Seems like lots of people dismiss spinners as a fad or silly. They are a fad. But I celebrate the fact that they are generally simple mechanical objects that feel good in the hand. Not a doll, not a cheap molded plastic toy (ugh, Shopkins), not an electronic lump of stuff that will eventually leech into a landfill. (Yes, I know there are LED spinners, but that has it's own simple coolness.)<p>I have enjoyed having ball bearings, bearing races, and random bike parts to play with over the years - I don't see this as all that different in concept.<p>School disruption is another matter. Our kids can only share them at recess.
Its not really an interesting product. Its a fad. The article really doesn't explain why fads happen.<p>I think humans are just dumb animals at heart who like shiny things and automatically copy what other humans are doing without even realizing it.
This is a great article about fidget spinners:<p><a href="https://geeksdistrict.com/inside-the-fidget-spinner-gold-rush/" rel="nofollow">https://geeksdistrict.com/inside-the-fidget-spinner-gold-rus...</a><p>"Over the last month or so, the spinning toys have gone from an elementary-school fad to a nationwide obsession. Unlike many other toy crazes, fidget spinners offer a wild-wild west for global capitalists looking to cash in on the craze. For one, there are no patents or trademarks to worry about infringing, so any factory can spew them out by the thousands. They're cheap to make and buy, so there's little risk in investing in, say, 500 or 1,000 of them. And unlike hoverboards, the craze that Chinese factories were cranking out last year, they aren't going to explode or catch fire.<p>"I'm selling a couple thousand a week just walking around and asking stores if they them""
It's definitely a fad, they rose along with the 'fidget cube' from the EDC (every day carry) community. I found these over a year ago on Thingiverse. Since then I've made ~$400 selling 3D printed frames to the local skate shop (because they have the bearings).<p>Once the kids heard about it, the spinners flew off the shelves. They were also popular with people who have ADHD and those in rehab, giving them something to do with their hands.<p>When my printer broke a month ago they didn't wait for me to fix it and bought their own. They now have an order of over 200 units and nobody that knows CAD design... guess who they called for help.
My brother in law bought one the moment he saw one. Returned it for a different color. Now he has 9. It's been 4 days. These things are definitely a phenomenon and the eCommerce world is going crazy.
I've been in the "fidget" and specifically "spinner" community for a long time, well over a year at this point.<p>It's funny, but all these articles and all these posts are completely missing the story of the <i>actual</i> rise of the spinners. That's too bad - it's a good story.<p>These spinners first started getting popular online in a community driven mostly through Facebook/Instagram, and where adults collected metal spinners that cost in the $50-$200. This had been going on for about a year and a half, all started by a single toy from a single maker that was endlessly expanded on (or "copied", possibly).<p>The plastic spinners that all the kids are buying are one offshoot (obviously the largest) of this community.<p>(This is hinted at in the Nerdwriter video).<p>All in all, it was an amazing experience to watch this group grow into this global craze.
Anybody tried a fidget spinner? My wife has adhd and likes the idea but we haven't ordered one. Are these interesting for 5 minutes and then shelved? or do they have some lasting appeal?
I HIGHLY recommend that anybody who has family or friends who are interested in these things (kids i mean) just take a few minutes and build one. They're super cheap, and super easy.<p>Go to your friendly local makerspace if you don't have the tools to do it yourself.
Came here and thought this is more of a discussion about human behavior and self-portrayal:<p>> Why Being Interesting Can Do More for You Than Being Useful<p>Because that is what I witness regularly.
Fidget spinners are genuinely useful though---arguably even more useful than the other items on the list, for their ADHD/anxiety-reducing properties plus portability.<p>The only way you can do noticeably better is direct, hands-free brain stimulation. The fidget cube is also such an object, but it is MUCH more complex and hence vulnerable to be put down due to a competing distraction.
At the risk of sounding like a fiddly-toy-elitist, I have to say that I prefer practice butterfly knives. There's a wide variety of tricks to learn and it takes some hand-eye coordination. Of course, they're also louder, and tend to freak people out until I point out that it's not sharp (and probably a while afterwards too).
My barber gave me one to play with as I sat down for my haircut the other day. I was eager to try it out, but once I did, I didn't really see the appeal, apart from a cute name. This thing is going to go the way of the hula hoop.
These things also make great office toys, give aways at conferences and are conversation starters. Plus they can be branded as well. Here is one that I designed to promote the Go programming language: <a href="https://twitter.com/deckarep/status/864658318479851520" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/deckarep/status/864658318479851520</a><p>Original artwork by Renée French
The yoyo and other toys such as that thing made of two balls attached to a string you moved rapidly up-down to let the balls hit each other, predate this by nearly half a century; only difference is that nobody then was talking about ADHD, and this one requires no ability to operate.
I feel like there's a very simple explanation the article either ignores or doesn't see: Kids were allowed to bring them to school for a while (till they became a distraction)...that's really all you need for a neat toy to become a sensation.
I knocked out one if the bearings from one if the edges, so its off-balance. I actually like it better. i can speed or slow the spin with very subtle hand movements. I can operate it single handed. Its basicly a million times better at being a fidget toy, for me.
I bought a 3-pack on amazon recently after visiting family over Mother's Day weekend seeing all my little cousins and niece/nephews with one.<p>I definitely see the appeal after toying around with one.
And whoever makes first one with a generator inside and a port to plug a charging cable for cellphones is going to make a load of money. No matter if the fine print will say it would take six weeks of continuous spinning to fully recharge a phone, it will just make it look more useful.
Cheap fad. Kids are ingeniously dangerous with their creativity, so, uh, having worked in Risk Management and Insurance a few years, once a few bad headlines come out regarding these things (think injuries, use as projectiles), the liability will justify a crack down. Disappointing it will take some suffering, but if it bleeds, it leads.<p>Then schools and restaurants and other places will have the justification to ban them from their property in principle. This will take the "show" culture part down a peg, forcing it into off-campus. Eventually it won't be cool anymore, and actually kind of geeky to have one instead of the new cool thing, a [SECRET INVENTION BY 6STRINGMERCENARY] which keeps score of taps as a game to share online.<p>If you doubt my Cassandra-screed above, just go look into Slap Bracelets circa the 1990s in the US. I'm not the first person to make the connection (way to go TFF OT!) but I find it extremely comparable. Once they became bare metal razors, as the late, great Bill Paxton said, "Game over man, game over!"<p>For the record, I don't think Fidget Spinners and Yo-Yos belong in the same sentence. I'm proud to be able to do a half-dozen Yo-Yo tricks with my kick-ass green Butterfly. It's what helped me quit smoking Camel Lights about 6 years ago. Yo-Yos are awesome, Fidget Spinners are Pogs on a ball-bearing.