52 Questions in 52 Weeks: 8 of 52

Are there any obvious or unusual genetic traits that run in your family line? 

Alison and I didn't have much of a response to this question. No genetic traits jumped out as unusual or obvious in either of our families. We decided to answer an alternative question this week.

Alternative Question: What were some of the popular fads you experienced during your life?

Eric - The biggest fad that comes to mind that I experienced would easily be Pokémon. It become big when I was in fifth grade. I got way into Pokémon. I played the game on my Gameboy. I think I started with the red version. I also collected a lot of the cards. I would spend hours with my friends admiring our collections. I can still vividly remember going to Toys R Us early one morning with my uncle Dan and some of my cousins so that we could get some packs before they sold out. I had quite the collection of Pokemon cards. That year for Halloween I dressed up like "Ash" and had a Pokémon-themed birthday. I loved Pokemon, but like any fad, within a couple of years, Pokemon faded from my life.

This year Pokémon made a surprising comeback. They released this app called  Pokémon Go that used GPS to create a quasi virtual reality Pokémon game. I was a little intrigued but I didn't have much of an interest to give it a try. This summer I was working on an off-year end client and the manager on the team (who I really respect) was way into Pokémon Go. It took him a little while, but eventually, he got the whole team into it. We would play during our lunch breaks and it was a ton of fun. Through the end of summer and into the fall I played Pokemon any chance I got. By winter the novelty wore off and just like when I was a kid Pokemon faded from my life. 

A couple of other fads that come to mind are beanie babies and Furbies. I didn't get into the beanie baby fad as much as many of my friends. I had one beanie baby. It was a tan puppy dog. I also had a Furbie. That was such a strange, yet entertaining toy.

Razer scooters were also a big fad. I remember one year that was really all I wanted for Christmas. I was somewhat disappointed when we got through what appeared to be all of my presents and it wasn't there. Then my mom brought out one last present and sure enough, it was a razer scooter. I loved it. Then I rode on it around the neighborhood. In the end, it seemed razer scooters were a little overrated.

Another fad I was really into was Harry Potter. I remember in fourth grade my teacher read the first Harry Potter book and I loved it. I came home and told my mom about the books and she started reading all of them to me and my siblings. I remember when the fourth book came out I was so excited. We didn't wait at the bookstore, but we had to get it on the first day it came out. I distinctly remember that I tried to set a limit on how much of the book I would read (only a chapter a day) because I wanted it to prolong the experience. That only lasted about a day before I read the entire book. Just as with the other fads this one has faded in and out of my life. I mostly lost interest when the seventh book came out (although I got an electronic copy and read it the day before it came out). When I came home from my mission and Alison and I were first married we got back into Harry Potter long enough to see the second half of the seventh movie. We also got really into Harry Potter a couple of years ago when we went to Florida because we visited Harry Potter land. It was fun, but we aren't big Harry Potter fans.

Alison - When Eric suggested we write about fads, I literally had to google the fads of my childhood only to discover that I wasn't into most of them. In fact, the only fad I really got into was Beanie Babies. I think I had around 10. My favorite (that  I still have, randomly) was a white bear with a halo. I can't remember its name, but I really loved it. I remember really wanting a Furbie, but I never had one.  I was with my mom and sister in NYC one year and we saw Furbies at FAO Schwartz. I remember I really wanted one, but we didn't get one. In retrospect, that was a wise choice. Also - the fact that FAO Schwartz is no longer on Fifth avenue is a travesty. I guess that's sort of a fad...

Update: After discussions with Kristin, she reminded me that we were into Butterly Clips that we put in our hair. Those were really fun. I remember my parents went to Boston and my mom got me some really big, pink butterfly clips. I really loved those and I had them for a long time.  I was also really into Harry Potter. When the fourth book came out Kristin and I went to Barnes & Noble at midnight with my dad, but they sold out before we could buy our copy. We bought it the next day at Walmart.  I think we also got up at midnight for the fifth book, but I can't remember exactly. We really loved the Harry Potter books!