In 1958, Wham-O founders Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr came up with the crazy idea for a circular hoop made of plastic. As it turned out, the idea was a pretty good one: Wham-O went on to sell 25 million such hoops in the first four months of production. But the company didn’t receive a patent on the invention, now formally known as the Hula Hoop, until March 5, 1963.
Photos from 1958 onward show a much simpler time when a circle of plastic could bring pure joy.
See the photos of people enjoying toy hoops and Hula Hoops below.
Above: Benedictine sisters at the Christ King Convent in Oklahoma City try their hand at the hula hoop craze, Oct. 18, 1958.
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![Kids hold up toy hoops in San Francisco circa 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea5a02600009704fe068d.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![11-year-old Ann Evans of Aberdare, Wales, the world toy hoop marathon champion, keeps seven hoops twirling simultaneously, Nov. 17, 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea6062500000103c8b860.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![Duke Ellington hoops it up in 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea6882000009a036ed5ea.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![A group of six children play with hoops in a circa-1960s hoop class.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea76c360000ce176b282a.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![A European woman tries out a toy hoop, circa 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea7a02500000703c8b965.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![George Washington University cheerleader Anne Sneeringer unsuccessfully attempts to coach Ed Rurbach in the art of spinning a toy hoop, circa 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea7d12000009d036ed6a1.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![Bonnie Manchester demonstrates a hoop in Newport Beach, California, in 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea82e360000ce176b2898.jpeg?cache=vin3cys31I&ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![Hooping in Manchester circa 1959.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea89e36000006186b28b4.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![A girl twirls a toy hoop in Chicago sometime in the mid- to late 1960s.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea8e624000006054b8ab2.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![Mimi Jordan, 10, drinks milk and holds a sandwich while hooping.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea933260000f903fe087a.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![National hula hoop champion Sandra Gaylord spins her hoops in 1972, as world professional trampoline champion Judy Johnson does her thing using a hoop as well.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea98b250000010580d421.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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![A man with a toy hoop he bought at Selfridges in London, 1958.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5c7ea9e6250000d902c8ba2e.jpeg?ops=scalefit_1280_noupscale)
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