They're more than just trite time-wasters. Fads -- pop-cultural phenomenon that burn brightly, then often fade just as dramatically -- are often defined by the times in which we live.

From the 1950s post-war playfulness of the Frisbee to the 1980s gotta-have-it-now frenzy of Cabbage Patch dolls, here's a look at some of the most memorable -- and sometimes downright ridiculous -- fads through the years. [ next ]

Frisbee

Its origin is as mysterious as the science that lets the dang thing fly through the air with just a flick of the wrist. But whether the Frisbee was actually invented by the employees at the Frisbie Baking Company, who, according to legend, used to fling pie tins on their breaks in the 1930s, one thing's for sure: It's made an indelible mark on American recreation.

Manufacturer Wham-O began mass-producing the spaceship-shaped piece of plastic back in 1959, and sales quickly soared. [ next ]

Hula Hoop

Modeled after bamboo hoops used in Australian gym classes -- and named for the Hawaiian dance its users seemed to imitate -- the Hula Hoop had kids in the late '50s gyrating their hips more than Elvis. Wham-O sold 25 million of the $1.98 hollow polyurethane circles in less than a year, cementing the Hula Hoop's reputation as one of the most successful fads of all time. [ next ]

Ouija Board

Is it a portal to Hell -- or just a slumber party staple? Regardless, the Ouija Board freaked out countless parents in the '60s and '70s. The plastic pointer seemed to glide purposefully across a board, spelling out answers to questions like an otherworldly Magic 8 Ball. Modeled after an apparatus used by 19th-century mediums who claimed to be able speak to the dead, the Ouija Board took on a new life after it was featured in the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. [ next ]

Pet Rock

In a stroke of marketing genius, Gary Dahl, the creator of the Pet Rock, sold millions of the non-breathing, non-moving, non-eating stones to people more than happy to plunk down four hard-earned bucks for something they could find on the ground. Bundled in a cardboard carrier with a birth certificate and owner's manual, Pet Rocks quickly shot to prominence in the mid-'70s, then were replaced in the public consciousness just as quickly by other completely frivolous crap. [ next ]

Toga parties

Often found in frat houses as a celebration of their Greek roots -- and also a celebration of beer -- toga parties really took off thanks to some guys named Otter, Bluto and Flounder. In 1978, the hit comedy flick National Lampoon's Animal House sparked a bacchanalian craze on college campuses by shining the spotlight on the benefits of raucous partying, free-flowing booze and fat guys dressed in sheets. [ next ]

Rubik's Cube

They twisted and rotated, planned and plotted. Or, they just peeled off the stickers or pried apart the pieces and crammed them back together. Either way, people all over the world were hooked on Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik's 54-squared cube. Through most of the '80s, the maddeningly addicting puzzle sparked speed-cubing competitions, countless knock-offs, and best-selling books touting its solution. [ next ]

Sea Monkeys

Sure, kids may have been disappointed as soon as they realized the Sea Monkeys the mailman just delivered weren't quite what they expected. The "instant pets" didn't exactly look like the anthropomorphic pictures in the back of comic books, but the brine shrimp that sprang to life after being added to water wriggled and darted their way into millions of kids' hearts. And on many of their carpets. [ next ]

PAC-Man

Bally/Midway brought PAC-Man to America from Japan in 1980, and we've never looked at dots, blue ghosts or floating fruit the same way since. Star of the most popular arcade game of all time, the pixilated yellow -- and obviously hungry -- character spawned everything from bed sheets to breakfast cereal, and probably helped contribute to an entire generation's awareness of carpal tunnel syndrome. [ next ]

Baby on Board signs

The yellow and black signs hanging from cars' back windows in the mid-'80s started innocently enough, as an inexpensive reminder meant to make other drivers think twice about tailgating. But the suction-cupped signs quickly devolved into yet another ubiquitous, annoying craze -- that actually ended up obscuring some drivers' vision. When the parodies started ("Mother-in-Law in Trunk"), it was the beginning of the end, and by 1990 it was virtually over. Baby, we were bored.