What 1950s fad involved cramming as many people as possible into a telephone booth?

The 1950s saw a peculiar craze sweep across college campuses and beyond, known as phone booth stuffing. This fad involved the seemingly simple, yet surprisingly challenging, task of cramming as many people as possible into a standard telephone booth. It was a test of flexibility, teamwork, and often, sheer will, as participants contorted themselves into various positions to maximize the human occupancy of the small glass and metal enclosure.

The origins of this unusual competition are often traced back to March 1959 in Durban, South Africa, where students at a YMCA reportedly set a world record by squeezing 25 individuals into a single phone booth. News of this feat quickly spread globally, sparking similar attempts in the United States, Canada, and Britain, where it was sometimes referred to as "telephone booth squash." Colleges vied to break existing records, with some groups even employing "scientific" approaches, like the application of geometry and calculus, to devise the most efficient packing strategies.

The appeal of phone booth stuffing lay in its absurdity and the camaraderie it fostered among participants. Rules for what constituted a "successful" stuff varied; some challenges required all bodies to be fully enclosed, while others allowed limbs to protrude, or even demanded that a working phone call could still be made. This playful and mischievous spirit captured the youth culture of the late 1950s, much like earlier fads such as goldfish swallowing. Despite its widespread popularity and coverage in major publications like Life and TIME magazines, the phone booth stuffing craze was relatively short-lived, peaking in 1959 before largely fading by the end of the year. However, its memory persisted, occasionally resurfacing for reunions and anniversaries, and even inspiring a subsequent fad of stuffing people into Volkswagen Beetles.