You may think that the Hula Hoop was a fad born in the 1950s, but in fact people were doing much the same thing with circular hoops made from grape vines and stiff grasses all over the ancient world.

More than three thousand years ago, children in Egypt played with large hoops of dried grapevines. The toy was propelled along the ground with a stick or swung around at the waist.

During the fourteenth century, a "hooping" craze swept England, and it was as popular among adults as kids. The records of doctors at the time attribute numerous dislocated backs and heart attacks to "hooping." 

The word hula became associated with the toy in the early 1800s when British sailors visited the Hawaiian Islands and noted the similarity between "hooping" and hula dancing. 

In 1957, an Australian company began making wood rings for sale in retail stores.

The item attracted the attention of Wham-0, a fledgling California toy manufacturer. Richard P. Knerr and Arthur K. Melin, of Wham-O, manufactured a plastic hoop in a variety of bright colors. Knerr and Melin promoted it for months in 1958 on Southern California playgrounds where they would do demonstrations and give away hoops to get the children to learn and play. Their perseverence turned HULA HOOP into the greatest fad the country has ever seen.

Twenty-five million were sold in four months! The Hula Hoop was introduced in 1958 and made the two men very rich indeed.  

The fad died out in the sixties, but Hula Hoops are now very much with us again thanks to the fitness craze. What better way to grind off those unsightly bulges around the waist and hips.

The hoop is an ancient toy that has been used for centuries to entertain children. Do you remember having a hula hoop when you were a child? Chances are you do, and today you can still buy a hula hoop ... or many versions of the old hula hoop.

Hoops were played with in ancient times. Way back then the hoops were made out of bamboo, grass, metal, vines or wood.

The hula hoop cannot be patented. Wham-O began producing hula hoops in 1958. Wham-O is the most successful manufacturer of the hula hoop.

When you were a kid, hula hooping may have been just for you. Now it's for everyone. This form of exercise once used by ancient Greeks has found its way into pop culture for the third time. The plastic circle manufactured by Wham-o (also of Frisbee fame) is re-circumnavigating the circumferences of both young and middle aged North Americans, emerging now as hoop dance or just plain hooping.

Hooping is now all grown up and can challenge even the most coordinated of adults. You don't just "put the hoop around your waist and let fly." Now you're waist hooping, hip hooping, knee hooping, hooping while walking, dancing, halos (hoop overhead) and more.

An adult needs a larger hoop (about 40 inches in diameter) which rotates more slowly and with more momentum. This allows you not only to rediscover hooping in a dignified manner (the hoop does not end up around the ankles quite so frequently) but also to accomplish more complicated hoop acts such as walking, turning and stalls (Oooh! Hoop jargon!). A larger hoop also means a heavier hoop, and therefore more energy required to keep it going, thus a great workout. Hooping will also train core strength, coordination and agility. This activity can be done on the beach, in a park or at a picnic, and all ages love to give it a whirl.

Hooked on Hooping conducts a number of classes, and sells a variety of weighted hoops. Check it out.