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Aug 13 2015

Hula-Hoops: The Toy That's A Shape

39 min 10 movies discussed
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We've covered our fair share of pop-culture icons and here is another - Hula-Hoops. They've been around since ancient time in some form or another, but made their name in during the Hoop Boom of the 1950s. Learn all about this popular fad and more.

AI Summary

This episode of Stuff You Should Know dives into the surprisingly ancient history of the hula hoop, tracing its evolution from dried grape vines used by Egyptian children around 1000 BC all the way to the massive American craze of 1958. Josh and Chuck explore how this simple toy has appeared across cultures and centuries, from ancient Greek fitness routines to Native American ceremonial dances, before exploding into a global phenomenon that sold over 100 million units in just one summer. They also break down the physics behind what makes hula hooping work and discuss modern variations like hoop dancing and fitness classes.


Movies Discussed

Back to School
Back to School
1986 1h 36m
★ 6.3
"The great back to school. I saw a bit of that recently — Josh mentions seeing part of the movie recently and wishes he had caught it from the beginning." — Josh
Christine
Christine
1983 1h 50m
★ 6.9
"Yeah the guy from christine and back to school — Josh explains that Keith Gordon, who was in both Christine and Back to School, became a movie director." — Josh
Fargo
Fargo
1996 1h 38m
★ 7.8
"fargo is the one I can watch over and over and over — Chuck mentions Fargo as a Coen Brothers movie he can watch repeatedly." — Chuck
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men
2007 2h 2m
★ 7.9
"No country for old men terrible I'm kidding. I'm kidding. — Josh jokingly calls this Coen Brothers movie terrible before clarifying he's kidding and loves it." — Josh
Raising Arizona
Raising Arizona
1987 1h 34m
★ 7.1
"Raising Arizona is probably the best — Josh considers this one of the best Coen Brothers movies." — Josh
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy
1994 1h 51m
★ 7.1
"All right, let's talk about the hutsucker proxy for a quick moment — Josh brings up this Coen Brothers movie that features a fictional tale about the invention of the hula hoop." — Josh
The Wrestler
The Wrestler
2008 1h 49m
★ 7.5
"to get in shape for her movie the wrestler in 2008 — Josh mentions that Marisa Tomei took hula hoop fitness classes to get in shape for this movie." — Josh
The X-Files
The X-Files
1993
★ 8.4
"Let's go watch some x-files. Um Let's actually yeah, the movie's coming out soon, right? — Chuck mentions X-Files in the context of 1990s nostalgia and notes that a new movie is coming out." — Chuck
They Live
They Live
1988 1h 33m
★ 7.3
"I thought Keith gordon co-starred and they live I don't know maybe — Chuck is uncertain about whether Keith Gordon was in the movie They Live." — Chuck
Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead
2000 1h 45m
★ 6.1
"directed a bunch of good movies one called waking the dead you should see — Josh recommends this movie directed by Keith Gordon to Chuck." — Josh

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