Jump up and down. Jump up and down.

[venta]

I have just been watching a little bit of the world yo-yo championships on youtube (which is very impressive, by the way, you should check it out).

However, it led to a conversation with colleagues about the 1980s yo-yo craze. A colleague of mine insists it was around 1987-1988, which I dispute since I'm fairly sure it was well over by the time I went to secondary school ('87). We considerd that the craze may have hit different areas of the country at different times, but in general I'd expect the North (where I was) to be behind the South (where he was).

Suggestions that the North was so far behind that it only managed to catch up with the previous craze in the 80's are regarded as rude :)

Wikipedia unhelpfully notes the "1960s resurgence" and the "1990s technological renaissance", but is bizarrely quiet on the topic of the 80s. Maybe the 80s plague of yo-yi was limited to the UK?

Anyone have any data points to offer?

I had a bright yellow Duncan Rainbow, if you're curious. I still have :) (And I can still do around 0.75 of a trick with it.)

Comments

[snathe.livejournal.com]

I remember there being a big advertising promotion (this is up north, specifically West Lancashire) involving Coca-Cola/Fanta/Sprite and yo-yos, along with a suitably annoying jingle along the lines "get a gold spinner, now you're onto a winner!"

I can pinpoint this pretty accurately to the last couple of months of 1987 onwards, as I remember buying a 1988 Beano calendar from my local newsagent just before christmas and there being the yo-yos on sale at the same time.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yes, ChrisC also last night cited the Coke promotion as evidence that it was '87-'88ish. It's looking increasingly like I'm Just Wrong :(