Crapola is a word cooked up in the 1950s that was rooted in respectable brand names that produced cutting edge appliances in the preceding decades of the 1920s thru 1940s. The word "crapola" was initially used to describe objects that were the opposite of cutting edge and high quality - objects that were shoddy 'crap.' Later as the years passed useage of the word was expanded to describe pretty much anything crappy, such as a messed up situation.
by Kaz Wolf December 17, 2016