Have you done any of the following in the past six to 12 months?

1. Visited a high school/college campus. 2. Frequented a coffee shop. 3. Made a purchase at a skate shop. 4. Left your house/apartment. 5. Googled "Miley Cyrus Skateboard."

If so, you have likely noticed that small, plastic skateboards appear to be a popular consumer item throughout the United States. In a certain light, the plastic skateboard phenomenon may seem surprising. All things considered, Americans have a good deal to choose from when it comes to recreational entertainment, be it the Activision video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" or "Angry Birds."

Don't forget Instagram, the third-generation iPad, or the latest mobile phone app.

But perhaps when it comes to plastic skateboards, forgetting and remembering are part of the point.

Much like vintage typewriters, LP records and hot-rods, plastic skateboards are artifacts with roots in an earlier era. Though slight, they seem to promise patrons a soulful, if fleeting, return to a simpler time. The willfully anachronistic, easily transportable boards can satisfy one's lo-fi, retro, old-school, vintage craving. To ride one is to temporarily forget a duty to sponsors, to get back to the basics of pushing and more pushing and then pushing some more.

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