Generally, successful fads have some kind of play value, like the Frisbee, Slinky, Silly Putty, my Wallwalker. They're generally inexpensive items, impulse items. They tend to be rather useless items, too. They provide a few minutes of amusement.

Al Gore has a lot to do with the mainstream attention to global warming, but you can't call him a fad, even if he did dance the Macarena.

You can't be an inventor trying to figure a better way of changing the spare tire. That's boring. We need someone who figures out how to hit a button and turn the entire car upside down.

Ken Hakuta Quotes