# "Next Big Things" that weren't so big **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044 "2011-04-03T15:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/101 "2011-04-05T05:07:11Z")
Electronica. Remember reading in 1997/98 in Rolling Stone and Spin how Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, etc. would revolutionize rock music? Or how established bands like U2 and Smashing Pumpkins put out bandwagon electronica albums? Instead we got nu-metal. Here’s some memorable sports busts: David Clyde. Terrific high school pitcher who the Texas Rangers stupidly had his pro career start in the majors. In the minors within two years. Tony Mandarich. Incredibly sculpted lineman who was taken No.2 in the NFL draft. As is turned out rumors that he was a heavy steroid user in college turned out true. When he stopped using he became just another fat guy. Brian Taylor. First million dollar baseball draftee by the Yankees in 1990. Blew out his elbow in a bar fight and never even got to the majors. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/102 "2011-04-05T07:38:04Z")
Re Terence Trent D’Arby I must be one of the twelve or so people who bought _TTD’s Vibrator_. Worth it though for [Holding on to You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtoTkGmbqo0&feature=related), one of the best songs of th nineties in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/103 "2011-04-05T07:44:15Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Re Terence Trent D’Arby I must be one of the twelve or so people who bought _TTD’s Vibrator_. Wow, he really branched out when that music thing didn’t work, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/104 "2011-04-05T08:08:59Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Diet Coke (You’re going to drink it just for the taste of it) I thought Diet Coke was extremely popular? I see heaps of people drinking it here (mainly young women) but it’s recently(ish) been overtaken by (the much nicer IMHO) Coke Zero. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/105 "2011-04-05T08:31:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And coins work much easier in vending machines. > > Canadians use $1 (“loonies”) and $2 (“toonies”) coins routinely, their purchasing power is nearly the same as American equivalents, so I don’t think there’s really any practical obstacle. We’ve had $1 coins in Australia since 1984, $2 since 1988. Our 1c and 2c coins were discontinued and withdrawn in 1992. We’ve had [polymer banknotes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote) since 1988, and the last paper notes were replaced in 1996. After the inevitable few months of bitching at the changes, everyone got over it, each time. I don’t think you’d find anyone here who’d seriously want to go back. There’s no practical obstacle to any of it. Eventually the US will have to catch up with the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/106 "2011-04-05T11:15:09Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Re Terence Trent D’Arby I must be one of the twelve or so people who bought _TTD’s Vibrator_. Worth it though for [Holding on to You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtoTkGmbqo0&feature=related), one of the best songs of th nineties in my opinion. I own it. Definitely a drop-off after his previous album, **Symphony or Damn** , which, if you hold it at just the right angle, is something of a masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/107 "2011-04-05T12:41:22Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Eventually the US will have to catch up with the rest of us. The US can remain irrational longer than you and I can remain solvent. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/108 "2011-04-05T12:46:24Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > The US can remain irrational longer than you and I can remain solvent. You’ve got me there, Tom. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/109 "2011-04-05T13:04:32Z")
If I really get into everything that died when the New Economy bubble burst I’ll be typing all day, but does anyone here remember PointCast and the whole idea of push technology? It was a special screensaver that subscribed to specific information feeds pushed out by centralized servers, as opposed to the current model where the web browser does pretty much everything Internet-related except play serious games and everything is done by pulling things in from servers. It was, in retrospect, a vain attempt to shoehorn the broadcast media model into the Internet, to make the Internet work more like TV and radio. Also, whatever happened to everyone living in prefabricated housing? I know it exists, but I also see a hell of a lot of traditional wooden frame and sheetrock construction going up. Going all the way back to the 1980s, Japan is going to eat us alive because they have invested heavily in Fourth-Generation Languages! 4GLs solve the software crisis! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/110 "2011-04-05T13:12:08Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > If I really get into everything that died when the New Economy bubble burst I’ll be typing all day, but does anyone here remember PointCast and the whole idea of push technology? It was a special screensaver that subscribed to specific information feeds pushed out by centralized servers, as opposed to the current model where the web browser does pretty much everything Internet-related except play serious games and everything is done by pulling things in from servers. > > It was, in retrospect, a vain attempt to shoehorn the broadcast media model into the Internet, to make the Internet work more like TV and radio. > > **Also, whatever happened to everyone living in prefabricated housing? I know it exists, but I also see a hell of a lot of traditional wooden frame and sheetrock construction going up.** > > Going all the way back to the 1980s, Japan is going to eat us alive because they have invested heavily in Fourth-Generation Languages! 4GLs solve the software crisis! According to this page, from yesterday, prefab housing is one of the industries on the brink of extinction: [http://www.thestreet.com/story/11059439/4/10-industries-on-life-support.html](http://www.thestreet.com/story/11059439/4/10-industries-on-life-support.html) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/111 "2011-04-05T13:23:23Z")
I remember back in the late 80’s, MTV started hyping the crap out of somone they were saying was going to be the next Elvis. The nework had some kind of personal involvement in trying to break this guy, and their programming was saturated with promos and build up for his new album and video. That guy’s name - Charlie Sexton. Charlie who, you say? Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/112 "2011-04-05T13:59:21Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Electronica. Remember reading in 1997/98 in Rolling Stone and Spin how Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, etc. would revolutionize rock music? Or how established bands like U2 and Smashing Pumpkins put out bandwagon electronica albums? Instead we got nu-metal. Well considering many (most?) guitar acts of the last decade incorporated drum machines, sampling and synths as if they were nothing unusual I think electronica did revolutionize (or at least lead to newish sounds in) rock music. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/113 "2011-04-06T23:44:48Z")
[Ryan Leaf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Leaf). Ostrich meat. Ross Perot. Too many video game consoles to list. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/114 "2011-04-07T05:34:30Z")
The knowledge economy. Massive baby boomer retirements creating labour shortages and ample job opportunities. The latter I’ve been hearing about for the past 17 years and how someone of my age is/was in such a great position to find work. I think the retirements have occurred in a far more spread out manner than expected, with many folks extending their working years by ‘consulting’ after ‘retirement’. I don’t think it is turning out to be the work place crisis it was expected to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/115 "2011-04-07T06:23:48Z")
Emu farms were the next big thing back in the 90’s. People were paying thousands of dollars for a breeding pair of emus to start their own farms. The problem is it played out kind of like a pyramid scheme–Emu farmers making money by selling birds to new emu farmers. Eventually, the market of new farmers dried up and they had to try to sell emu meat and eggs to the general public. Nobody wanted it. I remember some darkly humorous stories about farmers massacring all their remaining emus because it was too expensive to keep feeding them. Many farmers just turned their birds loose and it wasn’t uncommon in some areas to be driving down a road and see a freed emu wandering along. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/116 "2011-04-07T06:43:41Z")
Oh, baseball cards as an investment. How could I have forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/117 "2011-04-07T07:10:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > According to this page, from yesterday, prefab housing is one of the industries on the brink of extinction: > > [http://www.thestreet.com/story/11059439/4/10-industries-on-life-support.html](http://www.thestreet.com/story/11059439/4/10-industries-on-life-support.html) I’m thinking there is a big opportunity for selling prefabricated housing to Japan in that there are several hundred thousand people there that need housing. I was especially interested in designs that convert cargo containers into housing. There are ships that can haul 10,000 cargo containers in a single trip. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/118 "2011-04-07T13:32:32Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Oh, baseball cards as an investment. How could I have forgotten that. It was driven out of your head by excitement over Beanie Babies. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/119 "2011-04-07T13:33:34Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Emu farms were the next big thing back in the 90’s. People were paying thousands of dollars for a breeding pair of emus to start their own farms. The problem is it played out kind of like a pyramid scheme–Emu farmers making money by selling birds to new emu farmers. Eventually, the market of new farmers dried up and they had to try to sell emu meat and eggs to the general public. Nobody wanted it. I remember some darkly humorous stories about farmers massacring all their remaining emus because it was too expensive to keep feeding them. Many farmers just turned their birds loose and it wasn’t uncommon in some areas to be driving down a road and see a freed emu wandering along. . . . Are free emus dangerous? I know ostriches are. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/120 "2011-04-07T13:59:07Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Emu farms were the next big thing back in the 90’s. People were paying thousands of dollars for a breeding pair of emus to start their own farms. The problem is it played out kind of like a pyramid scheme–Emu farmers making money by selling birds to new emu farmers. Eventually, the market of new farmers dried up and they had to try to sell emu meat and eggs to the general public. Nobody wanted it. I remember some darkly humorous stories about farmers massacring all their remaining emus because it was too expensive to keep feeding them. Many farmers just turned their birds loose and it wasn’t uncommon in some areas to be driving down a road and see a freed emu wandering along. Yet oddly there is still an emu farm down the road from me. Apparently they work on a small scale, just not the people who thought there was a market for a farm with 100 birds at a time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044.md?page=7)