Fads

It's interesting as well as fun to observe how trends and fads transform with the changing years in our lifetime. There are some fads which try a comeback after some years in hibernation. We all remember our favorite toys like a Pokémon or our polka dotted tops and acid-wash jeans, hula hoops and frisbees. Think back to the game Twister. How about pet rocks, Rubic's cubes, 3D movies? All these have been passing fads with which we grew up. Now we see them in antique shops or as nostalgic décor in a fancy restaurant, or hidden and forgotten in family basements.
     Below: Some fads stick around long-term, like the frisbee. Others shine for their 15 minutes of fame and then quietly settle into the background, like the pet rock, the hula hoop, wild disco clothes, and the floor game for the whole family, Twister.

We all know that fads come and go. At one time a fad is the most happening and popular craze, and then months or years later it is hardly seen or remembered. We humans love to imitate and that is what gives rise to fads. Imitation is the reason why fashions, hobbies, or new items or behaviors become fads. As we watch others we also want to do it and the trend turns into a fad which becomes an essential part of our lives.

I'm not sure where the word 'fad' comes from; the best dictionaries say 'origin unknown', but suggest it's a shortening of the term 'fidfad', which is a shortening of the term 'fiddle faddle', which applies to a fussy person. Who knows?

There have been so many fads in all eras of existence, back hundreds of years. If we had understood the future value of some of the previous fads, we could have made a heck of a profit today! YouTube, iPods, Blogging, American Idol, Wikis, Robotic Pets are some of the fads which are popular among the youngsters of today... and there is another fad which is catching up rapidly, the toilet monster!