Hula hoop
From Free net encyclopedia
- This article is about the hula hoop toy. For the snack food, see Hula Hoops.
Image:Hula hoop girl 01.jpg The hula hoop is a toy hoop that promotes physical activity. Today it is often made of plastic and twirled around the waist or limbs.
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History
Children around the world have always played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them. Traditional materials for hoops have included grapevines and stiff grasses. In Egypt around 3000 years ago, hoops made out of grape vines were propelled around the ground with sticks. In ancient Greece their use was recommended for losing weight. In the 14th century, "hooping" was popular in England and medics blamed it for heart attacks and back dislocations. The word "hula" was added in the early 18th century as sailors that visited Hawaii noticed the similarity between hula dancing and hooping.
In 1957 the hula hoop was reinvented by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, who had founded the Wham-O company in 1948. The idea came from a Californian who had visited Australia who told Knerr and Melin about children twirling bamboo hoops around the waist in gym class. So the new Hula Hoops were created with Marlex, a recently invented durable plastic (where the hoop hype helped as a kickstarter for Marlex production). Today the hula hoop is known as the biggest and most profitable fad of the 1950s.
After the hoop was released in 1958, Wham-O sold over 100 million in two years. This was referenced in the 1994 movie The Hudsucker Proxy by the Coen Brothers, which gives a fictional account of how it was created. As the fad burned out, Wham-O again struck lucky with the release of their Frisbee.
One famous hooper is Lori Lynn Lomeli.
Dance
A variety of dance forms have incorporated the hula hoop, and the hoop has inspired much original dancing.
One famous hoop dancer is Adriano Celentano.
Circus
The hula hoop emerged in the world of circus in the 1960s. Russian and Chinese artists took the hula hoop to extremes. These influenced contemporary circus artists like Australian circus comedienne and hula hoop historian Judith Lanigan, who choreographed the Dying Swan — "a mix of tragedy and hula hoops" — using 30 hula hoops.
Today
The past few years have seen the re-emergence of hula hooping, spread by fans of jambands like The String Cheese Incident and attendees of Burning Man. These 21st century hoopers are making their own (much larger and heavier) hoops out of polyethylene tubing. These hoops are usually covered in a fabric or plastic tape to ease the amount of work in keeping a hoop twirling around the dancer, and can be very colorful, utilizing glow-in-the dark, patterned, or sparkling tape.
External links
- The Hula Hoop a comprehensive study of the true history of the hula hoop, its use in circus, health benefits and how to hula hoop from beginners to advanced separations and manipulations
- Hooping.org is dedicated to the emerging hula hooping community. Includes a weblog, photos, discussion boards and information about classes and other hooping events.
- Hula Hoop history - A timeline
- Hula-Hoop Manufacturer - Wholesale supplier