We owe all our late-night, river-trip-gyrating shenanigans to a swimsuit model. Former (one-piece) swimsuit model Joan Anderson, who named the Hula Hoop and fostered its rise, died last summer at age 101. As the hip-circling story goes, she was visiting her native Australia from her home in the US when she spotted people swiveling wooden hoops around their waists. Mesmerized by the growing Aussie craze, she then shipped one of the toys back to the US. The 2018 documentary “Hula Girl” retells her story of dubbing it the Hula Hoop after the hip-gyrating Hawaiian dance, and how she and her husband first showed it to a toy company boss. It went on to sell millions worldwide.
