Some fads and trends are short-lived and seem silly to people years later. Others stay around much longer, while some make comebacks and return to popularity, only to disappear again. The following phat list of keen fads tells the stories behind some of the 20th Century's biggest trends. All in all, it's a copasetic look at cool. Collectors display them.
Young children carry around dilapidated ones like security blankets.
Today, teddy bears come in all shapes, sizes and colors. The original teddy bear, however, was a simple brown bear. It was inspired by the story of President Theodore Roosevelt's encounter with a bear cub in Mississippi in 1902. President Roosevelt was on a hunting trip when he came across the defenseless young bear, and he refused to shoot it. The next day the Washington Post ran a cartoon of the event, and Americans became fascinated by the President's kindness to the cub.