“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died

Trend cycles are incredibly short nowadays. It seems like as soon as I start to understand one craze, another comes around to replace it the very next day. There must be a massive graveyard of forgotten fads buried deep in our memories.

So today, we’re going to dig up some of those old trends to remind you just how big they once were. From segways to fidget spinners, Redditors have recently been discussing all of the former “next big things” that are nowhere to be found today. Enjoy reading about all of these trends that had surprisingly short lifespans, and be sure to upvote the ones that you expected to become much more popular!

This post may include affiliate links.

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died There was a trend years ago where people would collect trash from river and post it.

Of course a good trend like this did not last long.

MotanulScotishFold , Thirdman / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

125points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Being nice to each other at the start of the Pandemic (spring 2020).

Away-Value9398 , Tim Douglas / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

84points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died The whole 3D craze back in like 2010. Everybody thought it was the future after Avatar came out in theaters. EVERY movie tried to be 3D after that, there were 3D TVs, 3D phones, the Nintendo 3DS. And I think the craze disappeared in like year because it gave people headaches 😂.

KenzieeJayyy , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

78points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Those that got a mustache tattoo on the side of your finger…….y’all ok?

Downtown_Bread_:
I was like 12 when this trend was going on, and thank god they don't let 12-year-olds get tattoos because that would have been me.

TypeNo2194 , ilovecoffeeandcarbs / reddit (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

78points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Remember in the early 2010s when there was a frozen yogurt place on every block? 2-3 years later and they all seemed to vanish and nobody wants froyo no mo.

bucksncowboys513 , Neil Bates / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

77points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Flash mobs.

Certain_Yam_110 , Gonzalo Malpartida / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

72points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Segways were going to revolutionize transport.

ackmondual:
It was predicted that whole cities would be redesigned to accommodate them!

Independent-Bike8810 , Janusz Mitura / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

70points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Planking.

AlessandroTheGr8:
So simple, silly, and harmless. I liked it.

No-Self-Edit , Edvin J. / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

68points

POST

View more comments

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Glasses without the lens… cringe.

spicyananas , Marcela Alessandra / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

67points

POST

View more comments

#10

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died S’well bottles.
Replaced with Stanley cups.
I wonder what overpriced portable liquid holder comes next?

ImaginaryPlace , zero promosi / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

65points

POST

View more comments

#11

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Pokémon Go.

I know some folks still play, but once upon a time I remember taking a walk in the park and people were just on their phones pointing them this way and that and walking in circles and then there’d be a group huddled together cause they were taking down a gym or something.

LuvYouMost , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

64points

POST

View more comments

#12

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Google Glass. It was supposed to be the future, but it disappeared faster than you could say "augmented reality".

goathill:
I do think this will get big decades from now when tech has caught up. It was simply released too early and under-delivered.

DazzlingZaria , Matt Brown / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

63points

POST

View more comments

#13

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Pogs? Anyone? Am I too old?

I had a kicka*s beavis and butthead slammer.

Smuff23:

I killed pogs at my school as a kid. I had a shredded 8-ball slammer that would turn whole stacks over like 95% of the time and 95 might be a low guess. Too many kids started complaining and I ended up with too many pogs.
Granted it probably should have died as soon as they realized we were gambling the pogs.

DisasterIsMyMaster , kafka4prez / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

63points

POST

View more comments

#14

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Who remembers tamagotchi?

Referral-Split , Lauren Garza / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

59points

POST

View more comments

#15

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Selfie sticks were EVERYWHERE, now kinda embarrassing.

Unfair_Care2806 , Mizuno K / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

59points

POST

View more comments

#16

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died The fidget spinner craze was wild! One minute, everyone was spinning them like they were the coolest toy on the planet, and the next, they were collecting dust in drawers. It’s like they went from “Look at me, I’m stress-relieving!” to “Why do I have 12 of these?” faster than you can say “what was I thinking?”.

Both_t*ts0566 , David Bartus / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

58points

POST

View more comments

#17

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Gangnam style.

Rhearoze2k , Love WildManChris Report

Final score:

58points

POST

View more comments

#18

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Being a crypto-currency investor, for about three months everyone thought they were wolf of Wall Street, now they are all back to be stray dogs of skid row.

Glad-Introduction833 , Alesia Kozik / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

54points

POST

View more comments

#19

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Feather earrings in 2011.

SRB112:
I didn't notice that in 2011, but I remember when they were popular in the '70s.

Mysteriousmanatee714 , YekuStudio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

52points

POST

View more comments

#20

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Arguments over whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold.

getridofwires , Veldron Report

Final score:

52points

POST

View more comments

#21

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Hypercolor shirts.

beyondthunderdrone:

I remember making out with my girlfriend one time when she was wearing a Hypercolor shirt. She had to cool it off in the car AC to change the color back before going inside so her parents wouldn't notice she had been so hot! lol

m4tth4z4rd , 1morepic_really / reddit (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

52points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#22

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died People dressing up like creepy clowns and showing up in random places at night. I think all it took was for a few of them to get their a*ses tore up by the dogs of a few of their people targets, and it suddenly went away real quick.

BS_Analyzer , Yousuf Sarfaraz / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

51points

POST

View more comments

#23

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died “So demure. So mindful.”

So stupid.

Steplgu , Edmond Dantès / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

48points

POST

View more comments

#24

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Grills (the teeth version)- for a hot second there, people were putting all sorts of bling on their teeth- kind of when that Nelly song “Grillz” came out in 2005. I was in dental hygiene school and I saw the tooth jewels and art all of the time. I’d say around 2008 it started to kind of die down and now I almost never see them.

** I did see that Simone Biles has tooth gems but her sister is in the dental field, so go figure!

jawjockey , The Earthy Jay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

44points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#25

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Slime. My daughter had a slime factory at home and was selling it at school. Every piece of furniture has slime remnants still embedded in it.

BilboreeBeegins , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

43points

POST

View more comments

#26

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Saying YOLO.

ThrowADogAScone , Los Muertos Crew / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

42points

POST

View more comments

#27

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died I forget what it was called but people would film a video where everyone in a group froze in place.

Ok_Cupcake_5226:
The mannequin challenge!

shananies , Ben Hoffman / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

41points

POST

View more comments

#28

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died NFTs.

WardenCommCousland:
I was so freaking glad when this went away. My stepsister's now ex-husband was hard into crypto and was trying to sell everyone, including my dad and stepmother, on NFTs. He was visiting clubs trying to sell near retirement-age Boomers on investing in them to 'diversify [their] portfolios' and talking about how they were going to be the biggest thing to ever hit finance.
And then they bottomed out. To my knowledge, my parents didn't invest in them, but my step-sister's finances were not in a great place for a while.

joe_chicago , pinguino k / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

40points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#29

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Vine.

cfu48 , Esther Vargas / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

38points

POST

View more comments

#30

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died The Cinnamon Challenge.

Additional_Apple5837 , Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

38points

POST

View more comments

#31

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died The Live Strong type rubber bracelets. I remember my mom driving me to multiple stores when I was in 3rd grade to find some. I soon discovered a rash from them.

Ben-Stanley , Denise P.S. / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

36points

POST

View more comments

#32

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Guys wearing two polo shirts and popping up both collars.

imakedankmemes:
This couldn’t die fast enough.

unhinged_behavior:
I remember a short-lived trend of polo shirts that had words printed in the collar so when you popped it up, the person behind you could read the word 'DOPE' or something. I worked at a PacSun at the time, and we sold SO MANY of those.

Chicagosox133 , fauxels / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

35points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#33

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Cup stacking was big for a minute, the middle school even had cup stacking competitions after school.

atlantachicago , Rowan Peter / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

32points

POST

View more comments

#34

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died Hoverboards.

Justaredditor85 , Airam Dato-on / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

32points

POST

View more comments

#35

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died The feathers or glitter strands you can attach to your hair. Use to be all the rage in high school.

Pkmnkat , Stacie / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

25points

POST

View more comments

Note: this post originally had 66 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

Read less »

Hi there! I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. My job is to ensure that all the articles are aesthetically pleasing. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from all the relationship drama to lots and lots of memes and, my personal favorites, funny cute cats. When I am not perfecting the images, you can find me reading with a cup of matcha latte and a cat in my lap, taking photos (of my cat), getting lost in the forest, or simply cuddling with my cat... Did I mention that I love cats?

Read less »

What do you think ?

POST

Kathy Dragonfly 1 month ago

Second Life! Everybody who had internet had an account, the company i worked for back then tried to open a branch in there and so many people were worried that life would fully shift to virtual

15points

Binky Melnik 1 month ago

Gosh; now THERE’S a memory! I’d been so sure it was gonna take off, and now here I am thinking “I can’t remember the last time I thought about it!”

3points

Load More Replies...

Multa Nocte 1 month ago

Oooops! I haven't heard of half of these!

14points

Gavin Johnson 1 month ago

The turnover of trends has accelerated since the advent of social media / the internet. In the 60s-90s trends travelled slowly and had longevity, hula hoops, skateboards, BMX, yo-yos, clackers, deeley boppers, fluorescent socks, leg warmers, tie dye shirts, hand held Nintendo lcd games, you name it, the trends took time to move across countries and continents. Now my daughter is watching TikTok videos produced by her favourite k-pop band (Stray Kids) in real time and their ideas are global in seconds. Sadly this means they disappear just as quickly. Slow media will never return but it had its good points.

9points

Jean Jacket 1 month ago

What about that trend where a minimum wage job could afford you a 3 bedroom house, two cars, annual vacations, no stress grocery shopping, etc.. Sadly, I was born too late for that one.

3points

Pandarosa 1 month ago

That trend never existed, really hope this is sarcasm!

1point

Load More Replies...

Roan The Demon Kitty 1 month ago

Another trend that was cringe and I'm glad died out: those tattoos people would get on the inside of their lip so when they pulled their lip down it'd say something stupid or whatever. I love tattoos, but god they were so damn stupid and pointless. (and probably dangerous, since they'd easily get infected somewhere like the mouth)

3points

Johnny McFearless 1 month ago

Kind of surprised no one mentioned "swag" or cicada 2014.

3points

John Nelson 1 month ago

The fad of hiking pants down to the point of their a** hanging out. Thankfully I haven't seen much of that anymore. In my area at least, the open mockery likely had something to do with it! :)

2points

AR 1 month ago

Trends are so ridiculous. I never have understood why people get so caught up in them. Tribalism or something?

2points

Levi Gordon 1 month ago

Kidz Bop had a stranglehold over my second grade years.

2points

Beak Hookage 1 month ago

Anyone still remember LiveJournal? There was also "raw chickening", in which a person would get naked and pose curled up so they looked kind of like a chicken ready for the oven. But you haven't heard of it because it never even became a trend. Someone did it exactly twice despite claims going around that it was "growing increasingly popular" and then it died right there and then.

2points

Mi So 1 month ago

Big dance-video style commercials (I think it was for Gap?) Crazy Little Thing Called Love was definitely one of them, but I can’t recall the others now. There were a few.

2points

Betta Fish 1 month ago

tide podssss

1point

Kar Red Roses 1 month ago

I miss telephone charms. I used to have a tiny my little pony dangling from my cool razr flip phone

1point

Ann Mohrmann 1 month ago

They left out slap bracelets, which were about the same time as pogs. Also side ponytails, backwards baseball caps, and shoulder pads

1point

ElfVibratorGlitter 1 month ago

Slap bracelets is on there

1point

Load More Replies...

Steve Hall 1 month ago

Nobody mentioned the yo-yo or the hulahoop.

1point

Huddo's sister 1 month ago

Maybe because they still get dragged out every few years. I don't know any kids who wouldn't recognise them.

1point

Load More Replies...

Michael P. 1 month ago

Fads always come and go and sometimes bring back memories. Anyone remember the Harlem Shake? Another popular music video after Gangnam Style that everyone got into.

1point

Happynyss 1 month ago

This gave me so much nostalgia 😭

1point

Zephyr343 1 month ago

Kony 2012 and Spinner rims on cars come to mind.

1point

Khloieo 1 month ago

Gallon of milk challenge p. Thank god

1point

Kangaroo 1 month ago

The old iPod commercials with the colourful backgrounds and dancing silhouettes

1point

Aidan Campbell 1 month ago

36% Yes, it brings back memories & 36% Sometimes, depending on the trend

1point

weatherwitch 3 weeks ago

I've never heard of almost all of these, I'm way too old 🤣🤣

0points

POST

Kathy Dragonfly 1 month ago

Second Life! Everybody who had internet had an account, the company i worked for back then tried to open a branch in there and so many people were worried that life would fully shift to virtual

15points

Binky Melnik 1 month ago

Gosh; now THERE’S a memory! I’d been so sure it was gonna take off, and now here I am thinking “I can’t remember the last time I thought about it!”

3points

Load More Replies...

Multa Nocte 1 month ago

Oooops! I haven't heard of half of these!

14points

Gavin Johnson 1 month ago

9points

Jean Jacket 1 month ago

What about that trend where a minimum wage job could afford you a 3 bedroom house, two cars, annual vacations, no stress grocery shopping, etc.. Sadly, I was born too late for that one.

3points

Pandarosa 1 month ago

That trend never existed, really hope this is sarcasm!

1point

Load More Replies...

Roan The Demon Kitty 1 month ago

3points

Johnny McFearless 1 month ago

Kind of surprised no one mentioned "swag" or cicada 2014.

3points

John Nelson 1 month ago

The fad of hiking pants down to the point of their a** hanging out. Thankfully I haven't seen much of that anymore. In my area at least, the open mockery likely had something to do with it! :)

2points

AR 1 month ago

Trends are so ridiculous. I never have understood why people get so caught up in them. Tribalism or something?

2points

Levi Gordon 1 month ago

Kidz Bop had a stranglehold over my second grade years.

2points

Beak Hookage 1 month ago

2points

Mi So 1 month ago

Big dance-video style commercials (I think it was for Gap?) Crazy Little Thing Called Love was definitely one of them, but I can’t recall the others now. There were a few.

2points

Betta Fish 1 month ago

tide podssss

1point

Kar Red Roses 1 month ago

I miss telephone charms. I used to have a tiny my little pony dangling from my cool razr flip phone

1point

Ann Mohrmann 1 month ago

They left out slap bracelets, which were about the same time as pogs. Also side ponytails, backwards baseball caps, and shoulder pads

1point

ElfVibratorGlitter 1 month ago

Slap bracelets is on there

1point

Load More Replies...

Steve Hall 1 month ago

Nobody mentioned the yo-yo or the hulahoop.

1point

Huddo's sister 1 month ago

Maybe because they still get dragged out every few years. I don't know any kids who wouldn't recognise them.

1point

Load More Replies...

Michael P. 1 month ago

Fads always come and go and sometimes bring back memories. Anyone remember the Harlem Shake? Another popular music video after Gangnam Style that everyone got into.

1point

Happynyss 1 month ago

This gave me so much nostalgia 😭

1point

Zephyr343 1 month ago

Kony 2012 and Spinner rims on cars come to mind.

1point

Khloieo 1 month ago

Gallon of milk challenge p. Thank god

1point

Kangaroo 1 month ago

The old iPod commercials with the colourful backgrounds and dancing silhouettes

1point

Aidan Campbell 1 month ago

36% Yes, it brings back memories & 36% Sometimes, depending on the trend

1point

weatherwitch 3 weeks ago

I've never heard of almost all of these, I'm way too old 🤣🤣

0points

“Now Kinda Embarrassing”: 35 Trends That Blew Up As Quickly As They Died

Games

Adelaide Ross

Adelaide Ross

Gabija Saveiskyte

Gabija Saveiskyte

Word Search

WordroW

Jigsaw

Crossword

Sudoku

Picdoku

Killer Sudoku

Kriss Kross

Word Flower