# What fads in history can you name?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399>\
**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:** 1\
**Showing post:** 111

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**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")

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> [@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.

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