Sour Altoids, Gotye, And 21 Other Things You Probably Forgot Were Hugely Popular, But Then Just Vanished

    Fidget spinners feel like a fever dream.

    Syd Robinson
    by Syd Robinson

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Recently, Reddit user u/KaiserMazoku posted in r/AskReddit, asking, "What was something hugely popular that suddenly fell off the face of the earth?"

    NBC / giphy.com

    For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the random, nostalgic, and most up-voted answers:

    1. "Fidget spinners."

    gizmodo.com / giphy.com

    "I know a guy who saw the fidget spinner thing coming. He mass-produced a bunch of them, sold through the entire stock, then sold his company immediately after and bowed out right before the whole thing cratered.

    "I sort of feel sorry for whoever he left holding the bag. But man, those things just didn't stick around long."

    —u/OhYeahThrowItAway

    2. "The mustache craze."

    "Like, in the early 2010s, every girl had mustaches on everything. Mustache bags, pencil cases, clothes, etc."

    —u/PepperyMars

    3. "Game of Thrones."

    HBO / Via giphy.com

    "I don’t even see many memes about the ending being bad anymore. No one talks about it."

    —u/AvatarDang

    4. "Those commercials that try to sell you wallpaper for your phone."

    —u/dontcareitsonlyreddi

    5. "Sour Altoids."

    A round tin of Altoids Mango Sours
    Altoids / Via reddit.com

    —u/treachh

    6. "3D TVs."

    "I am not sure if I would call them hugely popular, but at CES one year, they were super popular, and by the following year, there was barely one in sight."

    —u/shellwe

    7. "Joe Exotic and Tiger King."

    Netflix / Via giphy.com

    "The whole Joe Exotic thing didn't last very long, although there are periodic updates. Among other things, the property was sold (and cannot be used as a zoo for at least 100 years), and one of the zookeepers, who did appear on the show, died from an overdose."

    —u/notthesedays

    8. "KONY 2012."

    —u/badranch

    9. "Furbies."

    "Not that I mind. Those things were creepy."

    —u/Djknymx

    10. "Pokémon Go."

    Niantic / Via giphy.com

    "I'm sure it still exists, but there was one summer when it united the world."

    —u/Burdicus

    11. "Sillybandz."

    —u/DontNeedNoStylist

    12. "Pogs."

    A huge pile of Pogs, including for Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Classic, Michael Jordan, and Poison Eyes
    awesomestufftobuy.com

    —u/AntiqueSoup1247

    13. "Different-colored ketchups."

    —u/LikeReally_yikes

    14. "Susan Powter and her 'Stop the Insanity' videos."

    Susan Powter holding her hands up to the sides of her face
    Multimedia Entertainment

    "She was everywhere on cable TV in the '90s."

    —u/EmpathicPenquin

    15. "Bacon everything."

    "In the early 2000s, people wouldn’t shut up about how bacon was the best thing ever. It was on T-shirts, bumper stickers, memes, aprons, etc. That shit was everywhere. And these days, bacon is just a normal food again."

    —u/thepixelpaint


    16. "LMFAO the band."

    Members of LMFAO with large glasses
    Steven Lawton / FilmMagic

    —u/Dapper_Interest_8914

    17. "Myspace."

    "Everyone seemed to peace out of it at the same time."

    —u/slappy_mcslapenstein

    18. "Ed Hardy clothing."

    Person wearing a "Death before dishonor" Ed Hardy T-shirt
    Michael Tran Archive / FilmMagic

    —u/kapnkool

    19. "The Harlem Shake."

    —u/RoKKo999

    20. "Google Glass."

    Person wearing Google Glass smart glasses
    Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

    —u/CharlesC-DJ

    21. "Heelys."

    —u/Nickatier_Carbs

    22. "Gotye."

    Gotye's face with multicolored patches superimposed on it
    Universal Music

    —u/zed910

    23. And lastly, "Livestrong bracelets."

    —u/chilli_cheese_cake

    What do you think was left off this list? Add your own now-forgotten thing in the comments!!!!!!

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.