Trivia about Lato-Lato (TRIVIA)

This children's toy is called lato-lato and is easily identifiable by its two plastic balls
connected with a string. To play, players would swing the balls up and down via the
string, creating a clacking sound as they continuously hit one another.
The toy made a viral comeback since Indonesia's president Joko Widodo was seen
playing with it late last year, and has slowly but surely crept its way into our fine
land.
The toy lato-lato has many other names;
According to Borneo Post, lato-lato got its name from a Bugis word latto-latto which
if translated means 'making clacking sounds'. However, that isn't the only name the
toy has been given.
Over the years, the toy has also been called katto-katto, etek-etek, nok-nok, and toki-
toki, in several parts of Indonesia, and clackers, click-clacks, knockers, ker-bangers,
and clankers, in other English countries.

The clackers were once made of tempered glass that would often lead to children
swinging them until they exploded.
The glass was then switched for a rubber plastic, which although safer, could still
cause injuries if played haphazardly.
According to Kosmo, lato-lato has been banned in the US, the UK, and Canada.
This was due to the safety hazards of this game and the increasing number of
reported injuries at the time. The toy was also deemed a dangerous weapon in the
wrong hands.
Egypt has also banned this toy but not for reasons one would expect.
The toy was banned in 2017 when it copped the nickname: 'Sisi's balls'. Their
president, Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi, was not very happy with the name and therefore,
ordered the police to arrest sellers, and confiscate all the toys in the market at that
time, before banning it completely.
It's been featured as a weapon in the anime, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
According to Suara.com, the toy has been featured in the extremely popular anime.
In the scene, the toy is used as a deadly weapon but ironically fails when the villain
accidentally hits himself on the head with it.