Hula hoop play can involve one, or multiple, hoops.
Unlike many toys that turned into fads, no trademark exists for the hula hoop. Some form of children's toy similar to the device we now know as a hula hoop dates back to ancient history, making the toy ineligible for trademark protection. The purpose of the hula hoop depends on an individual's perspective on the device. First produced by Wham-O as a child's plaything, the hula hoop has found a variety of other uses since its initial production in 1958.
Commercial
The color variety combined with the popularity of the hula hoop made this toy a profitable venture for its producers.
The Wham-O Manufacturing Co. put together the idea of children's play hoops with the concept of hula dancing as observed by British seamen in Hawaiian islands journeys. After testing out the likely success of this product on playgrounds, inventors "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr, who also jointly owned Wham-O, brought the product to market. Estimates of first-year sales indicate that Wham-O sold more than 100 million hula hoops that year.
Recreational
This young girl illustrates the classic, around-the-waist spin of hula hooping play.
From a buyer perspective, the hula hoop at least originally had the purpose of a recreational toy for children. Versatility of the toy provides one of the attractions. Designed primarily for use as an around-the-waist spinning device that mimicked the Hawaiian hula dance, children and some adults using the hula hoop also used the device with other types of maneuvers. Spinning a hula hoop around a wrist or ankle, for example, offered alternatives to the more usual around-the-waist hula form of using the hoop.
Fitness
Adults can join classes or groups to hula hoop for enhanced fitness.
Hula hoop use also found favor in terms of its fitness enhancement potential. Some health benefits include improving both bilateral body coordination and whole body coordination. Hula hooping also offers the more obvious benefits associated with any type of physical exercise that involves an aerobic component.
Entertainment/Competition
Circus routines provide another example of a purpose some individuals apply to the hula hoop.
The popularity of the hula hoop gave rise to a transition of the use of this toy into the areas of entertainment and competition. During 1980, a World Championship attracted approximately 2 million participants to events held in more than 2,000 cities. The use of hula hoops also has popularity in acrobatic-style circus acts and among performance dancers who practice hoop dancing as an art form.
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