U.S. Fads Find Rebirth on Maui

The island of Maui has mysteriously rekindled some American fads thought to have faded long ago, according to a popular culture-watchdog group.

At least 5 items or practices that were once wildly popular on the mainland have resurfaced in significant numbers on the Valley Isle.

“It’s like finding a new island in Jurassic Park,” said Harold Remus of the National Pop Culture Institute based in Seattle. “Everywhere you look you might find things you thought extinct.”

The Institute points to the following as examples:

* Crocs. Those rounded rubber-looking things with Swiss cheese holes? You’ll find islanders proudly wearing them in any town. Sometimes even with socks.

* Obnoxiously raised trucks. Harkening back to the days of Magnum, P.I., these automotive storks can be seen on highways and local streets galore. If you look long enough, you might even catch one with muddy tires!

* Ridiculously lowered trucks. Remember when gravity-challenged pickups were a thing in the glorious ‘80s? They're still a thing on Maui.

* Man-buns. Once a trendy, almost sexy, way for a dude to bunch his hair atop his head in a ball, you’d be hard-pressed to not see one daily on Maui.

* Pointy beards. Actually, Remus said, there’s been little evidence of that weird fad of a pointy beard topped with a goofy jar-head haircut. But the Institude believes it’s only a matter of time.

“We have this running pool in the office,” Remus said. “The consensus is we will see the grand return of the jar-head-pointy beard combo around mid-terms later this year. We call it the Goofy Tide. And it’s coming.”