Word: fad
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Suddenly the discreetly worded ads are popping up everywhere. Starkly simple copper bracelets, the pitchmen proclaim, are now being worn in the very best of circles. Jet setters, film stars, top athletes and even a few sober members of the upper bourgeoisie have taken to the fad. Why? Though the ads say nothing about it, to avoid the laws against false and misleading advertising claims, the beautiful people are convinced that the copper bangles* will miraculously alleviate the pain of a variety of ailments, ranging from arthritis to sciatica to chronic backache...
Part of the Juju. The latest version of the copper bracelet fad began in Britain during the early '60s and quickly spread to the Continent. In both London and Paris, the green-stained wrist has become a mark of distinction. Among the wearers are the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Lord Snowdon, the Marquess of Bath (who thoughtfully sells the bracelets to sightseers at a souvenir stand outside his castle), Pierre Cardin, Coco Chanel and Stavros Niarchos. Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, the eminent historian, has been wearing his bracelet for three or four years and says its effects...
What was best in the dream-the idealism of the Ban the Bomb movement, a general exuberant impulse toward freedom-finally went mad. For this, perhaps too conveniently, Booker mainly blames the communicators-the fad-conscious journalists, the telly talkers, the trendy film makers-who turned Neophilia into an industry...
...theory that it is difficult to kick a victim if one's boots are flopping and one's trousers are dropping-but bootlaces and braces are not all that difficult to replace. The only resolution, it would seem, will come when Britain produces a still newer youth fad. In the meantime, Vidal Sassoon's Mayfair salon has capitalized on the current one by offering skinhead hairdos to London's trendiest ladies...
...purpose of the academic fad, Willson explained, is to determine under what conditions a thrown egg will break. "For example, we can try and find out if the eggs break more easily when thrown onto grass at different angles or when spun. Now that the children's interest is aroused, there will be no stopping the questions." He was right. When only two of the 23 eggs thrown at Willson broke upon hitting the grass, his pupils were incredulous. "My mum won't understand this experiment," said a 13-year-old girl. "She is always dropping eggs...