The Art of Hula Hooping

It's hard to believe in an age of video games and whiz-bang gadgets, but the Hula Hoop once was the hippest toy around.

The hoopla began 50 years ago (June 19, 1958) when entrepreneurs Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin sought a trademark for a plastic cylinder based on a similar toy that had enjoyed modest success in Australia's school yards.

Wham-O, the company founded by Knerr and Melin, sold more than 100 million Hula Hoops — at a suggested retail price of $1.98 apiece — after just a year on the U.S. market. That was more than one Hula Hoop for every two Americans at the time.