2017 has seen some unforgettable classroom crazes. JoJo Bows, the Dab, bottle flips and, of course, the latest one that has schools in a spin: Fidget spinners.
As schools are busy banning these “toys” from the classroom - leaving children baffled as to how they now will spend their lessons - Tes travelled back in time to uncover the beloved (or not) fads of the past...
Bogies
Originating from the late and great Dick and Dom in da bungalow, the obsession with shouting “bogies” repeatedly spread like wildfire across UK schools. The troublesome twosome had pupils disrupting lessons, assemblies and library sessions as they took turns to see who could shout bogies the loudest. But as the Dick and Dom dream died, so did the legend of bogeys.
Beyblades
Now being dubbed as ‘the original fidget spinner’, the Beyblade craze began way back in the early 2000s. The plastic toys had hypnotic spinning neon tops and were an addictive combination of Pokemon and Transformers. In their masses, pupils “ripped-off” in playgrounds, classrooms, and corridors until they were, of course, deemed a health and safety hazard and “ripped” (not literally) from pupils’ hands.
Tamagotchi
The now-ancient Tamagotchi was a classroom-craze that brought about an age of great disruption. The handheld digital pet required “feeding” every 30 minutes - otherwise (dun dun dunnnnn) it starved to death. Oh the pressure and responsibility these miniature “animals” placed on student shoulders. And what gaping hole they left in their little lives when the pet inventibly died. Until the next craze.
Mood rings
It was a ring with the power to rule them all...a ring which helped teachers determine a pupil’s mood without even having to speak to them. Green ring? Calm pupil. Amber ring? Nervous pupil. Black ring? Get ready, you’ve got one angry pupil on your hands. But when more time is spent marvelling at the ring’s magical powers (my precious) than practicing simultaneous equations, the rings had to be thrown into the fiery pit of confiscated objects.
Aliens
As far as crazes go, arguably the aliens who lived (to be disputed) in goo were the most ridiculous. Kids were sold on the premise that putting two of these specimens into an egg would create alien babies. Lies, lies and more lies. Not only did they stick to absolutely everything - desks, chairs, children’s foreheads - they did not procreate. EVER. The goo had to go.
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