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People are social beings, so whatever we say about the absolute independence of our judgments, it cannot be 100% true. After all, we are always influenced by other people, events in the outside world and, of course, various trends.

As they say, big trends are seen from a distance - and what once looked cool and stylish, after a few decades, may seem silly and ridiculous. For example, now I can't look at some '00s photos of myself wearing a mullet without a facepalm. But I was on trend at the time! Damn it, it turns out that there are and have been so many stupid, ridiculous and just dangerous trends in the world that netizens now recall and reasonably criticize.

More info: Reddit

#1

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Child beauty pageants

QSlade , Jansel Ferma Report

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David H
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yes, ban any sexualized performances with children and ban child access to sexualized performances. Ban them all

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#2

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Gender reveal parties, especially the ones with fire

pamplemouss , RDNE Stock project Report

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Gøøse
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Y'all hear about the gender reveal party where the father filled an umbrella stand with, like, 4 pounds of Tanneritw? It ended up exploding like a pipe-bomb, the shrapnel ended up killing someone.

SCP 4666
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or the one where they dyed an entire waterfall blue. Somewhere in Brazil. They received a hefty clean up bill

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Bumblebee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my brother and his wife found out the gender of their baby they mailed us a gender reveal thingy. It was a rubber duck with a bath bomb attached. Whatever color the water turned was the gender. It wasnt a big party and it was mostly just funny

FantastiKitty
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's cute and the family had fun. I don't think all gender reveal parties are bad, only when it causes harm.

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Nay Wilson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I watched a video of a gender reveal party. All the guests, some 20 odd people, were given a cupcake and they each bit into their cupcake hoping to find the colour in the centre telling the gender of the child. It was obvious that the cupcake with the coloured centre had been given to one of the parents so it was a 4 minute long video of people biting into a little cake and pretending to pout in disappointment. That’s 4 minutes of my life I won’t get back

Pink Princess
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually like gender reveal parties as long as you clean up after yourself and don't start a fire

Chez2202
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would never go to one. The parents are the only people likely to care about the gender of their child and they already know because they ordered the cake / balloons / smoke bombs / confetti / whatever. Attention seeking.

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Nonesuch
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just another trend where people spend millions of dollars.

Heather W
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The one I heard about that made me laugh was someone whose family wanted a gender reveal. So they had 2 jars with colored confetti. 1 blue and 1 pink. the jar of the gender had 100 pieces of confetti while the other had 99. I think the guests had to count like 3 times and were so over it by the end lol

Chez2202
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would be legendary if they got a 3 year old to fill the jars. There could be 127 pieces of confetti in there and the kid wouldn’t give a shiny shite because they have Lego to play with.

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ralphmacchiosthirdwife
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my family did a small gender reveal for my baby brother, where we went to a bakery and had them fill the cake with either pink or blue sprinkles, depending on what the doctor wrote. some of them are fine, its just the ones where they destroy wildlife that are horrible.

Dandelion Patch
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These things tend to be full of outdated stereotypes. Not a fan; especially not when they set things on fire or create a deadly pipe bomb and lose a grandmother in the process

Diolla
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Am sorry to say that we now have gender reveal parties in my country because it seems that anything they do in the USA needs to be done here as well. What happended to just TELLING ppl what sex your baby is. And why is it even important? Ppl will see the sex on the birth announcements.

Tuesday's child
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I honestly think that gender reveal parties are cute. As long as you don't blow up anything

leetokofi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why does it matter if the baby is a boy or girl? also why have a whole event? makes no sense

brittany
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i dont even get gender reveals that are "normal" i mean your kid could be trans, or non-binary. heck the sonogram could be wrong. just hope for a healthy baby and call it a day

Marie A (Blondebat)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A massive brush fire in CA was started by sparklers/fireworks at gender reveal recently. Caused a s%$#load of damage. I think they fined the idiots responsible for the damage they caused.

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#3

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) foot binding. that practice in china where they break and bind young girls' feet to make them more feminine

JasenBorne , wikimedia Report

Some of the trends that you will see in this collection were associated with people's religious beliefs, while some, many decades or even centuries ago, were supposed to emphasize social status. Well, some just appeared literally out of the blue, because some celebrities acted in one way or another, and then numerous followers picked up the idea. But what exactly unites all these trends is that probably none of the people who followed them at that moment thought they were acting really stupid.

#4

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Saggy below the butt pants. Sure, sag your pants a few inches if you think you got steez, but Jesus Christ, if your belt is below 100% of your butt crack, you’re an idiot

Ogodnotagain , Ozzy Delaney Report

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Benita Valdez
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🎶Pants on the ground, pants on the ground. Lookin like a fool wit yo pants on the ground🎶

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#5

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Overusing terms like gaslighting, bipolar, or narcissist to where they've lost meaning. Someone disagreeing with you isn't gaslighting, having a change of mood isn't bipolar, and your ex may have been a d**k but that doesn't necessarily mean they're a narcissist. As someone who's autistic I also don't like the similar trend of people self diagnosing. There's nothing wrong with looking up symptoms for mental disorders, learning difficulties, etc if you go to your doctor. But lot's of people don't, they simply decide they have all these problems.

AliceTheOmelette , Yan Krukau Report

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Amy Taylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bullying is another one… bullying is the relentless, cruel torture of someone for doing nothing other than existing. Now if you disagree with someone, or call them out on their s****y behavior, you’re called a bully.

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#6

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Using animals as entertainment

dkmlink , Becky Phan Report

"History knows many ridiculous traditions. More precisely, those that today we consider ridiculous, many years ago, were considered completely logical and appropriate," says Valery Bolgan, a historian and journalist, editor-in-chief of the Intent news agency from Ukraine, to whom Bored Panda reached out for a comment. "No, many 'challenges' and flash mobs of our time or of the last decades intend to show their own absurdity - but this is already the specificity of the postmodern nature of modern culture."

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"By the way, another trend that runs through the millennia of human history is the tendency to idealize the past and believe that it used to be better in the 'good old days'. After all, one of the first records about what a decline in morals had taken place and how young people were inferior to previous generations applies, if I'm not mistaken, by the second millennium BC. So, it's okay - ten to twenty years will pass, and we will remember with nostalgia, for example, 'good old TikTok'. It is likely that this will happen," Valery states.

#7

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Gallon Smashing 'prank' where a person would purposely drop gallons of milk in a grocery store while making it look like an accident, leaving a huge mess for some poor supermarket employee to clean up.

Random-Username7272 , www.bluewaikiki.com Report

#8

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) there's some good ones here but the licking stuff at the grocery store and putting it back is a top contender

midwifecrisisss , Brooke Cagle Report

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#9

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) People on social media posting inappropriate pictures of themselves at solemn sites to try and seem edgy. (IE: Auschwitz, the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, Ground Zero in NYC, Pearl Harbor site, Vietnam War Memorial, Tsitsernakaberd Memorial complex, Srebrenica Genocide Memorial, etc)

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In any case, compared to many of the traditions that people followed centuries ago, modern trends - even dangerous ones - often look like innocent child's play. After all, for example, when medieval townspeople deliberately slayed cats, considering them accomplices of witches - and then there was no one to exterminate the rats that carried the plague - these delusions really cost the lives of millions of people. Now just compare this, maybe, with the recent TikTok trend of people stealing toilets and stuff from schools. As they say, everything is relative...

#10

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) The fire challenge where these kids were pouring acetone on themselves then lighting themselves on fire. Apparently it was supposed to be a short burning sensation, but as you’d expect there were kids who got seriously injured from the burns, and a mom who recorded her son doing the challenge even got arrested after being reported to social services.

InfiniteCalendar1 , Dazzle Jam Report

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#11

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Lip fillers

HeftyAd2780 , SHVETS production Report

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Woodchip
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing more attractive than what looks like a prolapsed a**s on the face.

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#12

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) I would say pulling pranks on random people in public.

I am secretly waiting for the video of a prankster going to sleep permanently.

Skechaj , RDNE Stock project Report

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Sonja
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good and truly harmless pranks exist, but they are very, very rare. Most pranks bank on laughing at others people's suffering. I saw real celebrities sit in wax figure museums pretending to be wax figures. That was funny. I saw a prank pretending that people had accidentally ordered a real horse instead of a pretty figurine, but in the end the people were surprised with the really pretty figurine and a day on a horse farm. That was funny too. I saw a prank were they surprised a person thinking they were testing restaurants being served with their favourite childhood dinner. That was lovely. But most pranks are just cruel. The good pranks aim to make the pranked person happy in the end. But most only make people miserable so others can laugh at them.

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In any case, there are trends without which the history of humanity would be much better, and hardly anyone will argue with this. And now we're definitely looking forward to you adding some comments with modern or ancient habits and traditions you also considering to be absolutely weird or ridiculous. After all, we might have missed something in this selection, so let's help each other to refresh our memory in the comments...

#13

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) I don't know if anyone has posted this already, but I recall a while ago there was something called the "knockout challenge" or "knockout game". It basically involved a bunch of teenagers and even adults walking or running up to someone, usually on the streets, and hitting them as hard as they could in the face with a closed fist, hoping to knock them out.

I just looked this up and, apparently, this kind of "game" dates back to the 1990's.

I hope this isn't a thing anymore.

toyou123 , samer daboul Report

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Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Still played by some on the streets round here, usually when they are drunk. One guy died recently. ****ing idiots.

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#14

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) For me, I’ll never be able to process the fad in the Victorian era of *EATING EGYPTIAN MUMMIES*

Never will that s**t not send me right back to pure disbelief, horror and confusion.

oby100 , Shvets Anna Report

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Jo Davies
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A bit like some cultures believing that consuming rhino horn with improve life in the bedroom. It is hair very much like that on your own head.

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#15

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) [Taking women's lives] for “witchcraft”

back-to-the-back , Dmitry Vechorko Report

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robin aldrich
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd like to add: putting them in institutions for what was diagnosed as emotional problems, women, especially ones who enjoyed sex, they were given hysterectomies because it was thought they had a wandering uterus. That's right, their uterus would wander. And it caused them problems, so it had to be removed. And they were put in insane asylums.

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#16

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) If you think Tiktok trends are stupid or dangerous, people of the past were even worse.

When people thought radium was good for you, there was a huge trend to put it in EVERYTHING. Face creams. Water crocks. Toothpaste. Hair products. Makeup. Chocolate. Toys. Nightlights. Watches. Spas. Impotence treatments. SUPPOSITORIES. Yes, people were sticking radioactive stuff up their a*s in the name of health.

People would even paint their TEETH with it for the glow. It blows my f*****g mind as a chemist.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12732/9-ways-people-used-radium-we-understood-risks

StrawberriesRGood4U , Mauswiesel Report

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#17

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Burning people who followed a different religion than the current ruling class. I'm looking at you Catholic England and your burning of the heathen Protestants for daring to publish the Bible in English.

And by burning, I do mean alive. I can't think of many worse things.

2_Sheds_Jackson , Miriam Espacio Report

#18

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) The one where people were trying to jump away from moving trains last second

Shadow948 , Pixabay Report

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PunnyPanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was in 5th grade, the local transit authority came in to teach us about the dangers of trains. They showed us a short film called "Chicken on the Tracks" about these kids who would dare each other to stay on the tracks in front of a train til the last sec. It was pretty well made, and got you emotionally involved in the characters. The last scene, a kid barely escapes, but out of nowhere, gets hit by a train coming the other way. However, the worst part is the very end when the cops are interviewing the surviving kids. Another cop walks between them and the camera carrying a CLEAR PLASTIC BAG OF A KIDS LIQUIFIED GUTS. WE WERE 10 YEARS OLD.

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#19

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) The Tide Pod Challenge.

NoBenefit9431 , wallpaperflare Report

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Cara
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Google suggests that this involves putting the laundry capsule in your mouth and/or biting into it whilst filming. Darwin Award candidates obviously.

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#20

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Probably the trend of exiling cats out of European towns during the back plague.

TheLeemurrrrr , Kostiantyn Klymovets Report

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Display_Name
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wouldn't the cats help prevent or at least tone down the black plague? I thought it was caused by rats.

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#21

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) mukbang videos.

creamywhip , GONGSAM TABLE 이공삼 Report

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Dazzler
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mukbang was originally about people sitting down and eating on camera, which is great for those who don't have anybody in real life to have a meal with. But then it blew up and caught the attention of mainstream YouTubers—now here we are.

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#22

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) I was going to go with ripping out thousands of people's still-beating hearts as a sacrifice to the sun god, but it seems that people are interpreting this as worst *social media* trend ever.

rinkydinkmink , CHRISTO JAMES V Report

#23

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) X-Ray parties: People would get together X-Ray themselves and each other exposing themselves to huge amount of radiation.
The Tape Worm Diet. People would give themselves a tapeworm to lose weight, then drink kerosene to kill the tape worm.
Both around 1900.

thestenz , Anna Shvets Report

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TwirlyGirly
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And then there's the former leader of the U.S. asking his top immunologists to investigate whether people infected with COVID-19 could potentially be cured by washing out their insides with bleach or disinfectant. This was in 2020.

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#24

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Lick weird stuff during COVID challenge. Let’s try and get sick. Please people have you heard of hepatitis? Typhus? Salmonella?

Ginnylala , Alexander Grey Report

#25

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Ragebait.

Not only is it garbage quality content, it's done on purpose and people that interact and share only make it more popular.

eddie_ironside , Avi Richards Report

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TwirlyGirly
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

According to slang.net: "Rage bait is similar to clickbait but focuses on eliciting user anger to increase clicks, traffic, revenue, etc. (part of rage farming)."

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#26

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Happy Slapping.

Was a trend in the UK back in 2005 where you would slap a random person, hard, and video it. It usually turned into a fight if the person that got slapped reacted. I’m pretty sure it lead to a few deaths.

Savool , Andrew Le Report

#27

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) That Tiktok trend several months ago where people stole toilets and stuff from schools.

Ill-Subject8076 , Ian Ransley Report

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WonderWoman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stealing a toilet from the bathroom of a school where it only gets a cursory cleaning every so often has got to be the nastiest of all nasty things to steal.

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#28

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Bum fighting. (Really? Am I the only one who remembers this?)

Saracartwheels123 , MART PRODUCTION Report

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LynnSynn
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to sell the DVDs in the adult store I worked at. Found them more disgusting than some of the extreme adult movies we would get.

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#29

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Using exaggerated, unnecessary terminology in day to day life

Identity politics/social grouping

DavosLostFingers , fauxels Report

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Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's that you fatuous sanctimonious and utterly vacuous cretin?

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#30

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Vocal fry.

Fishtaco1234 , Anderson Guerra Report

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juice
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

vocal fry is a way of speaking where you drop your voice to its lowest natural register, causing your vocal folds to shorten and creating creaky sounds when you talk. if you've heard any of the Kardashians speak, or Britney Spears' singing "baby voice", that's a pretty good example. it's usually observed/found more annoying in women, but lots of people do it and it isn't necessarily bad for your voice. here's a helpful video if you want to learn more (skip to 3:45): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTslqcXsFd4&feature=youtu.be

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#31

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Redneck Chic'

Where men and women (usually from up North or high end areas) drive big (nice) trucks, wear Carhartt, blast country, have a wad of dip in and believe they're like the people those hick-hop songs are about.

readcommentbackwards , Brock Wegner Report

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David H
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excuse me with the "usually from up North" have you been to the Northern part of the USA? You know it is more than NYC and Boston? Go to upstate NY, its god, guns, and pickups, where Republicans roam, etc. The North, South, and Midwest are all very similar, its a rural/urban divide. I understand saying the "high end" areas with the fakery, but not us in the North. Go to upstate NY, the reason the guy has the ford F350 turbo charge with the extra raised tires is because they can get 20 inches of snow in a winter, and rural plowing isnt the same as city plowing.

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#32

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) Pencil thin eyebrows. Dafuq was that?

Byakubeeni , New Line Cinema[a] Dark Horse Entertainment Report

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Linda Souza
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

2021 eyebrows are even worse. They look like a scared cat with the hair standing straight up.

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#34

Larry the cable guy

Andre1001235 Report

#35

"What Was The Worst Trend That Has Ever Existed?" (30 Replies) **Oh Long Johnson**

MacyTmcterry , Waggle TV Report

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