Sometimes you know exactly how and why a thing has become all the rage. Society was primed, a movie studio put a bunch of money behind it, etc.
But other times it just seems like one day you’d never heard of a thing, and the next, everyone is talking about it.
These 15 Redditors have some pretty great examples that will really get you thinking!
15. At least it’s good for you.
Planking.
I had a whole album on fb dedicated to me laying face down in random places lmao.
14. Literally brawling.
Beanie Babies.
One day life is normal. The next day they’re everywhere, and people are brawling for specific ones.
13. Hard agree.
Fifty Shades of Gray.
It’s f*cking trash.
Ask any of your friends who have been in an abusive relationship.
12. Stop with the facts.
Going gluten-free.
Gluten is not bad for you unless you have celiac disease or are sensitive to it. In fact, by avoiding gluten, it could set you up for some nutritional deficiencies.
It makes it much harder for people who actually have celiac to be taken seriously.
11. See also: K-drama.
K-pop (in America). Nobody here really pays any attention to foreign music of any kind, then Psy drops Gangnam Style and suddenly
Korean boy bands are outselling domestic artists in a country who’s audience doesn’t even speak the language they’re singing in.
10. Still not even sure who he is, tbh.
Timotheé Chalamet.
9. Ask any 10yo you know.
Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode.
I remember reading about Fortnite when it was first announced as a zombie survival base building game and thinking that could be fun.
When they added the battle royale mode it totally eclipsed the original game (save the world).
8. I never knew it existed before, either.
Zoom.
So many other video call/chat services out there, but as soon as quarantine starts everyone is using Zoom, which I’ve never heard of beforehand.
It works shockingly better than most video conferencing systems out there.
Like skype has been a thing for ever and it’s still bloated and terrible.
7. Ah, Subway strikes again.
Sriracha.
I used to use it a lot and nobody knew about it. Then it blew up once subway introduced a sriracha sauce.
There was a Mexican place by me that had it for years before it got big. I didn’t know how to pronounce it so I just called it “cock sauce” because of the rooster on the bottle.
6. Pogs.
Pogs were so great, they were basically the first fad I got involved in.
I remember when they first came out, they were £1 a pack. The Beano (a British kids comic) had a free pack come with it but was only 39p or something silly so I bought like 10 copies of it to get a small collection. We were not very well off so that was kinda a big deal to me.
Oh, and we used to play for keeps between classes, it caused crap loads of arguments so the school decided to slammer ban on them.
5. I can get behind this one.
Currently, roller skates. The quad type with four wheels.
Back in the early 2000s it was scooby strings. Those skinny rubber strings you could plait and weave to make cool keyring.
Myself and my friends would even be walking while making them!
4. There’s just something about it…
Portland, Oregon.
When I grew up, I had to explain to people outside of the West Coast where Oregon even was or how to pronounce it. Everyone said Or-EE-gone. Now Portland is a minor hipster mecca and a political lightning rod.
My coworker’s son moved there. My coworker says that’s where young people go to retire.
3. Considering the terrible script, probably no one.
Frozen.
Who really expected that film to blow up like that?
2. There is something soothing about it.
Slime.
A gooey booger like mass, that makes you feel relaxed.
1. Back in the day…
Champion and Tommy Hillfiger.
I remember when I was growing up TH and Champion were some of the cheaper and ‘uglier’ clothes my parents bought me. Now they are super popular and I have to say that I like what they have now.
For the kids who don’t know what Champion was until it just had its overnight resurgence, imagine if Russell Athletic suddenly became immensely popular.
It’s true; I didn’t really expect any of these things to be big.
Tell us in the comments what you would add to the list!
