The 2010s were a wild time, and there are so many trends that left a big impact on us growing up. Here are some of the biggest.

Silly Bandz

Silly Bandz were the coolest thing you could own in the early 2010s. Whether you were in the collection game for your favorite bandz or just seeing how many you could amass (my friend had 84 and wore them as sleeves), Silly Bandz were the status symbol equivalent of Airpods today. “I did have Silly Bandz, but not a crazy amount,” said Senior Maya Eng-Garcia, whose favorite Silly Band was the dolphin one.

Rainbow Loom

Everyone was channeling their inner stone age weaver with Rainbow Loom. This trend seemed to immediately follow the Silly Bandz fad, proving that colorful rubber bands are the coolest thing ever.

Flappy Bird

As someone who didn’t own an iPod Touch, I never understood the hype behind this one, but people lost it after this addictive game was taken down from the App Store by its owner, who felt guilty about how the app was affecting people negatively and was too addicting. “Not gonna lie, I was pretty sad,” said Senior Merrick Cabezas. There were rumors that it resulted in a murder in Vietnam. In true Internet fashion, the Flappy Bird drama got way out of hand. People were selling their phones on eBay for thousands of dollars—all for an app most of us couldn’t get past 15 points on. 

Boys dressing all in one neon color

“Drip or drown,” said thousands of pre-teen boys as they donned themselves in outfits resembling a highlighter. This was a classic visually arresting outfit favorite for many, and if you scroll back in the Instagrams of guys who never delete their posts you might just catch a glimpse of the past. “It did not look good, but then again, I don’t even like how most boys dress now,” said Eng-Garcia. “Like it hasn’t gotten much better.”

The Harlem Shake

Never really got the hype on this one, but people talked about it a lot and spread rumors about how someone had a seizure but everyone thought they were just doing the Harlem Shake.

The Cinnamon Challenge/ The Saltine Challenge

I grouped these two together because they were both disgusting, somewhat dangerous, and made you really thirsty. If you didn’t participate in at least one of these, you weren’t cool, not up for debate.

Chokers

Girls who wore these: did they make your neck itch???

Crocs

These were popular in the mid-2000s, and then made a brief resurgence last year. Of course, market analysts are having a field day with the Croc renaissance, as well as that of those big Fila shoes, claiming teenagers value “heritage,” “brand authenticity,” ”nostalgia,” and “quirkiness.” Maybe, but it also might just be that they’re convenient to wear back from sports practices. “Crocs are funny and ugly but also kinda cute sometimes,” said sophomore Nava Roskes, who owns a pair. 

Juuling

Yeah, juuling was quite popular in many Wilson bathrooms until very recently, but with a combination of a federal crackdown on the product and people realizing the negative health impacts (surprise!), I think it’s fair to say it was a major trend.

Fidget Spinners

Either THE most annoying things ever, or the only thing that could help you concentrate.

Hoverboards

Immediately made you the coolest person ever, until they exploded while charging in your basement. The hoverboard fail videos on Youtube will always be hilarious.

The Ice Bucket Challenge

Another challenge that will live on forever in the Instagrams of people who never delete their posts.

Nike Elite socks

A trend, but do you know what else they were? A scam. $15 for one pair, and they had left and right socks, so if you lost one you had to buy a whole new pair. 

Fjallraven Kanken backpacks

I don’t really understand how anyone who wore these actually fit any of their school supplies inside. “They’re a stupid shape,” said Roskes. “Like why would anyone want a square bag?”

Those HUGE binders

You know what I’m talking about. Binders that were like mini-backpacks, and they had all your schoolwork inside. About as big as the sixth graders that were carrying them on their first day of Deal. “It didn’t fit in my bag,” said Senior Charlie Nichols. “I would have to carry that big a** binder in addition to my bag–it was like I was walking around with a suitcase.” •