The 2000s was a fun and exciting decade for a lot of us, as it was able to bring some of the best things that we have seen from various industries around the world. But, the 2000s is also kind of weird, as it also brought us various fads and trends that look crazy and outdated today, even if the 2000s wasn’t even that long ago.
From toys to music genres, the 2000s had its fair share of wacky and peculiar items or products that have been either incredibly popular or surprisingly obscure. Here is a list of some of the crazy fads of the 2000s.
Skate Scooter
Scooters never really went out of style, but in the 2000s, there were much more of them that you will see on the streets and roads of various cities in the world. The scooter acts like a skateboard since it uses wheels to move you from one place to another, but the scooter is much easier to maneuver because of the pole and handle in front that enables you to move the front wheels left and right.
When scooters became popular in the mid-2000s, there were many people that have tried various scooter tricks, also known as wheelie tricks. So, much like skateboarding, riding a scooter became a dangerous hobby for many kids and teens since a lot of them don’t wear protective gear. While scooters are still used by a lot of kids today, many adults use an electric version of scooters to have an easier and less expensive way to go to work. Electric scooters move on their own like motorcycles, so you don’t have to kick the floor to get them moving.
Heelys
One of the most popular but crazy items that have been quite abundant in the 2000s is Heelys, which are shoes that have removable wheels that are embedded on the heel part of the outsole. Besides being a regular pair of shoes, Heelys can also act as roller skates, which are also a type of footwear that was very popular among kids in the 2000s.
So, if you are tired of walking or running, you can just use the wheels of the Heelys to skate on the sidewalk or on a flat floor. Surprisingly, you can still buy a pair of Heelys in the 2020s.
Beyblade
A weird but incredibly popular toy in the 2000s is Beyblade, which is supposed to be an improved and highly stylized version of the spinning top toy that is played by kids in Asia and other countries around the world. The Beyblade toys were originally developed in 1999 by Takara, a Japanese toy company that was founded in 1955 and merged with another toy company called Tomy in 2006 to form Takara Tomy. Several toy companies have also licensed Beyblade toys to be available in their countries, and these companies include Hasbro and Sonokong.
When Hasbro gained the license for Beyblade, the toy became a hit among children in the United States, mainly because of the airing of the first Beyblade anime or TV show in the West. Although Beyblade is not as popular today compared to the 2000s, there is still a loyal following for the brand, which allows Takara Tomy to continue producing Beyblade toys.
Emo
Emo is a rock music genre that became one of the trendiest genres in the 2000s, and many would even say that emo was already a lifestyle and not just a genre during that decade. The emo name comes from the word “emotional,” which perfectly describes the lyrics and the themes of the songs that are associated with the said genre. Emo was created as a subgenre of post-hardcore and is believed to have originated in Washington DC.
In the 2000s, almost all of the popular bands were considered emo, and some of the bands that were founded in the 1990s have adopted or incorporated emo in their songs in order to capitalize on the popularity of the genre. By the early 2010s, emo’s popularity began to decrease as pop, rap, and hip-hop emerged once again to become the more profitable and marketable genres in that decade. However, the emo genre never really went out, as there are still plenty of emo bands around the world that keep the emo themes and lifestyle alive.
Bratz
When Barbie was trendy during the 2000s, a company called MGA Entertainment wanted to rival the popularity of Barbie by creating a fashion doll franchise called Bratz in 2001. The Bratz dolls are particularly known for their large heads and relatively small and thin bodies, and this design is deliberately developed in order to differentiate the Bratz dolls from Barbie dolls. Bratz was a line of fashion dolls created by Carter Bryant, a former employee of Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie. If you want to know more about Bratz and other popular toys in the 2000s, you can read our guide on the Top Pop Culture Toys of the 2000s.
The first four dolls that were released in the Bratz dolls line on May 21, 2001, are named Yasmin, Cloe, Jade, and Sasha. The dolls would later be joined by other characters like Phoebe, Nevra, Meygan, Roxxi, and Katia. Similar to Beyblade toys, Bratz never really went out of style, as many girls today are still playing with Bratz dolls and watching movies and TV shows featuring popular Bratz characters.
Livestrong Foundation
You probably remember seeing a lot of people wearing yellow bracelets during the 2000s, and those bracelets are actually worn for a cause. These rubber bracelets are called the Livestrong Bracelets, and they are developed by the Livestrong Foundation as a way to raise awareness for cancer and those that are affected by it.
The foundation was established in 1997 by Lance Armstrong, a professional cyclist that is also a cancer survivor. Because of Armstrong’s connections, he was able to convince celebrities and iconic figures in the US to wear the Livestrong Bracelets. The Livestrong Foundation still exists in the 2020s, although Lance Armstrong has already resigned as a member of the organization.
These are some of the crazy fads of the 2000s. What’s interesting about the things we have mentioned above is that you can still buy, play, and listen to them today, but they aren’t really as trendy as they were before. If you are feeling nostalgic, you can easily purchase some of the mentioned items and listen to emo music right now.