From 60 years ago: The hula hoop comes to Canada

Sixty years ago, it was a trendy thing in Canada and CBC Radio was explainingthe toy and the accompanying fadto listeners.

Assignment interviewed a manufacturer who told the program that Wham-O, the U.S. toy company, had brought the hula hoop to the North American market, after getting inspiration from a product inAustralia.

Archives4:53Toys and Games: Hula Hoop craze hits Canada

One of the biggest and most profitable fads of all time takes Canada by storm.

'Wiggling within their hoops'

The hula hoop craze was also covered by CBC's Newsmagazine the following month, when viewers saw film of kids taking part in a so-called Hula-Thon in Hamilton.

"The present craze began last spring and since has swept North America, bringing a $30-million profit to the manufacturers of the toys," Newsmagazine reported to viewers.

"Now 16 million youngsters are wiggling within their hoops like hysterical hula dancers."

The program also claimed some parents were finding that hula hoops were "a good form of calisthenics," though these older practitioners would likelybe found doingthis "behind closed doors."