Fabulous Fads: The Craziest Fads from The Last 100 Years

Fabulous Fads:
The Craziest Fads from The Last 100 Years

Flappers

Flappers arose at a time when women had just gained the right to vote, and participated in workforce efforts to support World War I. These young women were symbols of independence and freedom, unbound by social constraints of former generations, dancing to jazz in prohibition-era speakeasies in signature “flapper” dresses. While older generations regarded flappers negatively, modern history has painted them in a different light, as symbols of feminist power and a changing vision of womens’ involvement in politics, sexuality, and society.

The Duncan Yo-Yo

Donald Duncan was an American entrepreneur who is sometimes credited with inventing the yo-yo. In actuality, the yo-yo is an ancient toy. It’s depicted on a Greek vase from the fifth century B.C., and was popular in 18th- and 19th-century France and England. The term probably derives from Tagalog, Ilocano, or some other language of the Philippines, and the yo-yo first became popular in the U.S. after a Filipino immigrant started manufacturing the toy in California in 1928. Duncan bought his company the following year and altered the string mechanism, and his Duncan Toys Company sold millions of examples.

Betty Boop

Betty Boop was an animated icon of flapper and jazz culture. She was the brainchild of creators Max and Dave Fleischer, who featured her in a cartoon short called “Dizzy Dishes” in 1930. With her trademark hoop earrings, short black dress, and dark curls, Betty Boop gained the love of audiences across the nation. Her style has evolved to reflect different beauty and style standards throughout the decades.

Dance marathons

The “hop until you drop” dance marathons of the Depression era – in which contestants paid an entry fee to dance non-stop, with the last-standing winners earning a cash prize – were more than just a source of entertainment. They also provided both participants and attendees with meals and shelter for the duration of the marathon, at a time when food and money were scarce. Many danced untill they literally died. They were soon outlawed as cruel and unusual punishment.

Slinky

In 1943, inspired by a spring that appeared to “walk” when it was knocked off a shelf, naval mechanical engineer Richard T. James began developing the now-classic toy known as the Slinky. He began manufacturing it in 1944, but had trouble selling it until he arranged a demonstration in the toy department of Gimbels in Philadelphia. It impressed onlookers, and sold hundreds of units the same day. The Slinky went on to become one of the most recognizable toys in the country, with more than 300 million sold in its first 60 years.

Davy Crockett

A five-episode 1954 miniseries on Walt Disney’s “Disneyland” and a film based on the series the following year propelled Davy Crockett to icon status in American culture. The real Davy Crockett was a frontiersman and politician who died while fighting at the Alamo in 1836, but his fictional incarnation became a folk hero to children across the country, who donned Crockett-inspired coonskin caps while imagining life on the frontier.
The Coonskin Cap can still be purchased on Amazon.

Hula Hoop

Hoops twirled around the waist have existed for at least 2500 years. The California-based toy company Wham-O – also known for the Frisbee – started making what a friend of the firms’ owners dubbed the Hula Hoop, in 1958 and it was an instant success. Originally marketed as a new fitness tool to tone the midsection, it sold an estimated 25 million units in its first four months.

TV Exercise Shows

Jack LaLanne made his name as a fitness icon, He was TV first exercise guru. Others followed like Charles Atlas (worlds strongest man) and Abbye ‘Pudgy’ Stockton, the worlds strongest woman. Jack La Lannes inspiration has spawned a permanent fixture on TV, the fitness show.

The Twist

The Mashed Potato, the Swim, and the Funky Chicken were all inspired by the 1960s dance craze called “The Twist.” The accompanying song was written and originally recorded by R&B pioneer Hank Ballard in 1958, but the version performed by Chubby Checker two years later became a smash hit and launched the dance craze. To do the Twist, dancers swiveled their hips with their front toe in place, and their arms out.

Sauna suit

Sauna suits are one of many fitness items that promise to slim down users without workouts or diets. They simply make the wearer hot and sweaty and do not effectively help with weight loss, as any pounds lost through dehydration will come back once the user hydrates.

Vibrating belts

In advertisements, the makers of vibrating belts promised their devices would jiggle a person’s belly, legs, or rear end and vibrate the fat away. The machines were popular in the 1950s and 1960s, but sales flopped when scientists found out that they did not actually help with weight loss or shrink down any parts of a person’s body.

Space Food Sticks

Pillsbury designed these snacks for astronauts specifically, but they were released to the public before they made it into space. These slender, chocolate-covered cookie sticks were marketed as providing the body the perfect balance of the three macronutrients – carbohydrates, fat, and protein – and came in a variety of flavors including mint and orange. This fad plummeted by the 1970s because of fading interest in the space program, and disappeared entirely in the 1980s. They were brought back in 2006 by a different snack company, but are now gone again.

Leg Beauty Kit

The Leg Beauty Kit was one of the earliest examples of a widely popular fitness product using rubber resistance bands. The kit was marketed to women as an inexpensive way to slim and tone their legs.

Jelly shoes

Before there were Crocs, there were Jelly shoes. The colorful footwear, crafted from PVC plastic, emerged in Europe decades before coming to the U.S. The shoes were introduced to the American market as a high fashion item in the 1980s, and gained traction across the country among adults and children alike.

Rubik’s Cube

Originally called the “Magic Cube” by its creator, Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik, the Rubik’s Cube was a puzzler’s delight. The Cube required players to align the cube such that each face had nine squares of the same color. The game was a massive success, quickly earning a place as one of the most popular puzzles in history.

The Macarena

In 1996, the Macarena was the dance everyone had memorized. “The Macarena” was performed by Spanish flamenco-pop duo Los Del Río, and was named for the daughter of one of the group’s members (though Macarena is also one of the 11 city quarters in Seville, the duo’s hometown). The song topped American charts for 14 weeks, and was subsequently interpreted by numerous other performers in both English and Spanish.

The Electric Slide

Back in 1976, Neville “Bunny Wailer” Livingston wrote a catchy song called “Electric Boogie” for his childhood buddy, singer Marcia Griffiths. Then choreographer Silver created the electric slide, a 22-step dance to the song that incorporated grapevines and a series of forward and backward steps.

Fanny pack

2018 saw a resurgence of the Fanny Pack, but the ’80s and ’90s were the belt bag’s statement decades. The fanny pack was as much about fashion as it was about utility. The concept is prehistoric: a frozen body dating back 5,000 years was discovered wearing a waist bag not much different from a modern fanny pack.

Troll dolls

If you grew up during the 1990s, you, your siblings, or your friends probably owned a Troll doll. While Troll dolls, which originated in Denmark, first became popular in the 1960s, they made a comeback in the ’90s. Troll dolls came with multiple hair colors, and some had speciality “gem” bellies. Troll dolls haven’t lost their pizazz; two feature films about animated “Trolls,” based on the toys, were released in 2016 and 2020.

Cabbage Patch Dolls

1976
As a 21 year old art student, Xavier Roberts rediscovers “needle molding” a German technique for fabric sculpture from the early 1800s. Combining his interest in sculpture with the quilting skills passed down from his mother, Xavier creates his first soft-sculptures.

1978
Xavier wins a first place ribbon for sculpture at the Osceola Art Show. He begins delivering his hand made Little People Originals and exhibiting them at arts and crafts shows in the southeast. He finds that many parents are happy to pay the $40.00 “adoption fee” for one of his hand signed Little People Originals.

1981
The growing success of Xavier’s hand made Little People Originals is documented by Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlanta Weekly, and many others. There are reports that earlier editions are re-adopting for as much as 100 times their initial adoption fee.

2000
The Cabbage Patch Postage Stamp goes on sale in January of 2000. Cabbage Patch has netted more than 100 Billion dollars in revenue since it's inception. And it's still around.

Turbo Man Doll:
How a fictional movie toy became a reality.

If you're a fan of the movie "Jingle All The Way" and you've always wanted your very own "Turbo Man" toy,  now you can. It's a little pricey, it can set you back up to $200 bucks, so if you really want it to be "Turbo Time" at your house, Funko Pop Toys can make that a reality. Available on Amazon.com