Remember when everyone was obsessed with these viral sensations? Join us as we look back at cultural phenomena that took the world by storm before vanishing into thin air. From internet challenges to fashion statements, and technological innovations to food crazes, these trends defined their moment... until they didn't.
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00:00We're all invited to the party, with a special shake to celebrate.
00:05Get Grimace's birthday shake.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:10for the top ten trends that blew up seemingly out of nowhere,
00:13and disappeared just as fast.
00:15I'm so excited for some frozen yogurt.
00:19Number ten, sea shanties.
00:21They bring us sugar and tea and rum.
00:23One day when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go.
00:28We all know some trends are cyclical in nature,
00:30but no one could have predicted this unexpected throwback.
00:33Originating on TikTok in early 2021,
00:35the viral sea shanty trend saw TikTok users posting
00:38and duetting renditions of popular 19th-century sailing folk songs,
00:41known as shanties, particularly the song Wellerman.
00:44One day when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go.
00:49While it might seem random at first, bear in mind
00:51sea shanties are community-building songs
00:53designed to foster unity and morale during laborious work.
00:56During the pandemic, when we were isolated and craving community,
00:59it weirdly makes sense that the internet would turn to music
01:02that harkens back to times of togetherness.
01:04This trend was short-lived, but wholesome all the same.
01:06One day when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go.
01:12Number nine, mustaches.
01:14Remember that time in the early 2010s
01:16when mustaches weren't just for upper lips?
01:18People sported them on T-shirts, jewelry, coffee mugs,
01:21and, regrettably, finger tattoos.
01:23You guys like a club or you a cult?
01:25It's not a club, it's not a cult, it's just a stupid tattoo.
01:30Specifically, the trend focused on handlebar mustaches with pointy, waxed ends.
01:34The vintage look tied in with other hipster fads at the time.
01:37But while trends like flannels and vintage record players live on,
01:40the handlebar mustache craze seems to have died off pretty quickly.
01:43People are grabbing up for Halloween.
01:46Well, the mustaches are en vogue this year.
01:48There are a lot of people having mustache parties,
01:51so we have a huge selection of mustaches.
01:53Today, mustaches are once again enjoying a resurgence in popularity,
01:57this time just as facial hair.
01:58And the handlebar has been swapped for a 70s-style Burt Reynolds-inspired stache.
02:02Shout out to everyone still living with their 2010 mustache finger tattoo.
02:05Let us know how your experience has been since this trend died down.
02:08Psst, Dad.
02:16Nice.
02:17We were checking out Mustache Marshall.
02:20Number 8. Whipped Coffee, Dalgona
02:22Early COVID lockdown was a difficult time for many of us.
02:25The isolation inspired many to turn to the internet,
02:28and particularly TikTok, as a source of entertainment, community,
02:31and apparently, caffeination.
02:33Some like it hot. Some like it iced.
02:36Either way, excitement is brewing over coffee connoisseurs.
02:40Whipped coffee originated in a cafe in Macau
02:43and was popularized by South Korean actor Jung Il-woo,
02:47who noted the drink's similarity in taste to dalgona candy.
02:50It's all over on social media.
02:52People are posting their latest creations of a thick instant coffee foam
02:56to create what's now called dalgona.
02:58Made by whipping hot water, sugar, and instant coffee,
03:01videos showing the drink being made were mesmerizing to watch,
03:05and it quickly went viral.
03:06So, without much else to do during lockdown,
03:08people started making their own whipped coffees and sharing them online.
03:11Today, whipped coffee reminds us of a time when we were all isolated,
03:15but unified in our collective boredom.
03:17And I feel like the rules have changed, much like with coffee, right?
03:20It used to be this, now it's fancy macchiatos, and foam, and cream, and all that stuff.
03:25Number seven, double-popped collars.
03:28Pretty boy, Tony.
03:30Yeah. Hey. Hey, Tony.
03:32Yeah.
03:33Hey.
03:34That's nice.
03:35The trend of upturned polo shirt collars originated in the 80s
03:38among the preppy youth of New England,
03:40but experienced a surge in popularity in the early 2000s.
03:43Referred to as a popped collar,
03:44this trend swept through high schools and colleges across the nation.
03:48For some, just one popped collar wasn't enough.
03:50It was popular for people to layer multiple polo shirts on top of one another
03:54in order to have multiple popped collars at the same time.
03:57I love your double-popped collars.
03:59For people that did this, we have questions.
04:01Primarily, why?
04:02And also, wouldn't that get hot?
04:04Despite many early 2000s styles trending again today,
04:07this is one trend that seems to have fully died out.
04:09And one popped collar just wasn't enough for us,
04:11so we layered two polo shirts on top of each other and popped both collars.
04:15Why?
04:16Number six, frozen yogurt.
04:18Why we're obsessed with the Kardashians' fro-yo obsession.
04:21We've seen fad foods like cronuts and cupcakes come and go,
04:24but none seem to burn quite as bright as frozen yogurt.
04:27You're right. Let's take a break.
04:29Let's cool off, okay?
04:30Let's get some frozen yogurt or something.
04:32During the 2010s, it seemed like you were never more than a mile away
04:36from a self-serve frozen yogurt shop,
04:38and we were happy that way.
04:39Today, it's not hard to find frozen yogurt in most places,
04:42but the dessert's big cultural moment has definitely passed.
04:45So what flavors did you get?
04:47I got the vanilla, the EuroTart, and the poop flavor.
04:51It could be people realized this healthy alternative to ice cream
04:54wasn't really all that healthy after all,
04:56or maybe everyone just started getting boba instead.
04:58Whatever the reason,
04:59the days of loading up your frozen yogurt cup with toppings
05:02after a long day of shopping at Forever 21
05:04are now a relic of the past.
05:05What is it with you and frozen yogurt?
05:08Have you not heard of ice cream?
05:09Oh, sure, but I've come to really like frozen yogurt.
05:12There's something so human about taking something great
05:15and ruining it a little so you can have more of it.
05:18Number five, cup stacking.
05:20Probably the tamest offshoot of the extreme sports trend of the 90s
05:23and early 2000s,
05:24this sport involved stacking and unstacking specially designed plastic cups
05:28as fast as humanly possible.
05:30The official name is sport stacking,
05:31but I call it speed stacking and cup stacking.
05:33I mean, my YouTube name is Speed Stacking Girl.
05:35The first cup stacking tournament was held in Colorado in 1997,
05:38which gave the sport a boost in popularity
05:40that allowed it to become a full-blown craze by the mid-2000s.
05:43Cup stacking was featured on talk shows,
05:45news programs,
05:46and children's shows as a fast-growing sport
05:48until its growth suddenly stalled.
06:00The sport does still exist,
06:01with the World Sport Stacking Association
06:03still holding tournaments around the world today,
06:05but a stealth for cup stacking will ever become as widespread as it once was.
06:09Doesn't matter to her where.
06:10I just do it because I really like it.
06:12She'll do it in the driveway with big blue cups
06:15and back inside with teeny tiny little pink cups.
06:18Number four, segways.
06:19The two-wheeled self-balancing transportation device known as the segway
06:23was talked up to the next big thing in personal transportation.
06:26The hardest part, the most terrifying part was getting on it.
06:29After that, he realized the benefit of patrolling the large campus outside
06:33where he can get around obstacles that might block a police car
06:36and also he can go inside the buildings,
06:38on the elevators, down the hallways,
06:40and into classrooms and even smaller spaces.
06:42Months of speculation about the device
06:44during its secretive development phase
06:46led to massive hype leading up to the official launch in 2001.
06:49When the final product was unveiled,
06:51many were disappointed by the awkward design
06:53that seemed less than innovative.
06:54An early segway employee described the product's challenges,
06:57saying,
07:14The sudden drop from groundbreaking technology
07:16to television satire fodder
07:18ensured segway would never be as ubiquitous as they once hoped.
07:21And now, the device is typically relegated to mall cops and tour groups.
07:28Yep, that didn't happen.
07:30A segway spokesperson says they were a great invention,
07:33but now they seem, quote,
07:37Number three, planking.
07:39An internet phenomenon which was started by an Australian on Facebook,
07:43planking is loosely defined as lying face down
07:46with your limbs pointed down by your side.
07:48Social media's growth throughout the 2010s
07:50gave rise to many viral internet trends,
07:52like the Harlem Shake in 2013
07:54and the Mannequin Challenge in 2016.
07:56But who could forget the decade's earliest big viral trend,
07:59planking.
08:00Also known as the lying down game,
08:01participants in this trend lie face down
08:03with their arms at their sides,
08:05often competing to find increasingly more outrageous locations to plank in.
08:08It's simple enough to join in,
08:10there are only a few basic rules to follow.
08:13After lying face down, expressionless,
08:16you need to straighten your arms and legs
08:18and point your fingers and toes.
08:20Planking ranged from totally harmless
08:22to, in one confirmed case, deadly.
08:24A Brisbane man fell seven stories to his death
08:27in Kangaroo Point in the early hours of this morning.
08:29He's the first planker in Australia
08:31to die from the high-risk activity.
08:33The fad was a much-discussed topic from 2011 until 2012,
08:37when its popularity quickly dropped off.
08:39Number two, creepy clowns.
08:41This security footage was apparently captured at a Kelmscott home,
08:45a prankster dressed as a clown to scare members of the public.
08:48While some internet trends are funny, strange or idiotic,
08:51this one was downright terrifying.
08:54Beginning in 2016, social media users began reporting
08:57and posting sightings of creepy clowns
08:59near forests, neighborhoods and schools.
09:11The first sighting occurred in Green Bay, Wisconsin,
09:13later revealed to be a marketing stunt for an upcoming horror film.
09:16From that first viral sighting, the trend caught on.
09:18Copycat clowns began popping up across the United States,
09:21Canada, Australia and the UK,
09:23leaving everyone on edge until the trend finally died down,
09:26hopefully never to return again.
09:28But we'll still be watching our backs, just in case.
09:30Even if it was viral marketing, I wouldn't risk my life to do it.
09:33You know what the state of America is today?
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09:51Number 1. Hand Axe
09:53Gronk say hand axe is out and spear is in.
09:56I say, nuh-uh, but he say, uh-huh.
09:59I strike Gronk with stone and now he mad, but I still right.
10:03Okay, now, back to the 21st century.
10:06Number 1. 3D
10:08With entirely new technology
10:10in a surprisingly vivid three-dimensional cinema.
10:14It's not your grandfather's 3D.
10:173D film technology has been around for over a hundred years
10:20and experienced brief surges in popularity in the 1950s and 1980s,
10:24but none as big as the 3D craze of the early 2000s.
10:27James Cameron's Ghost of the Abyss
10:29debuted new, cutting-edge 3D technology,
10:32kicking off the decade's trend of 3D-ifying everything.
10:35It was an amazing expedition
10:37in terms of all of this state-of-the-art technology
10:41and engineering we were using for the first time
10:43in terms of the camera system.
10:45Children's movies and horror films especially caught on to the trend,
10:48notable examples being Spy Kids 3D Game Over and The Final Destination.
10:52The technology even expanded beyond films,
10:54including the short-lived 3D TV fad and Nintendo's 3DS.
10:57Then after some years, the novelty began to wear off.
11:00Moviegoers grew tired of the headache-inducing gimmick
11:02that commanded a significantly higher ticket price,
11:05and today, 2D still reigns supreme.
11:07People were pushing the color at you all the time.
11:09Look how red we can be. Look how, you know, look how beautiful we can be.
11:12And then eventually color just became a way of doing business.
11:15I think 3D should be the same thing.
11:17Do you participate in any of these short-lived fads?
11:19Do you think they should come back? Let us know in the comments.
11:22You're not with it. I used to be with it.
11:25But then they changed what it was.
11:27Now what I'm with isn't it,
11:29and what's it seems weird and scary to me.