SAN FRANCISCO - It's hard to believe in an age of action-packed video games and other whiz-bang gadgets, but the Hula Hoop once was the hippest toy around.
The hoopla began 50 years ago Thursday when entrepreneurs Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin sought a trademark for a plastic cylinder based on a similar toy that had enjoyed modest success in Australia's school yards.
Before long, the Hula Hoop had more hips swiveling than Elvis Presley.
Wham-O Inc., the company founded by Knerr and Melin, sold more than 100 million Hula Hoops — at a suggested retail price of $1.98 apiece — after just a year on the U.S. market. That was more than one hula hoop for every two Americans at the time.
"It became a real piece of Americana," said toy historian Tim Walsh, whose book about Wham-O is scheduled to be published in October.
The Hula Hoop became so ubiquitous that the former Soviet Union banned the toy as a symbol of the "emptiness of American culture."
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25252266
