opened 2014) that supersedes the earlier Thana Creek bridge.

Sikhism: The 18th and 19th centuries: …accepted these changes were called Bandai Sikhs, while those opposed to them—led by Mata Sundari, one of Guru Gobind Singh’s widows—called themselves the Tat Khalsa (the “True” Khalsa or “Pure” Khalsa), which should not be confused with the Tat Khalsa segment of the Singh Sabha, discussed below.

Skien: The Bandak Canal (also known as the Telemark Canal) is Norway’s longest; completed in 1892, it runs 65 miles (105 km) between Skien and Dalen in western Telemark. The Regional Museum of Telemark and Grenland is also located there. Skien was the birthplace of the playwright…

Ituri Forest: The village-living agriculturalists: …including the Bila, Budu, and Ndaka, speak one of the numerous Bantu languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa, but others, such as the Mamvu and Lese, speak tonal Central Sudanic dialects. In general, the agriculturalists live in small villages with 10 to 150 residents, all members of the same patriclan. Houses…

yo-yo, a toy that falls and rises back to the hand by the unwinding and rewinding of a string attached to an axle that connects two disks of equal size and weight. The disks can be made of plastic, wood, or metal. As a person drops the yo-yo, the string that is wound around the axle releases. When