So, arguably, were yo-yos. I saw an article in a classical journal that claimed that yo-yos were used in the Classical Graeco-Roman world. They were called aristoboli (among other things), and a statue was presented that, it was claimed, originally had a yo-yo in its hand.
The Wikipedia article on it cites different evidence, but has a Greek painting showing someone playing with one, and claims it dates back to at least 440 BCE
Technically it’s not TV sets- you can completely legally have a TV set hooked up to a DVD player with no licence, if it can’t get a TV signal. You do, however, legally need to have a licence if you watch live TV online. Even if it’s not BBC. Or BBC stuff that isn’t live. It’s also not actually the BBC collecting the fee and they don’t automatically get it.
It’s all a little weird.
I wouldn’t say the vans were exactly ubiquitous anyway- I’ve not seen one for years, but they were a much rarer sight than their reputation would suggest during my lifetime at least. I only saw one a handful of times, though a few friends got busted by in-person checks (mostly uni students). They’ve been largely replaced by vague, extremely regular threatening letters, which really are ubiquitous if you don’t have a licence; I hope they go away soon.
Oh, cinnamon toothpicks such as Harmon’s Hot Pix have been around at least since the 1950s:
The general idea of flavored toothpicks is even older, with the Minto Toothpick company (guess what flavor they specialized in?) starting in 1919.
What may be a genuinely transient recent fad was kids DIYing them at home with plain toothpicks and cinnamon oil.
Two automotive things that were big with the Black folks:
Crown air fresheners that would sit on the dashboard.
Wheel spinners.
Girls were making cinnamon toothpicks and selling them at school in 1964. I bought quite a few…mostly from girls I had a crush on.
holu-hoops came and went. Then came back for concert goers. Well small venues.
Toys:
When was the last time you saw an adult use a holu-hoop? Or one at all. They came back for at least a brief period.
Let’s try this again.
a) It’s hula-hoop. You know, hula, the Hawaiian dance.
b) It has been agreed that we are not counting fads like toys (e.g. rubik’s cube), games (e.g. trivial pursuit), haircuts (e.g. the mullet), or clothing (e.g. poodle skirts). Those are too ephemeral, and too numerous, for a thread like this.
Fine. I guess I missed that.
A couple of weeks ago, when I went to a circus event… Assuming you mean a hula hoop.
The school I retired from last year had them for kids to use during recess.
“Stand Here” stickers 6 feet apart on the ground for lining up during COVID. All of a sudden they were everywhere (and many still are out there) but they are completely ignored and useless now.
In the psychedic music community I frequent, it is still quite prevalent. Granted, that is a tiny subset of the general population, but hippie women still exist.
Yeah, one is one of my best friends. Missed her decade.
Went to a concert with her. Phycodelic Hippopotamus opened for an all brass onsomble.
Interesting night, geat music. We stayed in a yert.
I thought of that, but since I’m not actually a member of that community (I don’t like psychedelic music), I didn’t think I’d be the one to say it.
They are suffering from cable cutters, just like regular cable. We have one, not because we couldn’t get cable but because Comcast sucked so badly.
We didn’t have a choice. There was no internet or any TV at our previous house. Not slow. Nothing.
This is a niche one but hex-and-counter wargames.
The hobby was just starting out around the time I was born. It was a major form of adult games in the seventies and eighties. And then it faded out as computer games and euro-style tabletop games took over in the nineties.