Althouse: "Once the domain of mellow Gen X-ers in the ’80s and ’90s, the hacky sack is experiencing a renaissance at the hands — well, the feet

May 13, 2026

"Once the domain of mellow Gen X-ers in the ’80s and ’90s, the hacky sack is experiencing a renaissance at the hands — well, the feet — of Gen Z."

"High school students around the country are freshly enthusiastic about the toys, crocheted bean bags that once hung in the air like the scent of marijuana. Parents and teachers mostly seem glad to watch young people be entranced by something other than their phones...."

From "Hacky Sack Mounts a Comeback With Gen Z/Teenagers are booting the game out of the 1990s. 'It’s kind of bringing everybody together,' one said" (NYT).

20 comments:

rehajm said...: crocheted bean bags that once hung in the air like the scent of marijuana

with, not like; 5/13/26, 8:31 AM
Joe Bar said...: Heck, here we just put them on dirt bikes. Keeps them away from the phones.; 5/13/26, 8:34 AM
Joe Bar said...: What's next? Yo-yos?; 5/13/26, 8:35 AM
Esteban said...: Stores around me have signs that they are out of Hacky Sacks. My teenager and his friends are into it. Very weird to see prep school kids playing it and not the "hippies" that did it when I was a teen in the 90s.; 5/13/26, 8:37 AM
Paddy O said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/13/26, 8:38 AM
Paddy O said...: It's almost impossible to beat a hacky sack for a close-quarter, waiting-around, semi-social activity. And that is a regular need in high school and college.; 5/13/26, 8:38 AM
Charlie Currie said...: No wonder I did poorly on written exams. I thought this was about a hankie sock. I was lost.; 5/13/26, 8:41 AM
Enigma said...: This fad went way way beyond the crocheted hippies-and-MJ crowd. Most were built like a simple tiny tennis ball but half filled with "beans" or gravel.

Any activity that gets people away from phones is a good thing.; 5/13/26, 8:48 AM
rehajm said...: I don’t think they ever went away for footballers…; 5/13/26, 8:53 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: On screen or IRL? Any exercise is good exercise! You go boy.; 5/13/26, 8:54 AM
Howard said...: This must be stopped at all costs. Like a vociferous invasive species or a gateway drug, hacky sack leads to soccer which leads to communism. Real Red-Blooded American men play football mostly with their hands and only kick occasionally In an act of desperation.; 5/13/26, 9:39 AM
Original Mike said...: Saw the neighborhood teenage girls doing hacky sack in the yard across the street yesterday. Haven't seen that in a long time.; 5/13/26, 9:46 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: I have an investment opportunity in a hula-hoop startup. Let me know if you're interested, funding closes in two weeks!; 5/13/26, 10:29 AM
Howard (not that Howard) said...: I just want to know at what point did they become "crocheted?" In the 70s we used soft leather ones.; 5/13/26, 10:40 AM
Jake said...: Speaking of hacky - that article. Hey, look at this observation! Trends are cyclical!; 5/13/26, 11:09 AM
Enigma said...: Howard --

IIRC, the first generation were plain two-color sport-oriented leather or fabric. A later 1990s generation were university-oriented and had the Guatemalan knit look. Also see Beck-like 1990s Peruvian Chullo hats with ear flaps and tie straps, plus colorful Guatemalan shorts. Same crowd.

The original post suggests limited knowledge among NYT staff, and that is nothing new.; 5/13/26, 11:22 AM
bagoh20 said...: When I was kid, we played it with live hand grenades.; 5/13/26, 12:30 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: 80's and 90's subreddits have mushroomed.; 5/13/26, 4:07 PM
Jeff Weimer said...: I honestly thought the hacky sack never went away....; 5/13/26, 5:11 PM
Biff said...: Any particular demographic? When I was in college, the hackeysack regulars were the ones who set up the South African divestment shantytowns and otherwise smelled of patchouli and poor hygiene.; 5/14/26, 11:41 AM