I agree. Most of the stuff mentioned we all wore, played with, or used. That’s what we had and it was in style.
A fad needs to be short lived and non-recurring. Fashion almost always repeats itself. So does music, for that matter.
super loud and obnoxious Jams shorts in the 80s. Although to be honest, we were too poor for me to get authentic Jams so I made do with knockoffs.
And after Jams, we moved to JNCOs.
I still show off my skills as a coin snatcher. My best is 42 quarters.
I was in junior high for that one. Did everyone sigh yours like a yearbook?
You’re supposed to take them out of the paper roll first. 
Nice, world record!
(If it was still 1977, that is-- the record has probably been beaten since then 
)
I knew someone would say that. The last time I snatched a large number was at a church leadership retreat where I collected quarters from everyone and got up into the thirties. Good luck finding them all if you miss with that many, but I don’t miss. Yet.
I remember seeing that in the book of world records. They weren’t quarters, but a larger coin, if I’m remembering correctly. 328 10 pence coins is the current record, btw. I’ve never tried multiple stacks, but there’s no way I’d come close to that.
Where’s George: you enter serial numbers from cash and hopefully get hits showing where it’s gone. I had one turn up in a geocache stash in the UK.
Beanie Babies, for a while.
I had clackers (the two balls at the end of a string) in grade school. I was a hardass: I had the glass ones, before they were banned.
I just bought a Bogg bag. Well, no, I didn’t: I bought a knockoff that was a third the price. For those lucky enough to not be in the know: they are large, colorful, plastic (material similar to Crocs) beach / pool totes with tons of accessories you can clip onto them. The brand name is ridiculously over priced (90 dollars for a rubber bag???) and even most knockoffs are 50ish. Nope. But the design fits a genuine need, so when I saw one for 30 dollars I jumped on it. I have not yet succumbed to the desire to get a Stanley Cup and a clip to attach same to the bag…
I still do that, at least to a certain extent. Part of my job involves counting cash, so I’ll enter those ones when I see them. I still have my WheresGeorge stamp sitting here, but I haven’t entered new bills in years.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Rubik’s Cube
Trapper Keepers
Hypercolor shirts
Guilty.
A girl I was dating in high school circa 1975 bought me one and insisted I wear it all the time. I have no idea how much they were at the time. Hope not to much. They were pieces of shit. Some kind of stone wrapped in really cheap ass metal.
How stupid they were. When we broke up a month later she demanded the ring back. It didn’t work anymore and left a green ring on my finger.
70"s fads were among the dopiest.
Around 1980ish, the big thing was scratch & sniff stickers. Everyone had a sticker album for displaying and trading them and the teachers resigned themselves to allowing us five minutes of sticker time in the morning and five minutes after recess if we agreed to put them away the rest of the time. Maybe lasted a year before the craze was passé.
I didn’t get into too many fads, probably due to some social blindness and just not knowing what was “in” but that was one of the few I was a full participant in.
I had a pair or two of parachute pants. Never learned any snazzy dance moves, though.
Just last Sunday, my grandkid had some kind of color changing putty. When my wife asked how it changed color, the kid said, “It’s like a mood ring.” I don’t know if her mom and dad ever had mood rings or where the kid heard of them.
Just did a Google - they are still available. No idea how popular they are these days.
With most fads, I doubt they COMPLETELY go away. Maybe some do - but I just looked and see you can still buy Pet Rocks. So, instead, I suspect there is just some short-lived period of pretty widespread popularity, after which they fall to much lower levels.
I wonder if horoscopes count? In the 60s-70s, they were all over the place, printed in the newspapers, with stuff sold in occult shops. (Remember those?). These days, I wonder if most young kids even know their “sign.”
I jumped on the Crocs shoes. Needing quick-ons for fast moving.
But really I liked the colors.
Sadly, I don’t need to be busy and in a hurry. But I still have Crocs, still buy them. Still wear them daily. All seasons.
(Yes, I wear them with socks 
)
They are actually a Fad again. See, if you wait long enough everything comes back.
This reminds I owned a few pairs of Zubaz pants.