On a trip to Sydney in 1956, Joan Anderson was amazed to discover a new trend sweeping Australia’s beaches and streets. People were “doing the hoop” — twirling a sturdy, circular ring of bamboo around ...

Because of a deal made on a handshake in a parking lot, she was long left out of a famous toy’s story. When she was 94, a documentary changed that. By Alex Vadukul In 1956, Joan Anderson, a Los ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Larry Sprinkle tells us about the first patent for the Hula Hoop that was approved on this day in 1963. Who is James Talarico? A ...

In 1956, Joan Anderson, a Los Angeles housewife and onetime model, flew to Australia, her home country, to visit her parents. When she arrived, she realized that a curious fitness craze had taken hold ...

Although her name was left out of hula hoop history for years, it was Anderson who took the hoop from Australia to America and, with her husband, set a business deal in motion that turned the toy into ...