A Day in the Life of the University of Pretoria. 02 September 1966

On this "Day in the life of the University of Pretoria" the student newspaper, Die Perdeby, reported on the popularity of yo-yo’s on campus.

This toy consists of a pair of joined discs with a deep groove between them. The string is wound up and when the disc is thrown downwards it spins down to unwind and then rewinds as it comes up. Throwing and tricks with this little toy became so popular in 1966 that the newspaper dubbed it a yo-yo craze.

The article, featured above, recalled that this craze started when a professional yo-yoer named ‘Russel’, performed in the students’ cafeteria. He was part of an international team who travelled throughout South Africa. After the performance, the cafeteria reported that yo-yo sales increased from just a few to at least sixty a day.

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