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The year is gradually drawing to a close, which means that the corresponding trends are coming back into fashion: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas is not far away. In fact, the most obvious indicator is that Mariah Carey has started to rise from the bottom of the music charts again with her immortal song, "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Trends are our everything nowadays.

However, trends change so quickly now that sometimes you don’t have time to figure out what they were all about, as everyone has already forgotten about the recent damn hot phenomenon or meme. This trending (at least for now...) thread in the Ask Reddit community is dedicated to such short-lived phenomena, and Bored Panda has made a selection of its best opinions especially for you.

More info: Reddit

#1

Animated scene of a viral dance trend with a character in sunglasses and horses in a stable setting for trending internet phenomenon. I got married in December of 2013. Our wedding video will always have us dancing around like idiots to Gangnam Style.

FluxCapacitor76 , officialpsy Report

Susie Elle
Community Member
1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nah, Gangnam Style was the bomb and at least a very innocent trend

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    #2

    Sticker of an illustrated monkey character on a worn pole representing internet trends that disappeared quickly. NFTs.

    nahc1234 , Markus Spiske Report

    Tams21
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When they first came out I thought there's either something fundamental about them that I just didn't understand but in hindsight I don't understand how anyone thought the idea could work.

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    #3

    Couple wearing 3D glasses smiling and enjoying a trend that quickly disappeared after taking the internet by storm. The whole 3D craze back in like 2010. Everybody thought it was the future after Avatar came out in theaters. EVERY movie tried to be 3D after that, there were 3D TVs, 3D phones, the Nintendo 3DS. And I think the craze disappeared in like a year because it gave people headaches.

    SlowMoNo , freepik Report

    Ace
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It had already been tried and failed in the movie world on more than one occasion. Somehow the public was, briefly, persuaded that the combination of CGI and 3D would overcome all the drawbacks of having to use special glasses and expensive equipment, but failed to see that the real problem is that it doesn't actually make a bad film any better.

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    If we talk about trends and how they come in and out of vogue, then the modern world, of course, moves so fast that it's simply impossible to keep up with the current leaders in popularity. Just yesterday, it would seem, nothing could compare to the fame of that adorable baby hippo Moo Deng - and where is she today?

    Well, she's living a happy childhood in her zoo, but she is definitely not the number one trend anymore. And unlikely to be in the top ten. And so it is with many other "kings for an hour." From the South Korean rapper PSY, who tore up YouTube twelve years ago, to NFTs (do you still remember that such a thing even exists?), this world simply moves at an incredible speed.

    #4

    Person holding smartphone outdoors displaying a popular app, representing internet trends that disappeared quickly. The summer of Pokemon Go was awesome. People were up and outside, walking around and getting exercise. Strangers met and talked, and for a brief moment, it was cool to be social. Then, if I remember right, an app update broke the game and it fell off wildly in popularity.

    Iironically, 4ish years later we had COVID, social distancing, and spent all our time indoors. A complete polar opposite from that one wonderful summer of Pokemon Go.

    DSAPEER , David Grandmougin Report

    and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I got pokemon go this summer! It’s a great motivation to walk the dogs, since there’s a ton of stuff in my neighborhood.

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    #5

    Woman performing a viral internet trend by lying horizontally on a wardrobe while a man in a suit watches. Remember planking?

    NoLegeIsPower Report

    htbq
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes and those idiots dying from doing it on stupid places.

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    #6

    Clown with red hair and colorful balloons representing fleeting internet trends that disappeared quickly after going viral. When people were dressing as clowns and chasing people after dark, early 2010s.

    lt12765 , freepik Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It started as a publicity stunt for a low budget horror short film. It became viral for a while and quickly became a security issue when people dressed as clowns started pulling debatable "pranks", including assault and robbery. Finally, a couple of well publicized "pranks" that ended with the "clowns" having their asses rightfully handed to them with a well earned beating, and even a couple of idiots facing the wrong end of a shotgun, finally put an end to the trend.

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    Some trends were introduced into our lives quite artificially - for example, the boom of 3D films and TVs at the turn of the '00s and '10s turned out to be nothing more than an attempt by manufacturers to play on the stunning success of the Avatar movie. As it turned out later, there was not enough technology or content for the development of a full-scale market - and the technology itself, if overused, was quite dubious. But the trend itself took place, and that's a fact.

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    #7

    Hands playing a wooden keyboard instrument representing fleeting trends that disappeared quickly after internet popularity boost. Remember that month or so in the 90's when we were all listening to Gregorian Chants?

    sev45day , Michel Grolet Report

    RamiRudolph
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They're still awesome, if you like em. Gregorian is amazing.

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    #8

    Plush p**p emoji pillow on bed with pillows and soft natural light, representing fleeting internet trends. That weird poo thing, where every other accessory was covered in the poo emoji. Shirts, pants, stuffed toys, figures. I’m so glad that ended. I was sick as hell of seeing that dumbass grinning s**t all over everything.

    IcyButterscotch7611 , Portuguese Gravity Report

    RamiRudolph
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never understood why this cráp was popular.

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    #9

    Colorful silicone fidget rings tangled together, representing short-lived internet trends that disappeared quickly. Silly Bands. I worked retail at the time, and after they sold out, by the time we got stock into replace them, no one wanted them anymore and they all got clearanced out. Probably because all the schools immediately banned them.

    Ekyou , EnigmaticDaze Report

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    "In fact, the world was the same a hundred or two hundred years ago - it's just that the speed at which information spread was completely different," says Valery Bolgan, a historian and editor-in-chief of Intent News Agency from Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment on this post. "And the level of people's involvement was also significantly lower."

    "That is, if something became fashionable in Paris, London or New York, let's say, at the beginning of the last century, it took days and weeks for word of mouth to spread the news. Then the newspapers wrote about it, and only after that, months later, did the popularity of the phenomenon spread to other cities and countries."

    #10

    Woman in kitchen reacting with shock near spilled food, illustrating fast disappearing online trends in viral moments. Cinammon challenge.

    Fit_General7058 Report

    #11

    Person in an orange hoodie and black cap sitting by the ocean holding a guitar, representing trends that disappeared quickly. Remember that week everyone was into sea shanty's for some reason?

    Snackdoc189 , NathanEvanss Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    WE STILL ARRR, MATEY!

    Glenn Cuneo
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Too bad about you never being able to play the wheel of fortune becaouse you always pick the letter R.....

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    Jihana
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum

    David
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My mother was a music teacher. Public school, then after having me and my brother - private teacher for many decades. "Drunken Sailor" will always be burned into my brain because it was one of the songs she taught. Fun lyrics and fairly easy chord progressions.

    sturmwesen
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sometimes I still like it for work

    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Month, it was a month. They were also really cool.

    Lene
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My kids love love this song!

    Sailing Leprechaun
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As someone who works on tall ships, I still know a disproportionate number of people who are into them

    Remi (He/Him)
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A pirate I was meant to be, trim the sails and roam the seas! Uuuum I don't know the trend

    Brian Droste
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No. I don't know what sea shanty is?

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    #12

    Young woman wearing white shutter shades and bold lipstick posing against an orange background, showcasing fleeting internet trends. Calling someone “bae” and shutter shades.

    Odd-Day-4822 , Oleksandr P Report

    David
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Every generation comes up with shortened / slang / alternative words to make themselves sound 'cool'. People doing it at the time tend to think their own words are cool / creative while also chuckling at stuff from decades past. At some point you get old enough you just roll your eyes and ignore it, knowing it will pass and they will move on to the next word. Most of you can think of words that are stereotype 50's or 80's etc. Nothing wrong with new words, but kind of sad when people overuse them in an effort to seem cool / popular / whatever.

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    "Today, the life cycle of a trend is measured in days, weeks at most, and often even a few hours. If we talk about this or that meme, we laughed, forwarded it to a couple of friends in messengers - and that's it, switched to something else. This is neither good nor bad, it's just a feature of the contemporary world," Valery concludes.

    #13

    Tie-dye style t-shirt with Generra Hypercolor print showcasing a trend that disappeared quickly after internet popularity. Those heat-sensitive colour-changing to shirts that made it extra obvious when someone was a sweaty mess. Hypercolor. I think. .

    Stonecoldjanea , tightmorals Report

    Moltar
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i had one in 90's, was cool for a minute

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    #14

    Yellow, white, and blue awareness wristbands representing popular trends that disappeared quickly on the internet. Livestrong bracelets.

    KP_Wrath , schizochode Report

    DennyS (denzoren)
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had one of these...and still have one but I don't wear it for obvious reasons.

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    #15

    Person with long braided hair giving a tutorial on workplace behavior as part of internet trends that disappeared quickly. Whatever that “very mindful, very demure” s**t was a couple of weeks ago.

    modssssss293j Report

    B.Nelson
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I told one of my students that their comment wasn't very mindful or demure. I think I exploded some teenage brains.

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    Why else is it important to remember half-forgotten trends? Because popularity is actually cyclical. For example, just a decade and a half ago, mustaches were perceived as an absolute anachronism, and today they are nearly at the peak of men's fashion. Who knows, maybe tomorrow the yo-yo will come back into vogue (Tamagotchi, at least, is back), we will again hunt Pokemon, and arrange wild and weird performances to the sounds of Harlem Shake?

    #16

    Person wearing casual clothes sitting on a hoverboard, representing fast fading internet trends and viral sensations. "Hover" Boards

    I remember seeing some guy downtown riding one when they first came out and he had his arms crossed with this insufferably smug expression on his face as if to say 'LOOK AT ME AND HOW COOL I AM' so I intentionally looked the other way. I'm pretty sure the ones that didn't catch fire stopped working after a few weeks.

    97PG8NS , Boris Hamer Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They have been banned from public transport in many places and also several cities which didn't straight up ban them made helmet -or even insurance- mandatory, meaning they are not practical anymore. After some common models proved to be a fire hazard customs started cracking down on unckecked imports, so getting one was also not cheap or easy anymore.

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    #17

    Fidget spinners. I still have one in my desk.

    ChewieArtist Report

    Child of the Stars
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My 11yo has one. They still use it when they're feeling anxious.

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    #18

    Four people playfully stacked outdoors near beach grass with the Vine app logo, representing trends that disappeared quickly online. It's pretty crazy how vine died so quickly, especially given how successful TikTok has been.

    prss79513 , The Bee Family Report

    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Vine was better than tiktok, some of them I still watch, they were hilarious.

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    But until all of the above happens, let's just give free rein to nostalgia and dive into the past. And this post, like Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve, will take us back to the glorious (or not) times of the Flappy Bird game, Gangnam Style, and Google+.

    Or something else that you remember well and want to share with others in the comments to this post.

    #19

    Hand holding a smartphone displaying popular social media apps representing trends that disappeared quickly online. That moment when Google really tried to make Google+ happen.

    PCoda , Tracy Le Blanc Report

    Jeroen de Wijn
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They did not. If they really had tried it'd had been evwrywhere today. Google had a long, long history of releasing stuff amd immmediately abandoning it. The sad reason is that within Google you get promoted for launching an app or service, not for maintaining or improving one. So as soon as something's released anyone involved with vision and talent immediately leaves the twam and starts developing something new. With 0 incentive to make anyrhing a success and no inclination by Google to invest in existing products almost all of them fail sooner or later.

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    #20

    Lime green textured top hanging on a rack representing fast disappearing internet trends in fashion. Those crinkly popcorn shirts from the early 2000s. They looked like doll clothes and stretched to human sized when you put them on.

    A_shy_neon_jaguar , stfx2012 Report

    James016
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That looks like someone has sewn some sprouts together.

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    #21

    Group of people in colorful full-body suits and masks dancing, representing internet trends that disappeared quickly. Harlem shake .. this viral dance craze was huge for few weeks but the hype died just as fast.

    blossomgalxo , DizastaMusic Report

    #22

    Young man wearing layered polo shirts by the water, showcasing fashion trends that disappeared quickly on the internet. Guys wearing two polo shirts and popping up both collars.

    Aggressive_Fact_3707 , anon Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Two polo is dumb, but the popped collar is how they were meant to be worn. The Polo was -as the name suggest- an evolution of the outfit for Polo players. It was transformed into a tennis outfit by Renée Lacoste for the 1924 Olympic games. He started using it because it was more comfortable than the cotton shirts used until then, and the pop-up collar prevented sunburns to the neck when playing long sets.

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    #23

    Flappy Bird game screenshot showing pixelated bird navigating between green pipes, representing a viral internet trend. Flappy Bird game.

    JosepineCruz , mxmcd Report

    Kenny Earthling
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I got bored of this after three plays. No variety, we made better games even back in the 80s

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    #24

    Colorful spinning tops piled together, representing trends that disappeared quickly after taking the internet by storm. I remember yo-yos being a huge thing for like a minute when I was a kid.

    disgruntledhoneybee , Eric Prouzet Report

    Ixanga Cancun
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yoyos have been a thing on and off since they were invented in 440bce. They will have their day again .. and again ...

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    #25

    Abstract digital art of a mushroom with vibrant colors illustrating fleeting trends that disappeared quickly online. Pet rocks?

    Mood rings.

    fermat9990 , Nickelodeon Report

    Bidango Smith
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Since those are both from the '70's and they're still talked about (and still occasionally purchased) awards them the status of "trend" https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Rock-Authentic-Approved-Original/dp/B07KN9FK4B

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    #26

    Two people on electric scooters near a waterfront, illustrating popular trends that disappeared quickly online. Does the existence of the Segway count as a trend?

    Skwaasher , Timur Romanov Report

    #27

    Futuristic smart glasses resting on a wooden surface representing trends that disappeared after taking the internet by storm. Google Glass.

    ScaricoOleoso , Clint Patterson Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It had its good run as a technology demonstrator and development platform, i.e. the very reason it was created for. It was never meant to be a mass product, and it laid the basis for some patents and innovations that are still in use in wearable devices and VR sets. This was not the failure people think it was.

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    #28

    Trendy dalgona coffee in a clear glass mug showcasing the viral internet trend that quickly disappeared after gaining fame. Those whipped coffees that everyone was making during Covid lockdowns. A Dalgona?

    I feel like everyone made precisely one of those to try it out, proclaimed that it was delicious and then never made another ever again.

    wolvesdrinktea , khats cassim Report

    David
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    grind beans, Italian coffee maker, splash of half and half. I usually only have a coffee when I first wake up and I am generally not feeling the energy to be artsy fartsy with it.

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    #29

    Person wearing ripped jeans and black boots walking through autumn leaves, showcasing trends that disappeared quickly. Jeans that were more holes than jeans. It moderated back to majority jean material quite quickly.

    Next-Food2688 , Muhamed Batu Ak Report

    See Also on Bored Panda
    #30

    A performer in a bright yellow suit dancing on lit stairs with a live band in the background, illustrating fleeting internet trends. 90s swing music.

    hmmgross , movie-screencaps Report

    Tucker Cahooter
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you like swing, go with the 30s bands (Basie, Goodman, Chick Webb etc), nothing else

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    #31

    Smartphone screen showing social media app with posts illustrating trends that disappeared quickly online. Everyone claiming they were moving to Threads.

    ode-to-clear , Nik Report

    Jrog
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, they did. Threads skyrocketed to 200 million users, gaining +33% userbase in a matter of a week

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    #32

    Remember when Garth Brooks dressed up as Chris Gaines? That didn’t last long.

    CampfireGuitars Report

    Kylie
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't think it was meant to. And one person doing something isn't exactly a fad or a trend anyway.

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    #33

    Strawberry dresses. They were hot for like a week max.

    Jesus-God-Cornbread Report

    IamMe
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of all the ones on the list, this one doesn't have a picture to explain?

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    #34

    Extreme Ironing. I had a flatmate that broke her ankle doing this and the thought still sends me into the beyond.

    HonestlyKindaOverIt Report