Why Do you think Fidget Hand Spinners are Popular?

Fidget Hand Spinners are popular because they give people something to do while sitting down. There are people who claim fidget spinners are a good way for you to relax by spinning the spinner, and watching the spinner spin, and listening to the low frequency sound of it spinning. The visual spinning motion of the hand spinner, and design of the fidget spinner can look nice when it is being spun. Users also don't need a lot of room to play with a fidget spinner unlike a yo-yo, mini finger skateboards, ping pong paddles with a string on the ball tied to the paddle, and frisbee.

There are also a lot of neat magic and skill-based tricks which you can do with a fidget spinner.


I think Fidget spinners are popular because of the internet. People can use sites like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to show people their Fidget spinner tricks, and their collection of fidget spinners, and get millions of views, and followers if it is a good video or picture of fidget spinners.

Demon_Skeith said:

I'm amazed at how this took off. I remember one day working at Staples and had a bunch of people come in asking for them, needless to say I gave them a very confused look and next thing I know we have it in stock and were bought out in three days.

Just odd...

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I think UnboxThrapy started the trend by posting a video about Fidget Spinners on Feb 13, 2017. The video currently has 4,259,018 views. He has 8 million subscribers on YouTube, and a lot of them are tech savvy users who can afford fidget spinners for themselves, and their family and friends.


The patent holder could not afford the $400 to renew the patent, so this could be one reason for it taking off so fast because a lot of knock-off/clone companies are making cheaper versions of the fidget spinners because they no longer have to pay for the license of patent from the inventor of the fidget spinners.

Fidget Spinners were born in the summer of 1993 when inventor Catherine Hettinger was unable to play with her daughter due to myasthenia gravis, an auto immune disorder, according to the New York Times. She created the toy as a way to bond with her then seven year old daughter. Fast forward to 1997 when Hettinger got a patent for her design and it expired in 2005 without many people clamoring for the distracting toy.

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The price of ball bearings may of came down in price, too which made it possible to build a fidget spinner to sell for $3 or less on Amazon. You can buy one cheap ball bearing for around $1 on ebay. Cheaper fidget spinners only use one ball bearing to make a piece of plastic or metal spin.

Dark Young Link said:

I've never heard of until I saw this topic a few days ago. Now I see it everywhere. I don't get it. I mean I fidget all the time, but I just move my leg up and down. Honestly, it looks like one of those things I'd play with for about 10 minutes and then get bored.

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I saw news reports that local teachers did not like their students playing with fidget spinners in class.

The fidget spinner is sometimes use to make people not fidget like moving their legs up and down, tapping the floor with their foot, using apps like virtual drumming apps on their phone, playing with their calculator, picking their nose, or biting their nails.

I think these fidget spinners are meant for playing for a few minutes while you are bored in class, or waiting in line at the grocery store.

There are tricks, magic tricks, and science experiments people do with fidget spinners which make them more fun. Some people may use fidget spinners to experience Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) which is a tingling feeling on your skin that you feel in your head, neck and upper spine. Fidget spinner can trigger a ASMR Relaxation sensation with the visual spinning and the sound of the bearings rolling around inside the fidget spinner.

Demon_Skeith said:

I do the leg thing as well, works for me and is free.

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I think you may end up spending more money on food and drinks if you move your leg very fast or for a long time which causes your body to use more energy which comes from food, and you get more hot and thirsty, so you need to drink more liquids which is not always free since a lot of places require you to pay a water bill based on how much water you use for drinking, cleaning, and toilets.

It is easy to make your own fidget spinner with junk like card board, wood, or plastic from packaging boxes from all the stuff like electronics which people buy. You can get the ball bearing for less than a dollar on eBay. You can take apart a broken PC fan which contain a ball bearing or sleeve bearing which you can use if you want the fidget spinner to spin fast. But, if you don't care how fast your fidget spinner spins, you can use a object like a straw as the shaft to make it spin.

It is possible to make Fidget Spinners without bearings, and just with plastic soda lids, and glue. You may end up making a few dollars if there are enough people who are willing to pay $1-5 for a Fidget spinners made from junk like soda lids. and glue.

kingcool52 said:

My sister got one and it did seem quite cool at first but we both got bored of it after a while. The schools over here in the UK have been banning it which has probably helped stem the popularity of them

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I think fidget spinners can get boring if you just spin them in one place, but they seem funner if you can do tricks with them like magic and frisbee style tricks where you can catch them in your hand while it is in the air and spinning.

I notice schools usually ban a lot of small toys which may cause the popularity to not rise as much at school. I remember when Pokemon, Virtual pet toys, card games, yo-yos, and most small toys which don't belong to the school got banned.

Demon_Skeith said:

much rather eat/drink more than play with something in my hand and may get lost/stolen.

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I agree Fidget spinners may get stolen since they are somewhat expensive and currently hard to find in a lot of retail stores. I saw a store selling fidget spinners for $12 for metal fidget spinners.

Some Fidget spinners have a hole on the spinners, so you can use a key chain to tie it to your pants, so it won't get lost as easy. Fidget Spinners also come with a carrying case, so you can also use the carrying case to put it in your bag or pocket, so it won't get lost when it is in the case, and your bag.

m33kuh said:

I don't about you guys but I think this thing has gone out of hand. It's stupid. Sure it helps others with their anxiety or something, that's one thing. But when you go all out crazy about it then you have some issues. I don't have one and I never will buy one.

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I haven't seen many people who go all out crazy on Fidget Spinners except for a few rich people, or adults with higher paying jobs who choose to spend hundreds of dollars on more expensive Fidget Spinners which are handmade by a metal worker. But, it is their money, so they can choose how they want to spend it. Some people may find spending money on higher quality fidget spinners better than spending money on a short trip or vacation to another town or country, or electronics like speakers, and TV.

There are people who collect coins and artwork more seriously. Collecting Fidget Spinners, and talking about them can be a similar hobby to coin collecting which is a good hobby to have fun with. Collecting things can be a better hobby to relax than frequent gambling, or drinking a lot of alcohol which can cause users to waste a lot of money, and mess up their health.

Unite_Player said:

Hi! I've seen so many people going mad for fidget spinners - to the point they're even pushing each other to get them! There are claims that fidget spinners are ideal as they provide various health benefits but nothing has been evidently proven!

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I think people want other people to try fidget spinners by pushing them to get one, so they can share a common hobby sort of like a girlfriend who ask his boyfriend to watch a romance film instead of an action film at a movie theater.

I think the mental health benefits like helping with reduce anxiety of fidget spinners are not proven. Some Fidget Spinner users claim it help help them with reducing their anxiety, so it works for some people, and may not work for other people.

Having simple hobbies like playing with toys like fidget spinners, model cars, and action figures, and collecting them can be a good way to relax from a stressful day at work or school, and not be as bored at home.

There are physical body benefits of playing with basic toys since you are not always looking at a TV, monitor, or phone's screen as often when you play with toys, so your eyes may feel less tired, and dry. Spinning a fidget spinner may help your finger, arms, and hands get slightly stronger muscles and better flexibility after spinning a fidget spinner for a few minutes everyday.

WitchAssassin said:

Everyone sells them now that they are so popular. But I think they are popular because there are people that have a problem with sitting still. Having a fidget spinner gives them the ability to move or "fidget" while still being seated.

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I agree, some people have problems staying still and move around. Some Fidget spinners users may slowly spin them or just hold them and touch the spinner to stay still in a seat. Some fidget spinners maybe able to sit still by just occasionally looking at Fidget spinners with nicer designs, and by slowly touching Fidget Spinners which are made of smooth metal, wood, and higher quality plastic which may be relaxing for some people to touch like touching nicer spoons, and forks made of higher quality metal or wood.

I read online that Fidget spinners also keep people stay focus on watching TV, and not take out their smartphone or tablet while watching TV because they have something to spin, and hold in their hand which also relaxes them.