Wednesday, September 17, 2008

(Still) Nifty at Fifty and Counting (Hoops, That is!)















We are celebrating the end of summer with a salute to the 50th anniversary of the hula hoop. Although hoops have a long history (in ancient Greece they were used for exercise,) it was in 1958 that Wham-O began to mass market hula hoops in America. The first summer they sold over 100 million. Remembering hooping from my childhood, I wondered how popular it still is. Apparently, VERY! I found directions on how to hula hoop at a hooping Internet site, amazing YouTube videos, and step-by-step directions on how to make my own hoop.
Our display invites you to give the hoop a whirl around your hips. Mr. Nelson was the first to demonstrate how hooping’s done. Students and staff were awed by his prowess.

1 comment:

P.I.E. said...

Dear Pesky Librarians!

If you have a Hula-Hoop display n a library, then you need my new book on WHAM-O there as well. There's an entire chapter dedicated to that not-so-humble hoop!

It's from Chronicle Books! HERE:http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main,book-info/store,books/products_id,7522/path,1-42-35/title,Wham-O-Super-Book/