Berry Picking

Alaska State Fair

Colors of Honey

Hula Hoop Fun at the AK Fair

The hula hoop is an ancient invention - no modern company or inventor can claim that they invented the first hula hoop. However, many companies "re-invented" their versions of the hula hoop made of modern materials like plastic with added twists like glitter, sounds, etc. The original hula hoops were made from metal, bamboo, wood, grasses, and vines.

Wham-O is the most successful manufacturer of hula hoops in modern times and the company that trademarked the name Hula Hoop® and start manufacturing the toy out of Marlex in 1958. Twenty million Wham-O hula hoops sold for $1.98 in the first six months. (Marlex is the tradename for crystalline polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics invented by research chemists Paul Hogan and Robert Banks of Phillips Petroleum.)

Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin founded the Wham-O company which also helped popularize another ancient toy, the frisbee.

Crevasse Moraine