THERE is a popular rule of thumb, for which there is no scientific basis but seems to be accurate more often than not, that nostalgia has a 20-year life cycle. In other words, what was popular 20 years ago should be enjoying a resurgence in popularity right about now.
Unfortunately, this is not always a good thing, and once we realize that whatever it is we’ve given a second life should have remained in the past, it quickly falls out of favor and any business developed around it crashes.