1950s · outdoor
Hula Hoop
A plastic hoop you swung around your hips and tried not to let drop. The 1958 craze was so intense that Wham-O sold 25 million in four months.
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Image: GeorgeLouis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · License
◆ Did you have this?
👍 I had this💔 I wanted this- Era
- 50s
- Released
- 1958
- Category
- outdoor
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From the archive
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The pitch
Wham-O Hula Hoop! Swing it, sway it, keep it spinning! The new toy sensation that's sweeping the nation!
Why people remember it
- The impossible challenge of keeping it spinning.
- Every kid on the block had one in a different color.
- The satisfying clatter when it hit the ground.
Did you know?
- The Hula Hoop fad earned Wham-O $45 million in its first year.
- The name was inspired by Hawaiian hula dancing, which uses similar hip movements.
- Japan briefly banned the hula hoop over concerns about its suggestive hip movements.
How people search for it
“hip spinning hoop”, “plastic hoop toy”, “waist circle toy”
Questions people ask
- How many hula hoops were sold in the 1950s?
- Wham-O sold over 100 million hula hoops in two years. It was one of the biggest toy fads in history.
- Did Wham-O invent the hula hoop?
- No. Bamboo hoops were used in ancient Australia and Egypt. Wham-O founders Richard Knerr and Arthur Melin saw Australian exercise hoops and made a plastic version in 1958.
