The old saying goes “____ is the new black.” The implication being that black never goes out of style, so anything that achieves the status of black will, likewise, never go out of style. Over the years marketers and media have adopted this phrase to woo customers and clients, and to make broad cultural statements. Remember when Demi Moore started dating Ashton Kucher and 40 became the new 30, and your mom’s friends started wearing low-cut jeans and halter-tops? Exactly. The thing is, it isn’t that black never goes out of style, it’s that it’s always been in style. Not so with trends, products, and all the other things people want you to buy. They come in to style, and they go out. Not at all like black, actually.

There’s a really cool graph that documents the movement of this little, but ubiquitous, language construct. You can get a taste from the snapshot above. I’ll bet since this thing was created, there’s been a few more this-is-the-new-thats. Heard any?