# Explain to me the allure of Fidget Spinners **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 4, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882 "2017-05-04T23:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/1 "2017-05-04T23:43:45Z")
[Fidget Spinners](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fidget+spinner&sprefix=fidget+%2Caps%2C200&crid=G0GNS4RDKQT6) Bonus points if you can provide demonstrable proof that they actually have measurable utility. Feel free to include visual aids, string theory or [quantum bogodynamics](http://www.hacker-dictionary.com/terms/quantum-bogodynamics) in your argument. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/2 "2017-05-05T00:13:15Z")
FWIW, when I was younger (and often, even now), I always liked to have something to fidget with to keep me semi-occupied. If I had nothing to do, my mind was a million miles away, jumping from one thought to another (much like I do now on wikipedia or youtube). But just being able to do _something_ was usually enough to help me pay attention. In grade school, that might have meant having a pen or mechanical pencil that I could take apart and put back together over and over and over. When my parents would drag me to church, I’d be sure to grab a rubber band or something. In college, the only place I had an issue was in my psych class. The teacher gave out the lecture notes ahead of time so that we could focus on the lecture instead of trying to write everything he was saying. So to keep myself occupied I’d do my calculus homework (sitting in the front row) during the class. He asked me about it once. I told him that if I’m doing that, I’m paying attention and he can call on me whenever he wants and ask me anything, and he did, but if I’m making eye contact with him, following him as he paces the room…I’m gone, I might as well not even be there. I took two classes with him and he was clearly okay with it. Having said that…that’s supposedly the real reason. It gives kids something to do with their hands. But really, I think they’re just a fad. Many kids with true ADHD, like myself, will likely be just as happy taking apart a calculator or trying to learn how to spin their pencil around their thumb and the fidget spinners are probably a bit distracting to others. ETA, that’s the reason, I think the _allure_ is how fast and smooth they spin and since they’re quiet and cheap they can bring them to school. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/3 "2017-05-05T00:43:21Z")
I actually just bought one, and find myself using it all the time. I like fidgeting, but I also like not disturbing my neighbors. So the allure is that instead of clicking a pen or tapping my fingers or the like, I can spin the thing. It’s basically silent and has a nice gyroscopic feel to it. They’re cheap (I paid $12), so it’s not exactly a huge loss if it turned out to suck. It may have had some minor positive benefits to my manual dexterity. It felt awkward at first and found I couldn’t really get it going quickly; after a few days it feels very natural in either hand. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/4 "2017-05-05T02:26:53Z")
It’s the latest fads in my kids’ school. The kids make of it a contest of skill to see how well one can balance a spinning fidget spinner on various body parts or other surfaces (e.g., the top of a soda bottle). I don’t know that the following is a good thing, and I can’t quite explain it, but I find it difficult to pass one by without giving it a spin. The appeal is there, even if I can’t quite say why. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/5 "2017-05-05T02:32:44Z")
I can’t say if there is benefit or not but I already see it as the big amusement park arcade/game prize for this summer. And I’m only two parks into the season around here. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/6 "2017-05-05T02:43:04Z")
One possible reason that kids use them: it bugs teachers, parents, and adults in general. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/7 "2017-05-05T03:12:36Z")
There was a story today (May 4) on [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/fidget-spinners-the-newest-toy-to-twirl-into-americans-lives-936693315526), which is the first time I’ve heard of them. Of course now I want to buy one… I have a student in one of my classes (college-level) who brings a small can of Play-Doh to class and will handle it during class. I asked him before class one time what’s the deal, and he said it was for his ADHD and the disability office cleared it with him (but they didn’t send anything about it to me - urgh). I was fine with that. A colorful, spinning item, silent or not, would be an entirely different thing. I would find it distracting, and I think many students would also find them to be a distraction. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/8 "2017-05-05T07:09:18Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I have a student in one of my classes (college-level) who brings a small can of Play-Doh to class and will handle it during class. I asked him before class one time what’s the deal, and he said it was for his ADHD and the disability office cleared it with him (but they didn’t send anything about it to me - urgh). I was fine with that. > > A colorful, spinning item, silent or not, would be an entirely different thing. I would find it distracting, and I think many students would also find them to be a distraction. Paper Airplanes are the answer. I just look up and see a quiet paper airplane, silently gliding down the class towards the front (away from me) lifts my level of alertness, redriects my focus twards the front, and doesn’t interfere with my listening. So much better than those other lectures, where talking is permitted and paper airplanes aren’t… ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/9 "2017-05-05T07:41:10Z")
Who invented the fidget spinner? > **[As fidget spinner craze goes global, its inventor struggles to make ends meet](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-spinner-inventor-patent-catherine-hettinger)** > > Florida-based creator Catherine Hettinger couldn’t afford the patent on the ubiquitous playground toy but insists she’s ‘pleased’ about its sudden popularity ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/10 "2017-05-05T08:42:31Z")
The spinners are a great tool in promoting mental health. Purchase a spinner. Purchase a shotgun. Spin the spinner. Shoot it. You’ll feel much better. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/11 "2017-05-05T08:45:17Z")
I don’t know how to find it quickly, but some time ago I read an article somewhere that psychologists or neurologists had studied not just Kids of varying Age Levels but also adults, and found (a bit to their surprise) that even after decades of learning to sit still, many / most adults still are twitchy when concentrating on sth. - esp. listenting to somebody else talk; or watching a movie - and do better if their fingers are occupied (that might also be why People eat so many Snacks while watching TV: to occupy their Hands, thus the recommendation to swap potatoe Chips with carrot sticks for less calories). One alternative to These toys is knitting, which can be done semi-automatic for easy things. The experts that advise how Schools are run therefore recommend more breaks and more movement to get Kids to concentrate better during the lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/12 "2017-05-05T11:40:32Z")
Never heard of these until a couple of news stories (one on-line, one on my local news) yesterday. The concept sounds familiar enough–it is a pretty common habit to fidget around with spinning something or another–what is odd is having a huge fad around buying things to do it. (When I was a kid, after walking to school 10 miles barefoot in the snow, we would make origami pinwheels (though the term “origami” wasn’t something we knew) with noting more than a sheet of paper, a straw, and a straight pin or paper clip.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/13 "2017-05-05T12:00:54Z")
Heard a report on them last night on NPR: > **[Fidget Spinner Emerges As Must-Have Toy Of The Year](https://www.npr.org/2017/05/04/526931943/fidget-spinner-emerges-as-must-have-toy-of-the-year)** > > Toys R Us has literally scrambled the jets trying to meet the demand of this year's break-out toy, handheld whirligig known as a "fidget spinner." Unlike other toy explosions like the Tickle Me Elmo or the Furby, the fidget spinner seemed to have hit... I hadn’t heard about these until I stumbled across them in a shop a couple of weeks ago with my wife. She was already familiar with them, because they’re al the rage in Middle School. I’ve read pieces that claim that this is a case of people “stealing” something intended for autistic kids, but, according to the NPR piece (and maybe the Guardian poece, as well – I haven’t read it yet) the spinner was invented by a guy who just liked playing with things with his hands during meetings. This was friendlier than a switchblade. It was made popular by people seeing it on his internet site and wanting one. That it turns out to be a useful therapeutic device for autistic kids seems to be a useful side effect, not its original intent. Edited to add: If I owned one, I’d probably be playing with it all the time, but I easily resisted the urge to buy one. According to the NPR piece, the inventor was originally selling these for $300 apiece. Through the wonders of capitalism, the price for a knockoff\* is down to something like $10 \*They applied for a patent, but it’s still pending. I’m sure nobody is paying royalties on these. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/14 "2017-05-05T12:08:27Z")
The toy also provides a good early lesson in rotational inertia. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/15 "2017-05-05T12:16:10Z")
[Here](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-fidget-spinners-schools-huppke-20170501-story.html) is an informative article on how they threaten Western Civilization. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/16 "2017-05-05T12:16:41Z")
I’m a substitute teacher, so I see tons of these things. And they’re really not distracting at all. At most, kids will want to try out each others’ spinners to compare them, and that takes all of a minute or two when someone gets a new one, usually in the time before the bell rings anyway, and then it’s a nonissue. I don’t know if they actually help focus or not, but in any event they don’t seem to hurt. Putty _can_ be a bit distracting, so you have to watch that a bit closer, but on the other hand I’ve also seen students use putty to form visual aids for what they’re actually studying. It can be a godsend for tactile learners. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/17 "2017-05-05T12:27:46Z")
They’re like the Duncan Yo-yos that were popular in grade schools in the 1960s and 1970s when I was a kid, and then the yo-yo craze came back again in the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/18 "2017-05-05T12:49:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m a substitute teacher, so I see tons of these things. And they’re really not distracting at all. At most, kids will want to try out each others’ spinners to compare them, and that takes all of a minute or two when someone gets a new one, usually in the time before the bell rings anyway, and then it’s a nonissue. I don’t know if they actually help focus or not, but in any event they don’t seem to hurt. > > Putty _can_ be a bit distracting, so you have to watch that a bit closer, but on the other hand I’ve also seen students use putty to form visual aids for what they’re actually studying. It can be a godsend for tactile learners. My wife is a full-time teacher and your experience is directly opposite of what she and her co-workers report. The spinners are, whatever their benefit to the holder, a distraction to others. Frequently they are the focus of the users attention and not the class work. On the other hand, my daughter has ADHD and has a fidget cube. These seems to be much less distracting in class, except for quiet times. The cubes are small and usually can’t be seen. But if the class is quiet, it can be heard. The cube has an apparent effect for my kid, but if it is actually helping I have no idea. Could be the meds, could be the day of the week. Plus one person. I suspect as with anything, that when the spinners were a tool for kids with attention issues and not a fad they had more value. They were kept out of sight, under desks and the like. But now they are show off object and far more kids have them then are necessary. The result is they are fad which is annoying the crap out of teachers. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/19 "2017-05-05T13:16:00Z")
Fidgets can keep kids occupied and are cheaper than tablets. I consider them a device for adult comfort. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882/20 "2017-05-05T13:24:52Z")
Interesting thing – the Guardian article and the NPR report attribute the invention of the fidget spinner (and presumably the patent applications) to two completely different people. I have no idea how they obtained their information. from the Guardian: > [@](#): > > As the inventor of the original fidget spinner – the ubiquitous new toy that has quickly become a craze in playgrounds around the world – Catherine Hettinger should be enjoying the high life. > > But the Florida-based creator is not making a penny off her genius invention, even as global sales of the gadget she envisioned two decades ago as a way to entertain her seven-year-old daughter soar into the tens of millions and suppliers struggle to meet massive demand. > > Hettinger held the patent on finger spinners for eight years, but surrendered it in 2005 because she could not afford the $400 (£310) renewal fee. For the record, it’s US Patent **5591062** “Spinning Toy”, filed May 28, 1993 and granted Jan. 27, 1997 You can find it here: [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5591062.PN.&OS=PN/5591062&RS=PN/5591062](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5591062.PN.&OS=PN/5591062&RS=PN/5591062) The images in that patent don’t remotely resemble the Fidgets I’ve seen. From the NPR report: > [@](#): > > SCOTT MCCOSKERY: I had a long career in the IT world. > > MALONE: This is Scott McCoskery, and as an IT guy in Seattle, he says he spent a lot of time on conference calls and in board meetings that he didn’t really need to attend. > > MCCOSKERY: During those times, I often found myself clicking a pen, opening and closing a knife or… > > MALONE: A knife in a board meeting, Scott? > > MCCOSKERY: A small pocket knife. It was nothing too threatening. > > MALONE: All right, all right. > > To get through those meetings, McCoskery built what he believes is the first fidget spinner as we know them. It was about three years ago, and it was just for him. It was metal. It was beautiful. And then he shared pictures with an online community that takes particular pride in things you carry every day, like a wallet or a watch or a pocket knife. When he shared those pictures, he got flooded with requests, and so he started selling what he called the Torqbar. > > How much were those going for originally? > > MCCOSKERY: They were probably between $300 and $500. > > MALONE: McCoskery partnered with a longtime friend to sell the spinners full time, and they filed for a provisional patent last year. It’s too early to know what rights that will give them, but shortly after the Torqbar went online, other people started making and selling their own spinners, some machined from metal, others 3-D printed from plastic. And eventually, major retailers caught on to the trend. So three years ago is 2014. I’ve looked in the UP Patent Office applications page, and can’t find anything by a McCoskery listed. But you can find “torqbar” at [http://torqbar.info/](http://torqbar.info/). The items sold there are two-lobed rather than the three-lobed items I see kids playing with. Presumably the patent application is worded broadly enough to cover this. If not, he may be out of luck. Here’s another Torqbar site: > **[Kimberlin Co.](https://kimberlin.co/password)** I suppose it’s possible that the Fidgets, being three-lobed, aren’t considered the same as either device above. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-allure-of-fidget-spinners/785882.md?page=2)