Most fads die a quick, merciful death, but here are a few that I think would be fun to resurrect.
Comeback Fads
10. Pet Rocks Back in the day, Gigapets and Tamagotchis were called Pet Rocks. The idea is about the same. They’re both little ‘pets’ that you carry around. They both serve no purpose. And they both are a good way to part with some of your hard-earned money. Of course, Pet Rocks did have one advantage, batteries weren’t included because they didn’t need any.
9. Midnight Movies This is one close to my heart. I miss those late night cult classics. Of course, you can’t throw rice anymore at the wedding scene in Rocky Horror and blowing bubbles instead just doesn’t feel the same. But at midnight, any movie, no matter how bad, seemed pretty good. That alone would be a good reason to bring them back.
8. String Art Chances are you know someone with one of these masterpieces in their basement. For those of you unfamiliar with string art, these were kits that enabled you to create your own works of art by taking string and winding it around nails set into a black velvet background. String art was how people wasted time before the internet.
7. Big hair Okay, this one’s a bit iffy, but back in the day that teased out, sprayed down, rock hard mountain of hair was just the expression of femininity that heavy metal needed to propel it into the mainstream. Although, it looked better on women, that point is debatable. Just take a look at some old yearbook pictures if you don’t believe me. My understanding is that scientists at Aqua-net are working overtime in their labs trying to figure out a way to resurrect this fad.
6. Streaking During the 1970s, no media event was complete without some fool running naked past the cameras. This is one of those great fads to make your grandkids proud. Hey, there’s grandpa at the Oscar ceremony! Oddly enough it seemed like every streaker was some skinny guy who needed to shave his back. I can’t recall ever seeing any female streakers. If you have, please leave a comment.
5. Moustaches It seems like you just can’t have a stand alone moustache anymore. You always have to have some other scruff on your face to go with it. Any old moustache would do, but those skinny Clark Gable moustaches would be the best of both worlds. You don’t get the coffee strainer effect of the full ‘stache, and you still have some hair on your upper lip. Of course, John Waters kind of kills the whole pencil-thin moustache revival movement, but this is a fad that at least deserves some attention.
4. Unpierced/untattooed Skin Don’t kill the messenger on this one, but my generation was probably the last one before tattoos became cool. At one time, people got tattoos to stand out, then somewhere along the line, they became the way to fit in. Sorry but I’m just not into pain or punching holes in my skin. If tattoos and piercings are your thing, that’s cool, but I’m kind of happy with the number of holes my body came into the world with.
3. Back Pocket Combs If you wanted to be cool in the ’70s, you had to have a comb handle sticking out of your back pocket. Always comfortable to sit on, these combs could be whipped out at any occasion to make sure your wings or Fonzie hairdo was always perfect.
2. Overalls I’m not talking about the kind that Uncle Joe used to wear on Petticoat Junction, but rather, the stone-washed, New Kids on the Block kind of overalls with the one strap down. I used to love this fad because I always liked getting a really serious expression and whispering – hey, one of your straps fell down. The response I usually got was a blank, puzzled stare followed by: “Uh, it’s supposed to be like that.” I don’t know why that amused me, but then one look at this list and you’ll see I’m amused by very little things.
1. “Baby on Board” Signs I miss these like I miss those suction cup Garfields. It’s not so much the signs as the idea behind them. If you think about it, what were those signs supposed to do? Make people go – “Man! I can’t ram into that car. There’s a baby on board.” I don’t know how many accidents were prevented by these signs, but if they saved one child, they were worth it.
So there you have it, the top ten fads that should make a comeback. Of course as with all top ten lists these selections are purely subjective and serve no purpose, just like fads.
