“Hula Hoop” and "Ballad Of The Green Berets" - This Day in History – Mar 5th

Wham-O’s “Hula Hoop,” is patented

Back in 1963, the soon to be popular hip-swiveling toy called the, Hula Hoop,” was patented by Wham-O company’s co-founder, Arthur “Spud” Melin.  Within four months of producing this item, over 25 million of these toys were sold.

According to history.com, “The enormous popularity of the Hula-Hoop was short-lived and within a matter of months, the masses were on to the next big thing. However, the Hula-Hoop never faded away completely and still has its fans today.

According to Ripley's Believe It or Not, in April 2004, a performer at the Big Apple Circus in Boston simultaneously spun 100 hoops around her body. Earlier that same year, in January, according to the Guinness World Records, two people in Tokyo, Japan, managed to spin the world's largest hoop--at 13 feet, 4 inches--around their waists at least three times each.  Following the Hula-Hoop, Wham-O continued to produce a steady stream of wacky and beloved novelty items, including the Superball, Water Wiggle, Silly String, Slip 'n' Slide and the Hacky Sack.”

“The Ballad Of The Green Berets” song scores a #1 hit

Back in 1966 the pop charts found a #1 song based on the memory of the Vietnam War with the help of a Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, who sang the tune, “The Ballad Of The Green Berets.”  

According to history.com, “Sadler was exactly what his name and uniform implied he was: a real-life, active-duty member of the United States Army Special Forces—the elite unit popularly known as the Green Berets.

In early 1965, Sadler suffered a severe punji stick injury that brought a premature end to his tour of duty as a combat medic in Vietnam. During his long hospitalization back in the United States, Sadler, an aspiring musician prior to the war, wrote and submitted to music publishers an epic ballad that eventually made its way in printed form to Robin Moore, author of the then-current nonfiction book called The Green Berets. Moore worked with Sadler to whittle his 12-verse original down to a pop-radio-friendly length, and Sadler recorded the song himself in late 1965, first for distribution only within the military, and later for RCA when the original took off as an underground hit. Within two weeks of its major-label release, The Ballad of the Green Berets had sold more than a million copies, going on to become Billboard magazine's #1 single for all of 1966.”

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/staff-sergeant-barry-sadler-hits-1-with-quotballad-of-the-green-beretsquot?catId=13