Hula Hoops and Other 20th Century American Fads
The Wham-O Frisbee and Slinky Keep on Entertaining Millions
Jul 28, 2007 Carroll Trosclair
Many 20th Century fads, fashions and crazes came and went with streaker speed. But some of them, like the spinning hula hoop, the flying frisbee, the crawling slinky and the new, firmer waterbed, have come back years later, usually better than ever.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the news of a fad's death is often premature.
An estimated 60 million hula hoops were sold within a few months in 1958, but by November of that year, the Wall Street Journal announced the death of the spinning craze. "Hoops have had it," the paper declared.
However, even in 2007 there were thousands, maybe millions, of hula hoops, as well as slinkies, frisbees and other 20th Century fads and fashions advertised by Google, EBay and retail stores.
Hula Hoops Ride Fitness Wave
Hula hoops, originally designed for kids, have bounced back as major fitness and dance tools for adults, as well as kids. The industry now offers hula hoop groups, national contests, and a movement called "hoopnotica."
The hoops have their own website, magazine and celebrities like Lori Lynn Lomeli. She has been hooping for 38 years, once did three revolutions with 82 hoops simultaneously and routinely spins 15 hoops at one time.
Today, hula hoops come in different sizes and colors and collapsible ones can be bought for easier traveling. Since they are now produced by numerous companies, no one knows how many are sold.
Slinky Instructional Videos
Google alone shows nearly 3.5 million listings for slinkies, including offers for metal, plastic, brass, gold-plated, multi-colored and neon slinkies. Some manufacturers sell dog slinkies, others with the head of the president. Another slinky has been attached to eyeglass frames, useful for driving co-workers crazy, The fascinating coiled spring toy goes back to the 1940s when a naval engineer was trying to develop a method for monitoring battleship horsepower.
The popularity of the slinky has spun off a whole collateral industry including slinky instructional videos, science kits, a song, a superslinky that stretches to 10 meters, T-shirts, numerous movie appearances and other takeoffs on the original coil.
Skateboards and Spinoffs
Skateboards started as home made vehicles, simply old roller-skate wheels attached to a small board. They went commercial and turned into a brief craze in 1965, then waited a decade or so for more improvements in safety, mobility and speed. They took off again in the 1980s and have since grown into a major pastime for kids and a major worry for parents who see their kids making flips in the air atop a few little wheels. The televised sport has certainly grown past the fad category.
Websites now offer not only a wide variety of skateboards, but also spinoffs like skate shoes, clothing, sunglasses, videos backpacks (for carrying your boards), skate parks and separate departments for both youth and toddlers.
Teenie Weenie Bikinis Now Mainstream
Though sometimes listed as a 20th Century fad, bikinis never really went away after the song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" popularized them in 1960.
Waterbeds, granny glasses, black lights, tattoos, go-go boots, hot pants and tank tops were considered mere fads at one time, but have established definite niches for themselves in 21st Century America. Prayers for the disappearance of some of those simply haven't been answered.
Swallowing goldfish and streaking, as well as 3-D movies, Davy Crockett hats and glass eating have apparently faded away as real fads should. So has packing phone booths with multiple bodies, especially now that there aren't many of those booths around anymore.
Slinky
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