The days of heelying past your friends who walked from gym to the classroom and begging your parents to buy you another furry friend because your Webkinz account was supposedly about to expire are long gone. But, has anyone ever stopped and wondered what happened to the seemingly lucrative businesses that were ultimately deemed nonessential after you turned 12?

Heelys are a shoe with one wheel located in the sole of the shoe. In 1999, a man named Roger Adams was inspired to try putting wheels in shoes, thus removing a need for an actual skateboard. Adams obtained the patent, and Heeling Sports Unlimited was born. Believe it or not, Heelys still exist today. The Official Heelys shop, Heelys.com, sells a wide variety of youth and adult shoe models but also sells backpacks and other accessories.  

In the elementary school world, there were those who wore Heelys, those who despised Heelys, and those who secretly wanted Heelys. “I thought Heelys were kind of weird when I first heard about them, I guess it’s just some people’s niche” Junior Alex Puckett said.

 Kids who repped Heelys took immense pleasure kicking back onto their heels and gliding past teachers, students, and literally anyone else who would watch while maintaining a smug “It’s not a big deal” face.  Heelys, and knockoff Heely variants, were even banned from some schools because of the distractions they caused, making them all the more desirable for kids K-6th.

Heelys were once a dying business, but they recently have been gaining a bit of the fame they once had. By 2013, the company was on the verge of going under. They were bought out by Sequential Brands Group, which has revitalized the company. Although you may not see heelys quite as often, if at all, they are slowly regaining traction and are still available for purchase.

Another elementary school favorite was Webkinz. Webkinz, launched in 2005, is a virtual reality site where you take care of and play as a variety of virtual stuffed animals. Junior Wil Zinkan said, “I used to love Webkinz, because I wanted a pet at the time, but my mom wouldn’t let me get one, so Webkinz was the next best thing.”

With many games and activities such as The Wheel of Wow, the Curio shop, and the Kinzville Academy, there was always lots to do. There was also the constant threat of your account expiring, and your pets possibly dying. So many were eager to find an excuse to get their parents to take them to Hallmark, Cracker Barrel, Inside Scoop, or anywhere else you could purchase the pets.

Nowadays, Webkinz are hard to come by. They are not sold anywhere in Bloomington and seem to be purchasable only on the Ganz/webkinz website. However, if you still want to visit your furry friends online, the webkinz site is fully operational.

Finally, the fad that is probably the most despised and on the banned list in most elementary schools is Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz are rubber bands worn around your wrist that are  configured into shapes that resembled objects, animals, numbers and letters. Junior Nikki Nguyen said “ I’d always wear them up and down my arms, and sometimes they’d pull my arm hair out and leave a mark.”

Distractions frequently occurred due to Silly Bandz, as people were constantly trading them around to all their friends and trying to acquire the coveted legendary Silly Bandz.  Hope Gummere, also a junior, said “ I remember going out to recess and trading Silly Bandz everyday up until they got banned.”  While Silly Bandz are still sold in stores around the states, kids do not obsess over them like they used to.

The main reason behind the disappearance of these fads is simple. At some point, kids eventually grow up and move away from these childish toys. Although these businesses are still alive and running, they don’t attract the same amount of profits they once had. In the end, people should be happy with the fact that these fads aren’t around anymore.