Hula Hoop History
...Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go...
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it... Billy Joel, We Didn't Start the Fire
This song is perfect for the people who re-introduced the hula hoops as a popular game for the children, Richard Knerr and Arthur 'Spud' Melin. They were not the inventors of hula hoops but they re-introduced the already existing hoops to the world. They made the hula hoop so popular during the late 1950s, that it was considered to be one of the most significant event during that period. Thus, the song by Billy Joel. But now the question is, if Knerr and Melin (who was popularly known as Spud) were not the inventors of the hula hoops, then who was it? What is the real hula hoop history?
The History
Hula hoops are light multi-colored plastic rings which are turned or whirled around the hips. These hula hoops are mainly used for playing hula hoop games or for hula hoop exercises, and can be a lot of fun.
The Beginning
The history goes back to the time of ancient Greek and Egyptian civilization. The children used to play a game where they propelled hoops made from grape vines, across the ground, using a stick. Later in the 14th century, spinning hoops or hooping, made out of sticks and grass, became popular in England. However, they had to be banned because the British started blaming this hoop game for heart attacks and back disorders. Later on, the Eskimos used these hoops for both practical purposes as well as for fun. They rolled hoops while they spun and used it to teach their children harpooning and hunting. Native Indians taught accuracy in shooting arrows using the hoop, while on the other hand, the Lakota Indians hoop dance is still famous today. In the early 19th century, spinning hoops got its name hula hoops when some soldiers visiting the Hawaiian Islands noticed the similarities between Hula dancing and tripping hoops. Thus, this was the beginning of the hula hoops.
The Rise
20th century, 1957, founders of the Wham-O toy company, Richard Knerr and Arthur 'Spud' Melin, got the idea of re-inventing the hula hoops when they were in Australia. Children there used to twirl bamboo hoops around their waists in the gym class. That gave them the idea of making the same using durable plastic, for the children. But unfortunately for them, they could not patent their new toy, as it was already in existence. So the company had to fight the other manufactures for sales. Ultimately, they trademarked the name 'hula hoops'. In 1958, they released the new toy, and over a span of two years they sold over nearly 100 million hula hoops. That's when Billy Joel's song, "We Didn't Start the Fire", referenced the sale of the millionth hula hoop as one of the important events in 1959.
However, in the late 1950s, Japan said that the hip rotation which was needed to move the hoops was obscene. Hence, they banned it in their country. Russia too stopped hula hoops in their country as these hoops represented the 'emptiness of American culture.' Still, in 1983, the company relaunched its products for the third time in Europe, and held competitions in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Record Breaking Facts
- Kareena Oates, an Australian, set the Guinness world records for hula hooping with not one or two but 100 hula rings for 3 full revolutions, in 2005.
- 2006, Alesya Gulevich of Belarus spins 101 hoops.
- 2007, Jin Linlin of China, spins 105 hoops.
- American Ashrita Furman sets the record in 2007, for spinning the largest hula hoop (by circumference). The circumference of the hoop was 51.5 feet.
