From The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle by Don L. Wulffson:
More than three thousand years ago, children in Egypt played with large hoops of dried grapevines. The toy was propelled along the ground with a stick or swung around at the waist.
During the fourteenth century, a "hooping" craze swept England, and was as popular among adults as kids. The records of doctors at the time attribute numerous dislocated backs and heart attacks to "hooping." The word hula became associated with the toy in the early 1800s when British sailors visited the Hawaiian Islands and noted the similarity between "hooping" and hula dancing.
In 1957, an Australian company began making wood rings for sale in retail stores. The item attracted the attention of Wham-O, a fledgling California toy manufacturer. They changed the wood rings to plastic, and in January of 1958 introduced Hula Hoops to the American public. Within six months, Americans bought 20 million hula hoops, at $1.98 apiece.
