Fads of our youth. Do you have one? Mine were clogs and the Magic Eight Ball.

[debm55]

[wcmagumba]

1. I did have a pair of those very dangerous clackers (and they were dangerous)...

I even worked at a plastics company (managed by our neighbor) that made them...I put the string on and placed them in a bag with the label...

[debm55]

4. Thank you very much, wcmagumba. I had clackers and yes they were dangerous.

[intheflow]

72. Mine were blue.

It’s astonishing to me that every time I’m reminded of them, I can hear the clacking in my memory. I loved them so much! I think my mom tossed them when I moved out.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

76. I loved my clackers. So dangerous though

[efhmc]

121. What exactly are they?

[wcmagumba]

124. Two hard plastic balls with holes drilled through and connected by a string with a plastic ring in the middle...

Holding them by the central ring you would swing them up and down and hit the balls together on the top (above your hand) and then on the bottom below your hand...they made a loud clacking sound when they hit. Sometimes they would break and go flying, thus much of the danger...They came in various colors from blue to red and others...

https://www.tiktok.com/@aircircuskiteshop/video/7389846693853826335?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

[debm55]

127. Thanks wcwagumba, You explained way better then me.

[debm55]

125. I wish I knew how to post pictures so I will explain as best I can. They were two very large marble balls. They were

attached to the ends of rope,In the center of the rope., was a a rong for hand. You would pull down and the balls would come up and strike each other. Then come back down and strike each other. You would have to see how long you could continue the back and forth motion. You have to remember the balls were about the size, maybe a little smaller then a tennis ball. Sometimes the ball would rope would hit at an angle. and the user was hit or a person got to close. It was very dangerous and taken off of the market.

[walkingman]

2. All the hippie chicks wore platform clogs....so hot...I married one 💞

[debm55]

5. HAHAHAHHAHHAHA. That's funny , Thank you very much, walkingman.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Never Had One But The Pet Rock

Also, Jarts (what could go wrong) & cap pistols.
For clothes, baggies & platform shoes for guys. (Yes, I wore both.)

[debm55]

7. Thank you ProfessorGAC. Jarts and caps were dangerous. I found out by hitting it with a stone and it hit me in the eye.

Platform shoes for guys were great.

[Mme. Defarge]

34. Beat me to it!

[Ocelot II]

6. Mood rings! I had one, don't know what became of it.

It was kind of ugly.

[debm55]

9. I had a mood ring. Mine only changed to two colors--blue and black. I lost it,

[get the red out]

43. I loved them!

[Coventina]

8. For a brief moment in time, in 8th grade: knickers were all the rage.

[debm55]

11. HAHHAHAHAHAHH. Thank you very much Coventina. I don't know if I would wear.

[PennyC]

17. I remember!

I think one or more of The Young Rascals (Good Loving'," "Groovin&quot wore them. And I LOVE that you showed a sewing pattern...I probably made some back then!

[ms liberty]

10. Those and...Pixie cuts (twice! 5-11and 17/18), Mood rings. Farrah Fawcett hair (15/16). Earth shoes. CB radios.

I did not have a CB radio, but too many of my guy friends did.

I remember clogs but I hated mine.

[debm55]

13. Thank you ms liberty. We called it the Twiggy cut after the British model. Had Earth shoes in college. I remember the CB

radio.

[FalloutShelter]

12. Oh yeah... The Magic 8Ball.

That's what I now call my computer.

LOL

[debm55]

14. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thank you very much, FalloutShelter.

[GreatGazoo]

15. White belt with three prongs, three rows of holes

A Schwinn Stringray bike with extended "chopper" forks.

[debm55]

18. HAHHAHHAH. thank you very much, GreatGazoo, --the white belt. and the Schwinn Stringray. Hard to forget.

[RoadRunner]

16. Ant farms and hulu hoops

[debm55]

19. HAHAHAHHAAH. Thank you RoadRunner. OMG , the ant farm. and hula hoops. I liked the hulu hoops.

[SheltieLover]

20. Loved my Magic 8 Ball! Also had Gypsey Fortune Telling Cards

Bold striped bell bottom jeans.

[debm55]

21. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. Thank you SheltieLover. AND the bold striped bell bottoms. A fashion statement for sure

[debm55]

22. Fringe suede jackets and vests.

Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2025, 01:54 PM - Edit history (1)

[Ziggysmom]

23. Flavored rolling papers. Banana and strawberry!

[debm55]

24. Thank you very much, Ziggysmom.

[Bristlecone]

80. They still have them.

And flavored blunt wrappers as well.

[nocoincidences]

25. Poodle skirts

charm bracelets and circle pins. Fifties and early sixties era.

[debm55]

28. Thank you very much, nocoincidences. I remember them but never wore them. Great reminder.

[lark]

35. I remember them!

I only got a poodle skirt because my cousin outgrew hers and she was a size larger than me so the skirt fit perfectly and I loved it to death!! For once I got to wear "cool kids" clothes - wow.

[gay texan]

26. Ha! I still wear clogs

Still think they are cute

[debm55]

29. HAHAHHAHAHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing with us. I liked the lower clogs and not the high ones.

[MiHale]

27. Troll dolls and super balls..

[debm55]

31. Thank you very much, I had a troll doll family and the super ball.The super ball was fun, but you had to watch for the

rebounds as I got hit in the face by one I was using.

[KT2000]

30. Go-go boots!

[debm55]

32. Thank you very much, KT2000. I had a pair of white go-go boots.

[lark]

33. Bell Bottoms and hip huggers and peace signs - and yes, I wore them all.

Tie dye and batik were quite important as well.

Oh, how could I forget fringed suede jackets - always wanted one, couldn't afford it.

[debm55]

36. Thank you very much, lark. I made my own batik and tie dye shirts. Bell bottoms and hip huggers--I wore them too. My

Fringed jacket and vest were made from fake suede. I got them at KMart.

[FuzzyRabbit]

37. Coonskin hats

were inspired by the Davy Crockett television show in the mid 1950s.

[debm55]

38. Thank you very much, FuzzyRabbit.

[HappyH]

39. Clackers

and yard darts were my favs. Yes they were dangerous, but so was riding in the bed of the pickup truck, biking without helmets and cars without seat belts. Most of us survived…

[debm55]

40. Thank you very much, HappyH. What you posted is true. In our youth we did some very dangerous things--I did all those

things you mentioned.

[madamesilverspurs]

41. Hula Hoops and

Ben Casey shirts.

.

[debm55]

46. Thank you very much madamesilverspurs. HAHAHAHH. I remember the Ben Casey shirts. I wish Hula Hoops would make a come

back

[Cloudhopper]

91. I had a Ben Casey pillowcase. I don't even know if I was old enough

to really know who he was. Anyway, I threw up on it the first night I used it. I have a vague recollection of that night.

[debm55]

92. Oh you are bad, Cloudhopper.

[LogDog75]

42. Penny Loafers

They were called Penny Loafers because you'd put a penny in the slot of the shoe. We used to put a silver dime in place of the penny because the dime was shinny and made the shoes stand out.

[debm55]

51. Thank you LogDog75. I had a pair. Never thought of putting a dime in. What a great idea.

[get the red out]

44. Sprocket chain bracelet

Mine was silver plated! I thought it was beautiful.

[debm55]

50. Thank you very much get the red out. Did you wear the rings made from the bottoms of fancy silverware?

[get the red out]

63. No

But I am sure I would have thought they were cool!

[Phentex]

45. Painters pants. I had some with little fruits all over them

I also had them in pastel ice cream colors. I think we wore them with generic polo shirts

[debm55]

49. Thank you very much, Phentex, I wore them in college along with the farmer jeans.

[boonecreek]

47. "Reply hazy, ask again later".

Yup, we had the 8 ball too.

[debm55]

48. HAHHAHHAHHHAHHAH. Thank you very much boonecreek. That's funny.

[CrispyQ]

52. I loved my clogs! Navy blue suede with cork bottoms.

Then my friend got the same pair only hers had gromets along the edge & looked so cool I was jealous until they rubbed blisters on her feet.

My favorite thing was a cool suede purse with fringe.

[debm55]

57. HAHHAHHAHHAHA. Thank you very much, CrispyQ.

[KitFox]

53. Taps on our saddle shoes. Attaching playing cards to our bicycle wheel spokes

trying to sound like a motorcycle. Imperial or Butterfly yo-yos. Thanks, Deb for all the memory lane fun!😊🧡

[debm55]

58. Your welcome, KitFox. I remember all except the the saddle shoes. I had a Duncan yo-yo, I couldn't make it do anything

but go up and down.

[Goonch]

54. ;-{) Slinky

[debm55]

59. HAHHAHAHAHHA. Thank you very much, Goonch. When it got tangled up., that was it for old slinky.

[livetohike]

55. Chokers. My favorite was leather with a "gold"

peace sign. Studs that you attached to your jeans. My favorite was hearts .

[debm55]

60. Thank you livetohike. I loved chokers, especially the black"velvet" one with a cameo on it.

[CTyankee]

73. I still have one of those leather peace signs. I wondered if anybody knew what it signified so I asked my cleaning lady.

She knew it right off the bat and she's only in her forties.

[livetohike]

74. I still have mine too. One of my younger brothers gave it to

me for Christmas one year 🙂.

[CTyankee]

106. what do you do with it?

I just stuck it in my purse until I can think of where to put it...or give it to...

[livetohike]

113. It's in an old jewelry box. Someone will find it

when I’m gone. I have three nieces (all adults). Maybe one of them will keep it. If my husband out lives me it will be his problem. I tried to declutter when we moved two years ago, but there are a lot of things I wasn’t ready to part with.

[wcmagumba]

56. Earth Shoes...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_shoe

[debm55]

61. Thank you , wcmagumba. I had them in college and I loved them so easy on my feet. I was sad when they disappeared.

[debm55]

62. In college, Dingo Boots.

[rsdsharp]

64. Super Ball. You really could make it bounce over your house!

[debm55]

65. HAHAHHHAH.. Thank you rsdsharp. And if you are like me, the Super Ball would up and hit you in the face.

[rsdsharp]

69. No, I managed to miss out on that piece of "fun."

[Niagara]

66. I'm feeling a little nostalgic today

Jordache jeans, scrunchie socks, stirrup pants, large dressy shirts and placing a large belt over the shirt.

Besides the Jordache jeans, I don't know why the other stuff was in style in elementary and jr. high. Apparently Jordache jeans are still made and sold and they were nice and lasting jeans.


Then came high school and the fashion didn't get any better with hypercolor t-shirts, jean bleaching and tight rolling the bottom of jeans. There's another word for tight rolling the bottom of the jeans but I'm not repeating that word because it means something different today.

Then it was clothing brands like Bugle Boy, BUM Equipment, LA Gear, Guess, Nike, Vision Street Wear, Calvin Klein and Big Dog that were all the rage in high school.

When I started driving there were these toys that came out called Jibba Jabba and I wanted one. They pulled them off the shelf because one had to grab it by the throat and shake it and it would make a silly noise.

Around the same time, super soakers became a thing. People would load them up and go out cruising around town and super soak other vehicles and people on the cruise strip. The police in my town would pull cars over to make sure it was water in the super soaker instead of bleach or whatever.

Fun times!!

[debm55]

67. Niagara, you are the winner. Congratulations for that post of memorable.fads. You are younger then me, so some I heard

of but never wore. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

[Niagara]

68. Fantastic, Debbie! I'll take my winner winner chicken dinner Friday evening!!

My body feels like it's 70 but I act like I'm 21!!!

[pansypoo53219]

70. only retro trends or old trends gleaned from estate sales. i found a smiley patch AND melted plastic daycore smiley.

the 70's balls on wires. ebayed it cause bad colors. got a elmo faux fur vest, but never wore it.

i wore flannel before grunge + waffle-weave long underwear. i was layering before trendy too. always did my own thing. jellyfish look. always a jellyfish.

[debm55]

75. Thank you very much pansypoo53219, The elmo faux fur vest sounds neat.

[waterwatcher123]

71. Bell Bottom Jeans (Disaster for Getting into Bicycle Chains)

[debm55]

79. Thank you very much waterwatcher123. I agree with you about the bike chains. We used to have two rubber bands

to put on thebell part of the jean. So they wouldn't get stuck

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

77. Chinese jump rope

?si=fwdE-HXXRIkgPHp4

[debm55]

83. Thank you BlueWaveNeverEnd. I used to do this.HAHAHHAHHHAHHAHHA

[enid602]

78. Bells

Bell bottoms. And many of the girls would cut slits up the sides of the calves, and would insert polka dot material to cover the slits. Very cool.

[debm55]

84. Thank you very much enid602. I remember girls doing that thank you.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

81. Skateboards!

My first thought was clackers, platform shoes, bell bottoms, tie-dye, macrame, and lots of other things already mentioned, but going back further (I was probably about 5-7), I remember when “sidewalk surfing” became a thing. My older brother hammered my roller skates flat and screwed them to a board because no one sold skateboards in Iowa yet. That thing was DANGEROUS! metal skates on probably a 6” x 18” chunk of tongue-in-groove board (painted with surfer stripes lengthwise) and it felt like you were flying over ice—except that ice wouldn’t carve you up like face-planting on a bumpy sidewalk.

It’s a wonder were even survived the ‘60s.

[debm55]

86. Thank you very much, buzzycrumbhunger. Yes, it had a wonderful feeling to it.

[ultralite001]

82. Recycled Jeans denim caps...

to go w/ the bell bottom jeans (rescued from endless searches of army/navy stores --
always buttons -- never zips) + pea coats... Golly, I loved those wool coats...

Also -- go - go boots... White + mid-calf... Zips in the back... Mine were faux 'cuz we
couldn't afford the real deal...




Shall we discuss the lengths, torture + torment we would go to to have flawless long straight hair???

[debm55]

87. YES!!! I remember the caps and boots, Do you remember making skirts from your jeans by cutting off the legs at the knees

cutting the inside and adding a triangular piece of fabric to the front and back.

[ultralite001]

89. Yes indeed...

And inserting fabric patches into regular jeans to make bell bottoms...

I still have one jeans' tote bag.... Too tough to give up its ghosts!!!

Those were the days...

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

85. Hoop worn on one ankle that you twirled and hopped over a string

I don't remember what it was called

[debm55]

88. BlueWaveNeverEnd. I had one of those and darn I can;t remember the name of it either. Must have been a very fast fad.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

97. It kind hurt the ankle..lol..maybe thats why it faded

[Cloudhopper]

95. I had one. I think they were called Footsies.

I remember an orange ring around the ankle, a lime green string with a red bell at the end.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

96. Yes!! It had a bell on it

[debm55]

90. Trying to make your hair straight. I ironed my hair. Didn't work.

[Cloudhopper]

93. Pant suits, gauchos with lace up boots.

Double ring buckle embroidered cloth belts. Rabbit fur jackets. Sewing anything and everything to our bell bottom jeans.

[debm55]

94. Thank you, Cloudhopper. Gee I must have been into fads because I had all except for the rabbit jacket.I had a faux fur

jacket.

[hunter]

98. I wore purple plaid bell bottoms, a purple shirt with a wide open collar...

... and Wallabee shoes. Those were my nice "going out" clothes.

Most of the time I wore blue jeans, a tee-shirt, a hoodie, and shoes I could run in, same as I ever have since my grandma stopped buying clothes for me in the third grade because I refused to wear them.

I probably would have been more popular in school, and even in college, if I'd accepted my grandma's fashion advice.

[debm55]

100. Thank you very much for sharing with us, hunter. My grandmother would buy me clothing too, but it made me look like an

old Baba.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

99. The main ones I remember were hula hoops and Duncan yoyos.

[debm55]

104. Thank you very much, 50 Shades Of Blue. I loved my hula hoop and Duncan yoyo

[Eugene]

101. yo-yos

Duncan yo-yos and the yo-yo tricks were a craze in the mid 70s.

Pet Rocks were also popular, but I only saw one in a department store display.

[debm55]

103. Thank you very much, Eugene. I had a Duncan yo-yo. I could only make it go up and down.

[Prairie_Seagull]

102. In high school it was Star or Hash jeans.

Big bell bottoms. The explanation. The girls liked them on me.

[debm55]

105. Thank you very much, Prairie_Seagull. Oh a ladies man.

[catbyte]

108. Troll dolls and STP stickers

I still don't get the STP stickers, but I had one on my notebook, lol.

[debm55]

109. Hahahahaha. Thank you very much, catbyte. I had a whole family of troll dolls. The babies were gotten from the candy

machine for a nickel at the food store. Wasn't it said that if you rubbed their hair it would bring you good luck?

[justaprogressive]

110. Blue and Red Western Cotton Kerchiefs

Cinch belts! (two rings) round or D



the First wave of skateboards ('65) long and unwieldy


the First wave of snowboards w/upside down staples for
foot grip and lead rope to hold onto! The Snurfer!



Labyrintspel tilting maze with ball bearing avoid the holes
( everybody had one!)




Whee! The fun we had!

[debm55]

114. I loved the titling maze. I had one myself, The others brought back alot of memories. Thank you justaprogressive.

[fargone]

111. These shoes with mechanical closure

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-talon-shu-lok-snapjack-shoes.72323/

[debm55]

115. Oh wow, I remember those. Thank you very much for sharing the memories, fargone.

[Mad_Dem_X]

112. I had a Cabbage Patch doll, and my sister had a "Lady Di" haircut.

I also have a couple of Beanie Babies.

[debm55]

116. HAHAHAHAH. I had a Lady Di haircut too. Did you keep your Cabbage Patch doll? Thank you Mad_Dem_X.

[Mad_Dem_X]

119. I don't think I have him anymore.

I probably gave him away when I got older.

[debm55]

120. Thank you, Mad_Dem_X,

[OldBaldy1701E]

117. When I was in the first three grades, Jacks made a huge comeback in our area.

I remember my mother being happily surprised because she used to play with them when she was little.

I was a pretty good competitor, I have to say. We usually played for bragging rights, but sometimes we got into a real match where we played for what would be referred to in racing as 'pink slips', meaning that the loser gave up his jacks set.

The competitions were fierce!

(The school finally banned them because of too many accidents involving lost jacks and people's feet.)

[debm55]

118. Wow that's neat. OldBaldy1701E. That sounds great and fun.

[AllaN01Bear]

122. jeans. click clacks. super ball.

[debm55]

123. HAHHAAHAHAH. Thanks Bear. Though I didn't like the super ball --got hit in the face with one on the rebound.

[gab13by13]

126. Slinky,

I only got it to go down all of grandma's steps one time.

[debm55]

128. Me too, gab13by13. On the second try it hit the stair wall and came down in a tangled mass/mess of wire..

[CanonRay]

129. Nehru jackets

[debm55]

130. HAHAHHAHAH. Thank you CanonRay. And the peace beads.

[PikaBlue]

131. Hula hoops troll dolls, and smiley faces on everything

[debm55]

132. YES, Thank you very much, PikaBlue.

[debm55]

133. In High School, granny dresses,