What I was thinking about led to today's topic. What fads or mania were you caught up in back in the day?
First, the mood ring. The fad swept the nation in the early to mid-seventies. I never had one, but I had two teenage daughters during that time frame. The rage not only entertained the young people, it worked its way into the culture. I think I recall that Charles Schulz portrayed an incident in which Peppermint Patty's mood ring exploded because she was so angry with Charlie Brown. The following, though, is my favorite mood ring story.
A woman reported that her husband was unhappy with her mood swings. So he bought her a mood ring. He hoped that he would be able to monitor her moods and prepare himself accordingly. It worked. He discovered that when she was in a good mood, the ring turned green. And when she was in a bad mood. the ring left a big red mark on his forehead. "Maybe next time," she said, "he'll buy me a diamond."
Some other mania that come to mind are these: pet rocks, Cabbage Patch Kids, pogs, Beanie Babies, Tickle Me Elmo.
Me? Beanie Babies. I have a large basketful of them to this day. (Please follow the link.) Pet rocks. I still carry a rock or two in my pocket at all times. They are not official "pet rocks," though. Just rocks.
What fads were you into? Others you remember?
6 comments:
"Kilroy" is a fad I remember from my younger years. This character was doodled just about everywhere with "Kilroy Was Here" written somewhere - usually on the wall he was peeking over. Our school authorities didn't think he belonged on bathroom walls, but chalk-drawn images of him were always on school property. Some time later, poodle skirts were a fashion fad. I never had one. More than once I was the only girl in my H.S. class who was not wearing one of those creations. My mom was not a fad person (and I was a compliant teen).
I like the mood ring story. That man no doubt carried his golf bag around the course while longing for a score that matched the number on his IQ test.
When I was 7-ish yoyos were all the rage, I had one with 'jewels' on it. I remember playing with a hula hoop but don't recall if I owned one. When I was a kid fads that required the purchase of something weren't a part of my life - money was tight and not spent on frivolous things like toys. Girls always had fads in clothing and make-up but again - I was not a participant because again there was that money thing. And I don't recall ever craving what was considered stylish. By the time I was an adult and had disposable income I had already honed my own style so fads never affected me.
Our boys made their own pet rocks. I still have the one that was given to me.
Vee, Kilroy was ubiquitous in the forties and fifties, apparently even in the girls' restroom. I did not know that. I remember the poodle skirt, and shortly thereafter the fad was "senior cords."
Grace, I have always had a yoyo, anyway since I was six or seven years old. Marbles, though, was the game when I was a kid. Jacks, too. My daughters had hula hoops, a trick I never mastered.
Chuck, someone cheated the pet rock people out of a sale! Another one I thought of today: clackers. They were banned in the mid-eighties, but not before I, along with who knows how many others, suffered a seriously sore wrist. It is said that they shattered, too, though I never witnessed that.
hmmm. I guess I was never much into fads. Well, maybe at camp. I collected lucky stones and tied friendship knots with my buddies. I still have lots of both.
Sharkey, like you, any fad I might have participated in as a child would have been of the no-cost variety.
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