I know we all like to hear about the latest celebrity gossip, know what fashions are hot, and just read the latest pop culture news in general. BUT, there are times when I like to reminisce about pop culture’s past. After all, there has been a lot of stuff that could classify as pop culture happen in the past 100 years in this wonderful country. So, on Mondays, I am going to start doing a retro blog. I will pick something that made an impact on us and write about it. But, I would like your help. Let me know what you want me to talk about! Do you remember doing the Hustle during the 70s? Did you stick Silly Putty on the Sunday comics just to pull it off and see them on the other side? Did your parents go to Woodstock? Anything you want to know more about – let me know and I will blog about it!
Today, I am going to talk about the Hula Hoop – a simple, yet fun toy many of us have enjoyed for years. In an age where my son has toys that seem to have 50 pieces each, I spent much of my childhood swiveling a plastic circle with beans in it around my waist. In 1957, Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin were the co-owners of the Wham-O toy company when they invented the Hula Hoop. They didn’t actually invent playing with a circle – children had been doing that for thousands of years. But they made it of a durable plastic (in Australia, children were using bamboo hoops) and gave it a catchy name. They couldn’t patent the toy because it had been used for so long, but they could trademark the name Hula Hoop. The Hula Hoop was released to the public in 1958 and by 1960, Wham-O had sold 100 million. That’s right, I said “100 million.” Others tried to copy their idea, but the name Hula Hoop was so tied to the toy, it wasn’t cool if you didn’t have a real Hula Hoop.
The Hula Hoops made their way to the circus (where some performers spun as many as 30 around their body) and remain there today, with Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria having a Hula Hoop contortionist. People tried to set world records – how many Hula Hoops you could spin at once, how long you could spin one, etc. When the VH1 “I Love Toys’ segment aired, guess what toy was number 1? You’re right – the Hula Hoop.
In case you are wondering, something bad happened to either my hips or waist in the past 30 years, because my husband bought my son a Hula Hoop not too long ago and I couldn’t do it anymore.
More toy-related blogs:
The Most Fun You Can Have With A Toddler For $1.29
The Best Toy Investment We Ever Made
“Cars” is Breeding in my Home!