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How the hula hoop got its name: Remembering Joan Anderson
NBC Newsยท2025-08-03 19:25

Joan Anderson, who brought the hula hoop to America, died last month in Carlsbad, California. She was 101 years old. A former swimsuit model from Australia, Anderson married an American army pilot named Wayne Anderson in 1945 and moved to California.On a trip back to her home country a decade later, she noticed kids laughing while spinning a bamboo hoop around their hips. She asked her mother to mail one to her in the US. Seeing the promise of the toy in America, Joan named it Hula Hoop and arranged a meeti ...