Crazy fads seem like a good idea at the time, but when we look back, we cringe, mortified that we even thought about taking part.
The Crazy Fads We All Loved
The internet opened a time capsule of shame, asking users to share the craziest trends they remember. Users delivered, sharing popular fads that struck gold for an instant, then disappeared almost without a trace.
The answers provide a healthy bit of nostalgia and make us breathe a sigh of relief about the trends we didn’t engage in.
Which of these crazy, popular fads did you get caught up in?
Everything We Did as Teenagers
We sometimes forget that teenagers are still kids and prone to making cringeworthy decisions. Once we’re older, we often look back at the things we adored as teenagers and wonder. “Why did I ever like this?”.
Teenagers are notorious for participating in crazy fads, but social media has made it so much worse. Weird internet challenges spread like wildfire, attracting millions of views, then disappear into the ether.
I’m so glad social media wasn’t a thing while I was a teen.
Purposeful Misspellings
Some of us thought it was cool to misspell words in a text and on memes. The trend started with cat memes, like the favorite “I can haz cheezburgr” but some folks ran with it in their daily lives.
A commenter received 1500 upvotes by admitting they used to think it was cool to spell things so horribly. I can only guess they’re shaking their head in shame while looking back.
Dabbing
Internet dance trends are a dime a dozen at this point, and every single one will have participants cringing that they thought it was cool.
Dabbing is one of those crazy dance fads that was everywhere for a while and then disappeared.
Millions of people threw their arms up and face down everywhere they went to score some momentary internet fame. Seeing old photos and videos of the dab in action makes us wonder why we were so obsessed with it.
The Whip
Watch me whip, watch me Nae Nae was another popular dance trend that thankfully went the way of the dab. Every wedding, gym class, and dance party had to include a whip, which was so overrated even then.
Redditors mentioned that the whip is being integrated into modern choreography, so it will never truly fade, but at least it isn’t in every TikTok anymore.
Are people over Facebook? Some are, though they long for the days of Myspace, which makes more sense for a trend that used to be cool.
But the Millennials bemoaning Facebook as a fallen trend do have a point. Facebook was a great platform when it was a way to connect with your college friends. Once the Boomers joined, it delved into a toxic cesspool of fake news and politicization.
We all miss the old Facebook, which today seems like a crazy fad.
Fidget Spinners
Five years ago, everyone needed a fidget spinner. Today, only people who actually need them to stay focused use them.
I’m glad this fad died down. Fidget spinners’ intense popularity led to supply shortages, meaning the people who actually needed them to pay attention couldn’t get them.
Farmville
Remember when Facebook built its user base by offering a silly farm game?
Farmville was all the rage. Users invited everyone they knew to Facebook to get sweet farm rewards and share their harvests.
I never got into Farmville, but my Facebook feed was full of it, and my notifications were bursting with farm requests. I’m glad this crazy fad ended.
Illicit Taste Testing
Many supermarkets use taste testing as a means of advertising a product. You might see a temporary display manned by an employee whose task is to hand out the treat to curious customers. Some people take their curiosity too far.
Ice cream is a common victim of a prank where people grab items off the shelves, open them up, and take a lick.
One user summarizes an infamous example. “The girl that was licking Blue Bell ice cream then putting [it] back ended up with jail time if I’m not mistaken.”
I don’t know how something so disgusting became a fad, but we’re glad people realized how nasty (and illegal!) it is.
Chuck Norris Memes
Chuck Norris became an icon in meme culture, but the joke got stale and slowly faded into obscurity, only to be occasionally resurrected in niche subreddits.
The memes portrayed Chuck Norris as the ultimate superhero, able to defeat any enemy and accomplish any feat.
They became increasingly ridiculous as the meme gained steam, eventually falling from popularity.
Flash Mobs
Remember when joining a group in a random dance-off was peak cool?
Although they were fun, flash mobs quickly lost steam. It’s hard to coordinate an extensive, choreographed dance for a group of people, and most folks don’t have the time.
One Redditor said the flash mob lost appeal when companies co-opted the idea for marketing, sucking the fun out of it.
The Cinnamon Challenge
What could go wrong with eating an entire spoonful of cinnamon in one sitting? Teenagers across the country found out when they participated in the cinnamon challenge.
Although this crazy fad isn’t as dangerous as some others on the list, it’s not a pleasant experience, which is probably why it faded in popularity.
Silly Bandz
What kid wouldn’t love rubber bands shaped like animals? Silly Bandz burst onto the scene in middle schools around the country but disappeared so fast that few remember them.
Most users said their quick disappearance was the result of schoolhouse bannings. Many schools considered the bands distracting and prevented students from wearing them in class.
“I think Schools banning them killed off the trend. Only young kids cared about them, and their parents didn’t bother fighting the ban,” said one user.
The Milk Gallon Crush
Sometimes, we make mistakes at the grocery store, like accidentally knocking over a display or dropping a glass jar. While these awkward mistakes make most people cringe, some intentionally create these disasters.
“A person would purposely dropping gallons of milk in a grocery store while making it look like an accident, leaving a huge mess for some poor supermarket employee to clean up,” describes an irritated Reddit user.
We don’t like trends that harm others, so we’re glad the milk gallon crush is over.
Backward Pants
Kriss Kross will make you jump, jump, and wear your pants backward. After the hip-hop duo performed on In Living Color, everyone thought it was cool to wear their pants backwards.
“They performed on In Living Color, and the next day half the boys in my fifth-grade class came to school with their clothes on backwards,” said one user of the Kriss Kross phenomenon.
We quickly learned that wearing our jeans backward is uncomfortable, and we hope to forget that period of our lives.
Koosh Balls
Although they still make Koosh balls, they aren’t nearly as popular as they once were. At one point, all the cool kids had Koosh balls; some even had Koosh ball yo-yos and Koosh ball pencil toppers.
For those not in the know, Koosh balls are small toy balls with small rubber strings coming out from the center to surround them. The strings are usually multi-colored, creating fun visual effects when thrown.
“I ran across the one I got in middle school the other day while I was going through a box of old stuff. I had completely forgot about it!” exclaimed one user.
The Knockout Game
You think you’re safe walking around in the daytime, surrounded by other people, but you never know when you might become the target of a wicked prank, such as the Knockout Game.
“It was an old challenge where you film yourself assaulting randos. And this was before TikTok. I think the last major trend was between [the] late 00s and early 10s,” explains one Reddit user.
Another user adds, “It basically involved a bunch of teenagers, and even adults, walking or running up to someone, usually on the streets, and hitting them as hard as they could in the face with a closed fist, hoping to knock them out.”
Partaking in this crazy fad should lead to assault charges.
Planking
Find the craziest spot you can think of and do a…plank?
People were planking in grocery stores and parking lots. Some even risked their lives planking on railroad tracks.
Why was this crazy trend so popular?
Fired Up… Literally
“The fire challenge, where these kids were pouring acetone on themselves then lighting themselves on fire,” explains a user, “Apparently, it was supposed to be a short burning sensation, but as you’d expect, there were kids who got seriously injured from the burns, and a mom who recorded her son doing the challenge even got arrested after being reported to social services.”
This dangerous trend has serious consequences, including jail time, severe burn injuries, and even death.
Damn, Daniel
What’s more cringe than constantly repeating a line from a viral video? Daniel was thrust into the spotlight with internet videos showing his fabulous fashion sense.
The internet sensation spawned a meme, but thankfully, the crazy fad was short-lived.
Fads Will Always Come and Go
The great thing about culture is that it’s always evolving. New trends are constantly hitting the scene as old ones get worn out.
Things that are crazy popular today will be old news tomorrow when something shiny and new takes their place.
But we can always use Reddit threads to commiserate with others who thought it was cool with us.
Who knows, maybe dabbing will be back in style after this conversation!