# 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:** 6
**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 28, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/101 "2026-09-28T20:15:33Z")
Mr. Burns: “I’m going to take a bath-iola!” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/102 "2026-09-28T20:23:48Z")
Oh, and as a little side note, this novel contained the phrase “tricked out” which I also only associated with the 1990s. Did they wear neon socks as well? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/103 "2026-09-28T20:50:05Z")
Give me five bees for a quarter! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/104 "2026-09-28T21:45:01Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I don’t see that coonskin caps have been mentioned. That reminds me of the fad of hanging raccoon tails from cars in the 1920s, which I don’t think was mentioned either. According to Google’s AI at least, this practice had a resurgence in the 1950s also probably thanks to the Davey Crockett craze. ---
**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 28, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/105 "2026-09-28T21:55:13Z")
A little on the dark side, but in the early 1960s, there was a fad among surfers and others in surf culture to decorate equipment and apparel with swastikas. I guess enough of them had their asses kicked by the still hale and hardy previous generation to trade them in for WWI era German symbolism like Iron Crosses and pickelhauben which are still sported by some Surf bands to this day. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/106 "2026-09-28T21:58:14Z")
Wasn’t the 1920s also the era of the raccoon coat? They had to use the tails for something, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/107 "2026-09-28T22:00:53Z")
I didn’t know that, and it’s interesting. What’s up with countercultures and nazi gear? The early punks in 1976/77 also dabbled in swastikas and iron crosses, although becoming the most anti-fascist a genre can get. ---
**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 28, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/108 "2026-09-28T22:08:04Z")
The surfers (and hotrodders, and bikers) of the 1960s were mostly interested in just pissing people off or intimidating them. The same is also true for the punkers except with an added dose of irony. A weird aspect of the Ramones was that Dee Dee and Tommy were nuts for Nazi paraphernalia despite their bandmates Joey and Tommy being Jewish. (Tommy’s Hungarian parents spent the Holocaust in hiding. Many of their relatives were murdered.) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/109 "2026-09-28T22:10:43Z")
I think you mistyped somewhere, Johnny was the real nazi of the band. And he took Joey’s girlfriend, that’s why Joey wrote “The KKK Took My Baby Away” about it. I think Dee Dee was only a fan of everything German, because he was of that origin. ETA: and yes, they had some rather distasteful songs with nazi allusions like “Commando” or “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”. I don’t know who wrote them, but Joey sang them anyway. ---
**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 28, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/110 "2026-09-28T22:30:19Z")
From another thread: > [@How did we come up with "icky"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-come-up-with-icky/1033403/5): > > For reasons I can’t imagine, Americans had a fad for baby talk after WWI. And another i thought of: Wearing your belt buckle off center. This was apparently a thing back in the day (I believe common to Greasers); I learned about it here on the Dope. ---
**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 29, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/111 "2026-09-29T00:12:34Z")
> [@How did we come up with "icky"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-come-up-with-icky/1033403/5): > > From another thread: > > > [@How did we come up with "icky"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-come-up-with-icky/1033403/5): > > > > For reasons I can’t imagine, Americans had a fad for baby talk after WWI. That thread’s mention of Groucho Marx reminded me: the “Groucho walk” was inspired by a late-19th-century trend where young men strolled around in a distinctive bent-over gait with one hand clasped to their back. ---
**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 29, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/112 "2026-09-29T00:17:30Z")
Yeah, I meant Dee Dee and Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/113 "2026-09-29T06:16:52Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > No Bozo” (a picture of the clown with the circle-and-slash superimposed) And the “Keep on Truckin’” character. (guy with his long outstretched leg, emphasizing the sole of his shoe) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/114 "2026-09-29T06:23:23Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > Jewish children in the US are pelted with Sunkist Fruit Gems (orange and lemon candies) at their bar and bat mitzvahs. Not just children. Right before getting married, too. But I’ve never heard of a requirement that it be Sunkist brand. Any small candy will do…you wanna wish the person a sweet life. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/115 "2026-09-29T12:14:56Z")
Ahh, that makes sense - it may not have been a true fad. As Jeff Lichtnan told me on our thread, the fad had a tie-in because Ferrar Company was going to discontinue the Sunkist Fruit Gems last week. Apparently there was so much complaining from customers this week that they decided to continue the line. I’m thrilled - those candies are great since I like fruity flavors! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/116 "2026-09-29T15:17:24Z")
There are custom balls for that. > **[Amazon.com: Tenna Tops Baby Blue Happy Smiley Face Car Decor Antenna Topper Auto...](https://www.amazon.com/Tenna-Tops-Smiley-Antenna-Dangler/dp/B008ZJ2VFU)** > > Genuine Tenna Tops Antenna Topper Auto Accessory. Fits Thin Standard Style Car, Truck, SUV Antenna. Hole Size is 4.5mm Diameter for Antenna. ---
**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 29, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/117 "2026-09-29T15:33:13Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And the “Keep on Truckin’” character. (guy with his long outstretched leg, emphasizing the sole of his shoe) Who originated in a Robert Crumb comic: > **[Keep On Truckin' (comics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_On_Truckin%27_(comics))** > > Keep On Truckin' is a one-page cartoon by Robert Crumb, published in the first issue of Zap Comix in 1968. A visual burlesque of the lyrics of the Blind Boy Fuller song "Truckin' My Blues Away", it consists of an assortment of men, drawn in Crumb's distinctive style, strutting across various landscapes. The cartoon's images were imitated and much displayed during the hippie era. The image has been imitated often without permission, appearing on T-shirts, posters, belt buckles, mudflaps, and oth... ---
**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 29, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/118 "2026-09-29T16:54:15Z")
Does anybody else remember crochet bikinis circa 1979? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/119 "2026-09-29T17:50:08Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Right before getting married, too. That’s WAY better than rice. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/120 "2026-09-29T23:16:50Z")
ISTR hearing that some men did that so they could lean on their cars without scratching the paint. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399.md?page=7)