Wham-O introduced the Hula-Hoop® in 1958, based on an Australian concept. The toy’s history dates back to numerous cultures using hoops as toys and exercise equipment. After a school teacher in Sydney used a bamboo hoop in a PE class, a toymaker developed a polyethylene frame that was lighter and less expensive. Wham-O registered the name Hula-Hoop® and sold 25 million products in just four months. In the 1960s, ball bearings were added inside every Hula-Hoop® to create a sound when they spin.
Hula-Hoop® is a trademark of the Californian company Wham-O, also manufacturer of Frisbee®, Superball®, Hacky Sack® and Slip ‘N Slide, which introduced the Hula-Hoop® on the market in 1958 The Hula-Hoop® was developed by Wham-O founders Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr based on an Australian concept.
The use of hoops as toys and exercise equipment goes back a long way in numerous cultures. The hoops were rolled up and used for other games, but different cultures specifically used them to swing around the body, at the waist, or elsewhere. This was done, for example, by the Lakota Indians in North America.
The story goes that in the 1950s, a school teacher in Sydney was using a bamboo hoop with her students in a PE class, teaching them to roll the hoops around their waists in rhythmic swaying. Bamboo hoops were the first to be made, and a toymaker named Alex Tolmer investigated the possibility of mass production.
Tolmer developed a polyethylene frame. It was lighter than bamboo hoops and less expensive too. Tolmer’s company, Toltoys, sold 400,000 hoops in 1957. Toltoys and Wham-O were in a relationship, and Melin and Knerr were interested in further developing the hoop. A deal was made and Wham-O registered the name Hula-Hoop®.
After a few design changes, Melin and Knerr began introducing their Hula-Hoop® to the public in 1958, just one year after the popular Frisbee® was released. They did promotions for playgrounds and advertised on national television. The Hula-Hoop® has become such a fad that it has sold twenty-five million products in just four months. Competitors, seeing how infatuated people were, quickly found similar products.
In the 1960s, after a sharp decline in sales, Wham-O added ball bearings inside every Hula-Hoop® to create a sound when they spin. Other innovations include Hula-Hoops® that fold and vary in size to fit people with different waist sizes.
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