‘What started as a joke, but everyone took it seriously?’ – 17 laughing matters that got weirdly real

‘Doge coin.’
-cobalt154

‘Cat litter boxes at school, for students who identify as cats.’
-indictmentofhumanity

‘The girls name Madison.

‘It originates from the 1984 film, Splash, where the lead character, a mermaid, needs a human name, so she picks the first word she sees: Madison from a street sign.

‘That was the joke, you name streets Madison, not girls. Now it is in the 100 names for newborn girls in the US.’
-Thetford34

‘Scientology.

‘Well, not everybody. But a lot of morons. ‘
-Free_Trade1267

‘the resurgence of Crocs’
-ScorpionX-123

‘The Boston Mooninite Panic of 2007’
-JacPhlash

‘SCAM coin. A crypto currency made as a joke by a celebrity. He told people it was a joke and named SCAM for that reason and they invested anyway.

So many people invested that he did his best to turn it into an actual helpful digital tool/asset.’
-Raqonteur