Okay, SDMB, make me look stupid. Obviously I thought the first post wasn’t posted.
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.
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.
I’m 36 and that was my first thought, too. I still have mine!
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.
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.
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.
Pogs.
Democracy comes in a close second to abercrombie and fitch with the rise of totalitarianism in the 20s and 30s placing third.
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…
Yup, I can’t believe Magic the Gathering is still running.
Please, thats SO last century… 
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.
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.
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.
Ahhh, reality television. That’s a good one. In my opinion, that’s a close second to low carb dieting.
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 :().
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
Just for that, you’re my new favorite poster
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.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles