Fidget Spinners

bnt

Apparently these are the must-have gadget for 2017, though I only heard about them last week, fashion-unconscious as I are. There are a few types, but the most common seem to be the trilobal types, three blades with a bearing in the middle. I did a bit of searching and there are cheap ones, super-expensive ones, YouTube channels that review them and discuss the merits of ceramic vs standard bearings, and contests to see who can spin them the longest.

https://twitter.com/fingerlabzcom/status/856585180277899264

So I was in Dundrum Centre today, remembered that there is a gadget shop there, and thought I might try one and see what they cost. Nope: signs stuck to the counter saying "sold out till Thursday". Oh well. I wonder what it would cost me to ship a box of them from Alibaba in China, so I could resell them on eBay?

Nah. By the time they get here, the trend will be over, and it will be on to the next thing. Yo-yos are due for a comeback. The whole Fidget Spinner thing has blown up so fast that even with-it teenagers are going "wot?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzWgno-HZBk

Arghus

Seems like an enormous waste of time, but each to their own!

Noveight

By the time you have them through your letter box the young 'uns will have already moved on to the next fad :pac:

Ken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV0wTtiJygY

The_Valeyard

I dont get it?

Beasty

The_Valeyard wrote: »

I dont get it?

I don't either but the youngest kid's obsessed already - just had to do an order with Amazon. They are cheap (and presumably cheerful) though

Insect Overlord

Noveight wrote: »

By the time you have them through your letter box the young 'uns will have already moved on to the next fad :pac:

You'd think that, but 12-14 year olds in the Midlands are still obsessed with bottle-flipping. That should have reached its peak a year ago. They're f*cking tragic.

Erik Shin

What a waste of a perfectly good **** hand

I can't watch that video she's bizarre
I've heard of them but haven't seen how you fidget them or whatever

Erik Shin

bluewolf wrote: »

I can't watch that video she's bizarre
I've heard of them but haven't seen how you fidget them or whatever

You could try looking at the video above it

The_Valeyard

I honestly thought this was going to be a thread about people who click pens and flip the pen between fingers.

Noveight

An File wrote: »

You'd think that, but 12-14 year olds in the Midlands are still obsessed with bottle-flipping. That should have reached its peak a year ago. They're f*cking tragic.

Reports say they're still planking out on the Aran Islands. Bless 'em.

Stigura

What were those balls that time? I think the idea was to shake them in ye hands

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Why?

Just... why?

MilesMorales1

As with most of these fad things, absolute ****e.

Beyondgone

New take on worry beads. I don't see the harm. I spin my phone in my hand when I'm stressed. Each to their own.

James Bond Junior

I tried one out in one of the souks in Dubai 2 weeks ago. They look like 100 times more fun than they actually are. Left it behind me, waste of money.

ArchXStanton

These have taken off in the vaping community for the last few months,something to do with your hands or something or other

IvyTheTerrible

These things are spreading like fungus at school. I suppose if it stops the kids trying to look at their phones in class it's not too bad!

Stigura

Stigura wrote: »

What were those balls that time? I think the idea was to shake them in ye hands

Oh, yeah .....

FFS .....

mahamageehad

I have a fidget cube and I love it. Gives me something to do with my hands while I'm thinking at work, without the death stares from my colleagues for clicking my pen!

nullzero

A product that is a ludicrous as it's name would suggest, much like the yo yo before it.

Mohamed Careful Jeans

Mohamed Careful Jeans wrote: »

Why?

Just... why?

They tend to appeal with people who are slightly anxious, perhaps a little hyperactive, and I think they're used therapeutically by some people on the autism spectrum as a self-comforting aid when they might feel overwhelmed by giving them something to focus that stress on.

They seem to fill the same sort of gap as perhaps prayer or rosary beads might do, the action becomes ritualistic and soothing and can be used to calm oneself in the same way as the prayer beads do, without spiritual significance.

I think they're harmless and if they're at all effective then it's probably not a bad fad, as fads go.

Muir

They were originally designed for children with ADHD and autism to use in the classroom because it helps their concentration. I assume other children seen them then & wanted them too and that's how it took off.

gizmo81

I thought the fellas on Henry Street were asking me did I want a finger spinner.

They are all the rage on Henry Street.

Peregrine

I'm very fidgety but I don't think I'd like that. I had a fidget cube for a while and that was pretty good.

r93kaey5p2izun

Muir wrote: »

They were originally designed for children with ADHD and autism to use in the classroom because it helps their concentration. I assume other children seen them then & wanted them too and that's how it took off.

Very poor design for a classroom. They're incredibly noisy and regularly spin out of control. The cubes are a little better but not much. I find it hard to believe they originate in any sort of sound research on ADHD or ASD - seems more like somebody in China saw a marketing opportunity.

andekwarhola

My son is pestering me every waking hour for one. Sold out until Thursday won't really cut the musard when Fatherly Omnipotence is presumed as a given.

9or10

bluewolf wrote: »

I can't watch that video she's bizarre
I've heard of them but haven't seen how you fidget them or whatever

Me neither. Now I'm kicking myself for giving her yet another view

Samaris

I keep seeing ads recently for metallic spinning tops too, on various sites. Wonder if that resurfacing has anything to do with these things?

The shape might change slightly (like roller-skates to rollerblades), but traditional toys keep making resurgences.

GBX

These are being knocked by a lot of people that they are a waste of time. At the end of the day, we all had fads that passed the time when we were younger that other people laughed at as being useless but we were still content with it.

Kimbot

I keep seeing that you can do tricks with these, but not one video showing a single trick anywhere :P

Boom_Bap

My nephew gave me a shot of his yesterday. I looked at it and thought to myself what was the point of this piece of sh*t.


3 hours later when I was still playing with it I realised that they are mildly addictive.

Kimbot

Boom_Bap wrote: »

My nephew gave me a shot of his yesterday. I looked at it and thought to myself what was the point of this piece of sh*t.


3 hours later when I was still playing with it I realised that they are mildly addictive.

Im a serious fidgit, legs shaking when i sit and hands fidget when really anxious. Gonna order one for myself and see if it helps ease it a bit

Boom_Bap

jonnycivic wrote: »

Im a serious fidgit, legs shaking when i sit and hands fidget when really anxious. Gonna order one for myself and see if it helps ease it a bit

Get a few. I ultimately ended up with 2 of them yesterday and was stacking them and spinning to see which would last the longest.

bnt

jonnycivic wrote: »

I keep seeing that you can do tricks with these, but not one video showing a single trick anywhere :P

The ony "trick" I've seen so far is the passing of the spinner between hands without stopping it. :rolleyes:

Boom_Bap

bnt wrote: »

The ony "trick" I've seen so far is the passing of the spinner between hands without stopping it. :rolleyes:

bnt

swingking

The best classroom fad was pogs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoKjb2cbuY

MrMorooka

Sounds like fun- personally I fidget a lot, I always have to carry something around with me, like a pen or certain 'just right' shapes of plastic things(the clip off of trouser hangers are great) that I can just have in my hand or spin or otherwise play with throughout the day. As I type this I have an old DS stylus in my hands too. Not sure why I do it, when I was younger it was sticks and stuff. I suppose this type of product is aimed at me, but it looks a bit too flashy and involved really- makes it too obvious what you're doing.

aaronjumper

swingking wrote: »

The best classroom fad was pogs

Pogs and a few games of conkers.

BBDBB

anyone remember clackers?

seamus

I'm too old for this and my children too young for it, so thankfully I'm not exposed to it yet.

It does sound a lot better than "dabbing" though. As a fad that's just straight up embarrassing, like planking.

At least fidgety toys have some level of entertainment in them.

ScumLord

Someone finally found a use for all those bearings they accidentally ordered.

Junkyard Tom

Candie wrote: »

They seem to fill the same sort of gap as perhaps prayer or rosary beads might do, the action becomes ritualistic and soothing and can be used to calm oneself in the same way as the prayer beads do, without spiritual significance.

When I packed in the shmokes, ever before e-cigs, I had a little length of small link chain that I used to twirl around my index finger to help 'fill the gap' that was left from not holding a cigarette. It helped.

The Rape of Lucretia

Anyone had 2 plane dynamic balancing done to theirs ? I think this could be the best tune to improve performance.

Also thinking of trying C2 or C1 clearance bearings instead of the standard ones, and experimenting, and have niggling concerns about the lubrication of the bearings - very light oil - or no all at all ??

bnt

I go with a light food grade silicone penetrating oil, personally - no more than that to prevent particulate ingress. With a ductile polypropylene chassis, you should be able to get away with a C1 bearing clearance and no preloading on the encabulator.

James Bond Junior

The geeks have arrived.

Junkyard Tom

608ZZ

The Rape of Lucretia

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

608ZZ

Not P2 class ?

bnt

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Not P2 class ?

A 128-2Z would be a better fit for such an application.