 Comparatively small and localized surfing cultures have repeatedly generated surprisingly large influence upon popular culture, particularly in the United States of America and Australia, as well as upon the global consciousness of surfing as a form of recreation.Since the expansion of surfing in the mid-20th century, there have been numerous coastal towns that were situated near good surf breaks, whose citizens did not yet know about modern surfing, and so did not even realize it was a rare commodity.In America and Australia the culture of surfing has influenced popular culture in periodic fads, starting with novels, movies, and the early 1960s TV show, Gidget.