What is a fidget spinner?

A fidget spinner (sometimes called the finger spinner) is a simple handheld device one can, well, fidget with. There is a disc with ball bearing and two or three paddles that can be spun, much like a ceiling fan. When you see it spin, it’s supposed to be relaxing — so relaxing that one can spin it for hours.

Who invented it?

Flordia-based Catherine Hettinger came up with it 20-odd years ago to entertain her seven-year-old daughter. But she hasn’t made a dime even as global sale is picking up. She had the patent on fidget spinners for eight years but gave it up in 2005 because she could not afford the $400 renewal fee. 

The origin of the device goes back to a “horrible” summer in the 1990s when Catherine was suffering from an autoimmune disorder. “I couldn’t pick up her toys or play with her much at all, so I started throwing things together with newspaper and tape them with other stuff,” she told The Guardian. She then secured a patent on her design in 1997. The toy manufacturing giant Hasbro, which went on to test the design, decided not to produce it back then. 

What is its use?

The device was originally designed for students with attention disorders. It helped keep their hands occupied while at the same time improve concentration. But these spinners went beyond the initial needs to become popular among the general population. “Promoting fidgeting is a common method for managing attention regulation,” Elaine Taylor-Klaus has told CNN. She is the co-founder of ImpactADHD, a coaching service for children with attention disorders and their parents. “What a fidget allows some people — not all people — with ADHD to do is to focus their attention on what they want to focus on, because there’s sort of a background motion that’s occupying that need.” So is fidgeting a common sight? Of course, some people are seen tapping pencils, twisting pieces of paper or doodling during meetings. 

How popular is it?

YouTube is loaded with videos of fidget spinner reviews, some of which have been viewed a few million times. And celebrities have jumped into the picture. InStyle magazine has written about how Gwyneth Paltrow’s son Moses recently celebrated his 11th birthday by being given “a set of cool new fidget spinners before spending a sun-filled day at Legoland in California with friends and his proud mama”.  

It’s now on Amazon’s 20 bestsellers in the toys and games category. Google search for the product has been high since April.

Fidget spinners are not allowed everywhere...

... Because the device can become a distraction for others around a person using one. Many schools in the US and the UK have banned it. 

Are people liking it?

Diana Salinas mentions in her review on Amazon.com: “Bought three so far and I’m getting one for my dad next!” And S. Kelly writes in her review: “Got this for my daughter, she says a lot of the kids at school are using them.”

Where can I buy one in India?

On Amazon.in. Upwards of Rs 345.

Are you using a fidget spinner? 
Tell us at t2@abp.in