Fads Archives : The Retro Network

From Snack to Stardom: The Story of the California Raisins

The California Raisins became unlikely 80s icons, jumping from commercials to toys, cereal boxes, music, and TV before their claymation fame finally faded.

Whatever Happened to Water Beds?

Mickey Yarber

Water beds once ruled eighties and nineties bedrooms, turning ordinary sleep into a futuristic, sloshing adventure that felt as bold as the era itself.

Breaker Breaker: The CB Radio Craze That Took Over The 70s

Mickey Yarber

The 1970s CB radio craze turned everyday Americans into road‑ready personalities, creating a nationwide culture of slang, handles, and open‑road connection.

Beanie Babies: From Boom to Bust

Mickey Yarber

Beanie Babies rose from simple plush toys to a national obsession, then collapsed just as quickly, leaving behind one of the most unforgettable boom and bust stories of the 1990s.

Racing Through Childhood: The Rise of Slot Car Tracks

Mickey Yarber

Slot car racing turned living rooms into speedways, evolving from simple electric loops to wild themed sets that defined childhood play from the late seventies through the nineties and fueled imaginations for generations.

Hacky Sack: The Footbag Fad That Kicked It’s Way Into Pop Culture

Mickey Yarber

Before screens took over downtime, Hacky Sack ruled the social circle. A simple, rhythmic, low‑pressure game that turned schoolyards and campuses into laid‑back hangouts and became one of the most defining chill‑culture fads of the 1990s.

Talkboy: From Home Alone to Every Kid’s Wish List

Mickey Yarber

In the early 1990s, one toy captured the imagination of kids everywhere: the Talkboy. It was a handheld cassette recorder that could change the pitch of your voice, making it sound deeper or higher. The

HyperColor Was Going To Be the Fashion Trend Of the Future

Mickey Yarber

In the summer of 1991, fashion got weird—in the best way possible. That was the year Hypercolor shirts exploded onto the scene, turning ordinary cotton t-shirts into thermochromatic canvases that changed color with heat. For

POGs: The Fad That Slammed the ’90s

Mickey Yarber

In the world of ’90s playground obsessions, Tamagotchis, slap bracelets, and Beanie Babies, few fads hit harder (literally) than POGs. These colorful cardboard discs, paired with chunky “slammers,” turned recess into a battlefield of flips,

The George Foreman Grill

Jeff Sheldon

Do you remember the George Foreman Grill? I had one of these babies in my college dorm room, and even though it was against the rules, this little baby grilled me up a piece of

Unforgettable Fashion: Jelly Shoes

Mickey Yarber

In everything from digital watches to computers, the 80’s were filled with the hope of all the wonders science could concoct. Jelly shoes ranked high on the mad-scientist laboratory list, joining the ranks of rubber

Unforgettable Fashion: Members Only Jackets

Mickey Yarber

Groucho Marx once said, “I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.” Maybe he would have changed his mind if he could’ve been a part of the cool

Unforgettable Fashion: Swatch Watch

Mickey Yarber

Always new, always different. With Swatch, your watch was never plain, boring or dull. How many Swatch watches can fit on the average person’s wrist? Three was common, two was a must, and four was

Unforgettable Fashion: Alligator Shirts

Mickey Yarber

To those in the know, it’s actually a crocodile. But in the early ’80s, only a select few were in the know, and even fewer cared. In a case of mistaken identity, the Lacoste crocodile