World's largest yo-yo really works

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CINCINNATI, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- An Ohio woman said she has submitted evidence of her 15-foot-wide yo-yo in action to Guinness World Records for verification.

Beth Johnson of La Rue said she began building the 7,300-pound "Whoa-Yo" about three years ago and her previous three attempts to set the record for largest working yo-yo in Jacksonville, Fla., were foiled when the mammoth toy broke in 2011, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported Tuesday.

However, Johnson said the yo-yo successfully went up and down Saturday in Cincinnati and she has submitted video footage of the event to Guinness.

"I couldn't believe it. I was just so excited," Johnson said. "I was so nervous, my heart was beating 100 times a minute. But I was so happy and I am still so excited. I am so glad it worked, and I am really tired of fixing it."

Johnson said her yo-yo would defeat the world record of an 11-foot, 6-inch yo-yo set by a team from Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich.