# What is the biggest fad you've witnessed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713 "2005-01-26T04:55:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/41 "2005-01-26T23:05:22Z")
Okay, SDMB, make me look stupid. Obviously I thought the first post wasn’t posted. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/42 "2005-01-27T00:31:48Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > All this over four guys who sang songs. Sounds like a fad to me, but YMMV. First thing I thought of was Beatlemania. If you didn’t live through it you wouldn’t believe it. Everything in 1964 was Beatles. All Beatles, all the time. I was completely oblivious to the Pokemon craze; it was impossible to be oblivious to Beatlemania - they dominated all aspects of American society. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/43 "2005-01-27T00:36:19Z")
I would say Cabbage Patch Kids were the biggest true fad in my lifetime. Other contenders would be the very early video games such as Pac-Man. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/44 "2005-01-27T00:44:46Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > I’m 34. The biggest one I can think of is the Rubik’s Cube. Or at least that’s the fist thing that comes to mind. I’m 36 and that was my first thought, too. I still have mine! ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/45 "2005-01-27T01:03:29Z")
One not yet mentioned was the 80s **Miami Vice** look, men in pastel shirts and loafers with no socks. And if anyone mentioned mood rings from the early to mid 70s I didn’t note it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/46 "2005-01-27T01:11:37Z")
My first thought was The Pet Rock. Then I thought: Maybe the Rubik’s Cube. Then I scrolled down through and saw other great ones, like The Cabbage Patch dolls and that made me think Furbies. How big must it be to not be a fad? Someone said Star Wars, but hey, that has really endured. Is it really a fad? And the Beatles - wow, never would have said fad in the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/47 "2005-01-27T01:17:36Z")
Abercrombie and Fitch, when I was young (ie 8 years ago) it was starter clothes. Starter jackets, starter shirts, starter hats. In retrospect we were all just lackeys for heartless corporations charging $40 for a $10 shirt because they brainwashed us into thinking it was in, but we didn’t realize it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/48 "2005-01-27T01:21:06Z")
Pogs. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/49 "2005-01-27T01:24:02Z")
Democracy comes in a close second to abercrombie and fitch with the rise of totalitarianism in the 20s and 30s placing third. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/50 "2005-01-27T01:42:26Z")
> [@](#): > > I do have first hand memories of Punk, New Wave, and Mod. Grunge and Goth are both after my attention span. If you lived through the genesis of punk and new wave, you lived through the genesis of goth. 🙂 Although whether you noticed it at the time is a different story… ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/51 "2005-01-27T01:48:35Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Trading cards of any sort. Yup, I can’t believe Magic the Gathering is still running. > [@Domokun](#): > > The Internet. 😉 Please, thats SO last century… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/52 "2005-01-27T01:56:48Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > [m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=fad&x=15&y=17)Well, along with the albums, singles and all the screaming at concerts, there were Beatle boots, rubber wigs in a Beatle mop, the whole “who’s your favorite Beatle?” thing and hundreds of garage bands who tried to sound like the Fab Four. Scads of Hofner basses, Rickenbacker guitars and Vox amps were sold because people wanted to sound like them. Their Christmas shows were watched by all and one may have helped end a war. Girls (my sister for one) painted their rooms to look like scenes from “Yellow Submarine”, and guys grew their hair out to look like J,G,R & P. > > All this over four guys who sang songs. Sounds like a fad to me, but YMMV. The Beatles are still huge though. Obviously not like back then, but I guess I don’t consider it a fad unless it’s not popular anymore. Well, I guess some people might still listen to New Kids on the Block… touché. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/53 "2005-01-27T02:13:15Z")
> [@Nightwatch Trailer](#): > > I’m not so old, so the biggest one I’ve seen is probably Pokemon. Tamagotchi, Furby, Tickle Me Elmo…they were all just pretenders to the throne. However, it has been about nine years since the monsters invaded, and they’re still pretty popular both in the States and in Japan…maybe they transcend the “fad” label. > > Seems to me the low carb diet craze is actually dying down at least a bit, but that’s just my personal observation. I haven’t heard of Furby and Tickle me Elmo for a long time now. I got my wife a Furby a few years ago. She had 5 minutes of fun with it, and it’s just been sitting ever since. Man I’d love to get rid of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/54 "2005-01-27T02:18:05Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Trading cards of any sort. These things are like $4 a pack nowadays. All that for a picture of athelete and his stats. I don’t know why anyone would buy them, especially since today’s cards are worth nothing. Almost all of my friends growing up had thousands “invested” in these things. Whether its baseball, pokemon, or magic cards, they are all worthless and stupid. Yet somehow, each generation get sucked into buying them. But surely you’ve heard of people getting very cheep, or free cards as kids, then, as adults, their card collections are worth hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. That might be part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/55 "2005-01-27T02:20:52Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > 1. > > The late nineties boy band and pop princess explosion. > > And reality television. God, please, let it be a fad. Please, please, please. Ahhh, reality television. That’s a good one. In my opinion, that’s a close second to low carb dieting. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/56 "2005-01-27T02:25:26Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > Like the OP, I’m 31, but I’m tempted to say “Cabbage Patch Kids”, because I remember the mobs and the fighting and the fury over getting these ridiculous-looking dolls for the kids for Christmas. It made “Tickle-Me-Elmo” look like a friendly bridge game. While I didn’t see too many Cabbage Patch Kids at school, lots of us had Garbage Pail Kids cards (well, I only had one :(). ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/57 "2005-01-27T02:31:07Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > Perhaps not The Beatles themselves, but the whole “British Invasion” they were part of. > Fads I’ve seen…French braids and inverted ponytails, torn clothing from the movie _Flashdance_, tennis shoes/sneakers/trainers going from necessity to fashion, solar power, environmentalism (now gone mainstream), video games (now gone mainstream), jumpsuits and jogging suits. > I’m 37, so I don’t remember disco clearly (except the roller skates), but I do have first hand memories of Punk, New Wave, and Mod. Grunge and Goth are both after my attention span. Now that I think of it, the whole “vampire” fashion may be a fading fad. A quick hijack of my own thread. If you wouldn’t mind, how did you come up with your user name? Having the word Grandmother in it allways made me think you were at least in your 50’s. Ducks and runs for cover ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/58 "2005-01-27T02:34:07Z")
> [@susan\_foster](#): > > [Actually, it looks like it is going downhill.](http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=608&u_sid=1318254) > > Susan Just for that, you’re my new favorite poster 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/59 "2005-01-27T03:12:05Z")
57 replies to this thread and nobody has mentioned **break-dancing!** When was in junior high it seemed like _everybody_ around me was into break-dancing. It seemed like I was the only one who couldn’t, or wouldn’t do it. The **Rubik’s Cube** was also big when I was in the 6th grade (early 80s). Anyone who could solve one was considered cool. He’d ask you to “mess up” your cube and then hand it to him. In seconds he’d have it solved and hand it back to you. It got to where the teachers would not allow anyone to bring one to class. **Disco music** was a fad. It has some nostalgic appeal today, but I think it still qualifies as one of the fads I remember. Also, it seemed like **Kiss** was enjoying a lot of popularity during their heyday (before they took off their makeup). In recent years, I’d say **The Macarena, Tickle Me Elmo,** and **Beanie Babies** are the biggest ones I’ve observed. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-fad-youve-witnessed/286713/60 "2005-01-27T03:21:28Z")
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