The Seinfeld Fanny Pack Storyline That Never Made It Onto An Episode
One of the most interesting aspects of the beloved sitcom "Seinfeld" is how it serves as a time capsule for some of the biggest trends of the 1990s. If there was a fad during the '90s, fans could be sure that "Seinfeld" made fun of it in some capacity. From two-line phones to non-fat yogurt to label makers, the series went out of its way to lambast nearly every new craze that popped up during its time on air.
Although these episodes continue to provide plenty of laughs even in modern day, there's no question that plenty of the jokes in"Seinfeld" are a product of their times – meant to poke fun at some of the biggest fads of its era. One notable example of this is the notoriously goofy "fanny pack," which boomed in popularity throughout the 1990s (via A.Side). Indeed, George Costanza can be seen wearing a fanny pack in the Season 2 episode "Male Unbonding" — though the pack itself is only mentioned in a small throwaway joke and never by name.
According to writer Carol Leifer, there was an entire "Seinfeld" storyline dedicated exclusively to the fanny pack – though it ultimately never made it into an episode.
Elaine would have used a fanny pack to fake pregnancy
During Carol Leifer's AMA on Reddit (in which she answered questions about the numerous shows she's worked on over the years), one user asked, "Did you ever have a storyline you fell in love with that Jerry [Seinfeld] and Larry [David] put the kibosh on?."
Leifer responded by recalling one particular storyline she had written, which was inspired by an event in her own life, emphasizing that the majority of storylines in the series came from the writers' personal experiences. "At the time, fanny packs were really popular," Leifer explained. "I remember wearing my fanny pack under a t-shirt one day, and wherever I went people were exceedingly nice, letting me go in front of them in line, letting me go first wherever I was, and then I realized at the end of the day my giant fanny pack under my t-shirt made me look pregnant! So I always thought it would be a great Elaine story."
Leifer described how an episode of "Seinfeld" could have shown Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) discovering this novel use for the fanny pack, using it to gain a leg up in daily life. Leifer also emphasized how much she loves the way "Seinfeld" focuses on fads and trends specific to the '90s, and there's no question that an entire episode about fanny packs would have been a clear product of the times.