A hula-hoop is a toy — a plastic, circular tube you rotate around your body by circling your hips. Some experts can get several hula-hoops spinning at the same time.
Twirling a hula-hoop around your waist is fun, and it's also good exercise. Hoops have been used as playthings for centuries, but the hula-hoop was invented in 1958. The toy made from plastic tubing was based on traditional hoops made of rattan or bamboo, and it was wildly popular. At one point, the manufacturer produced 50,000 hula-hoops a day. The word hula was used because the hip movements were seen as similar to the Hawaiian hula dance.