# What fads in history can you name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399 "2026-09-26T12:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/21 "2026-09-26T13:56:02Z")
Nehru jackets (in the West) Leisure suits. Mood-everythings (rings, pens, bracelets) Streaking > [@dorvann](#): > > Cabbage Patch Kids > Garbage Pail Kids > Tickle Me Elmo > Furbies > Lawn Darts > Tamagotchi Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/22 "2026-09-26T14:02:54Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > 6-7 And before that, [23 skidoo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_skidoo). ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/23 "2026-09-26T14:07:35Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > I remember another one, don’t recall what it was called but it was a heavyish wheeled thing you tied to one ankle and spun around while jumping on the other foot. Kind of like skipping rope with no hands. IIRC that was called a “footsie”. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/24 "2026-09-26T14:16:01Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Goldfish swallowing in the 30s. Some of these old fads strike me as slightly insane. So, people just swallowed live fish whole? Doesn’t that…_do_ something to you?? It’s sort of like the pole sitting fad. People actually sat on top of a pole for days?? How did they sleep without falling off? What about bathroom breaks? It boggles my mind! The other thing I think is amusing is to consider that fads have _always_ been a thing. At one point in the 1890s bicycles became _hugely_ popular, and Egyptomania spread across America in the 1920s after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/25 "2026-09-26T14:22:28Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > People actually sat on top of a pole for days?? How did they sleep without falling off? IIRC, one of the more famous flagpole sitters drilled two holes into his platform and kept his thumbs in them while he napped - so if he started to lose his balance, the sudden pain in his thumbs would jolt him awake. > [@Moriarty](#): > > The other thing I think is amusing is to consider that fads have _always_ been a thing. Like when _HMS Pinafore_ became so popular in the late 1870s that people started randomly inserting “What, never? No, never!” into conversations, the same way we’d say “That’s what she said!” or “Bueller?” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/26 "2026-09-26T14:32:06Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > There have been dozens of dances that were hip for one or two seasons, like the Twist or the Lambada, so it’s a field that maybe had the most fads of all. Here’s a great example of the Charleston, featuring Lucille Ball, her daughter Lucie, and Ginger Rogers. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RXZr43zFj9U/hqdefault.jpg "Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Lucie Arnaz Dance the “Charleston” (1971)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZr43zFj9U) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/27 "2026-09-26T14:36:48Z")
I came here to say “tulips”. I’m surprised it took so long for anyone to mention it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/28 "2026-09-26T14:37:56Z")
See also Charles Mackay’s [Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_Extraordinary_Popular_Delusions_and_the_Madness_of_Crowds/Volume_2/Chapter_5), which tracks the rise and fall of such early/mid-19th Century memes as “Quoz!” and “What a shocking bad hat!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/29 "2026-09-26T14:43:11Z")
Killer whales wearing dead salmon And now recently, smashing into small boats. > **[How Young Killer Whales Became Hooligans](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/killer-whale-orca-trends)** > > Yes, orcas have viral cultural trends, too. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/30 "2026-09-26T14:55:41Z")
Wacky Packages were huge in my neighborhood in the early 70s: > **[Wacky Packages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_Packages)** > > Wacky Packages are a series of humorous trading cards featuring parodies of consumer products. The cards were produced by Topps beginning in 1967, first in die-cut, then in peel-and-stick sticker format. There were 16 series produced between 1973 and 1977, with some reprints and several new series released up to the present day. At the height of their popularity from 1973 to 1975, Wacky Packages were the best-selling Topps product, even more popular than Topps baseball cards, when they were by f... ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/31 "2026-09-26T14:56:49Z")
Yo-Yo fad’s seem to appear briefly every generation. Mine was in the 9th grade. It usually only lasts for a year. That’s long enough to learn the tricks. Show off and compete with classmates. Yo-Yo’s get boring after awhile. I’ve never played with one again. It wouldn’t be fun without my peers. I’ve talked with friends and coworkers that had similar experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/32 "2026-09-26T15:14:06Z")
Rubiks cube. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/33 "2026-09-26T15:15:14Z")
Pogo sticks were popular when I was a kid, along with hula hoops (I had both). White low-top sneakers were a brief fad, as were trench coats when in junior high. An oil company started putting an orange ball on your car antenna as a ad gimmick, but it caught on as a brief fad. The twist. The jerk. The locomotion. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/34 "2026-09-26T15:18:27Z")
Baby on Board. BeReal. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/35 "2026-09-26T15:20:53Z")
Livestrong bracelets in the mid-2000s. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/36 "2026-09-26T15:28:08Z")
I could list about a thousand things I financed for my kids growing up. But nah, you don’t wanna hear all that. These fads come and go. When I was coming up the funniest fad I recall was tight rolling your jeans, at the ankle. This lead to straight leg, slim and super slim jeans. Then jeggings. It’s all going back to lose and baggy jeans from what I can see with the grandkids. Not really historic. But fashion is a _thang._ About a million historic fashion fads in women’s wear. Corsets, bustles, leg-o-mutton sleeves. I like the fad of women wanting to look pale and sick, the white make-up was very popular and the corset often made them faint, so then we get the fainting couch. Of course now it’s the heroin-addict look. Peeps be weird. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/37 "2026-09-26T15:39:52Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > and Egyptomania spread across America in the 1920s after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. And again in the late 1970s. He’s my favorite honky. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/38 "2026-09-26T15:40:38Z")
I can’t believe no one has said Tide pod eating, the cinnamon challenge and many of the trending social media things That might be a different thread. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/39 "2026-09-26T15:42:05Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > > > Goldfish swallowing in the 30s. > > So, people just swallowed live fish whole? Doesn’t that…_do_ something to you?? Probably resulted in a hell of a carp the next day. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/40 "2026-09-26T15:46:31Z")
The Coué method. “Every day in every way, I am getting better and better.” Cupie Dolls Goat glands [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399.md?page=3)