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Fidget Spinners: Why Being Interesting Can Do More for You Than Being Useful
- vsloo 9y agoMy 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.
- psyc 9y agoMy 45-year-old brother-in-law literally just showed up with a bag of these 5 minutes ago.
- aesthetics1 9y agoThese have started showing up all over our office. Kind of like a stress ball, but louder.
- vikiomega9 9y agoThey do seem to be showing up. Do you think there's a common advertising source?
- ProfessorLayton 9y agoI 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. I definitely see the appeal after toying around with one.
- emef 9y agoAnybody 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?
- blhack 9y agoI laser cut one with my niece[1] thought it was cool, and ordered one. It was easily worth the $10. [1]I try to spend as much time as I can teaching my niece how to make things. She had a spinner, and j wanted to show her that she could easily just make one too.
- pitt1980 9y agoMy mother in law suggested that we get one to see if our daughter will do that instead of sucking her thumb when tired Other night she had thumb in her mouth, fidget spinner in the other hand, so I'm chalking that up as a fail They're pretty cheap ($5 or so), so it's a pretty low cost experiment if your wife is curious
- mturmon 9y agoMy 6th grader tells me they have jumped the shark at her school already.
- erik-g 9y agoThey exploded in to popularity at my office. And if my coworkers are all about the spinners they are def no longer cool.
- Analemma_ 9y agoI've had one in my office for several weeks now and haven't gotten tired of it yet. It does seem to be close to the Platonic ideal of "fiddly desk things while my code compiles" where the appeal might not wear off.
- blhack 9y agoI 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. Go to your friendly local makerspace if you don't have the tools to do it yourself.
- lunaru 9y agoDo you have instructions for this that you've used with success?
- Retr0spectrum 9y agoStep 1: Drill a hole in the centre-of-mass of any object/material. Step 2: Insert a bearing of the correct size, aiming for an interference-fit. If the hole was too big, apply glue.
- cortesoft 9y agoStep 1: Build a fidget spinner
- celticninja 9y agoStep 0: create the universe
- praveenster 9y agoI used the instructions and 3D model from here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1802260 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1802260 and built a couple. My first 3D printer project experience. It was fun for me and the kids. Note that schools have started to ask kids not bring them to school as they don't really help with fidgeting and are mostly used as toys.
- blhack 9y agoI just searched for a vector if the shape, then cut it on a laser cutter. If you don't have one, you could do the same and instead print it off and use it as a stencil to cut some wood, cardboard, etc.
- legopelle 9y agoI'm halfway through the article and still have no idea what a fidget spinner is.
- Rotonde 9y agoIt's another silly fad toy object that you spin in your hand. A very successfully marketed one, that is.
- ccvannorman 9y agoive never seen an ad, only self reported use/pictures. The success is in hitting a nice intersection of cheap/satisfying gadget.
- fapjacks 9y agoWell if you have seen someone using one on Instagram, it's an ad if that person has more than a few thousand followers.
- ChrisClark 9y agoMarketed by who though? Like the article says, there is no main company or companies behind this. Just lots of random products cheap from China being resold.
- nitrogen 9y agoSubmarine marketing has gone meta
- afpx 9y agoWho's the person who invented the fidget spinner? I hope he/she made some money on this at least.
- Consultant32452 9y agoThey didn't really. It was invented a while back but got no traction so they didn't bother renewing the patent.
- vsloo 9y agoThe article links to an NPR page about the re-inventor of the spinner we know of right now: http://www.npr.org/2017/05/04/526931943/fidget-spinner-emerges-as-must-have-toy-of-the-year http://www.npr.org/2017/05/04/526931943/fidget-spinner-emerg...
- bvmatt 9y agofunny you would say that... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXxAlcbMK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXxAlcbMK4
- afpx 9y agoThat's gut wrenching. I'm going to send her $10.
- unexistance 9y agohttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/638415231/classic-fidget-spinner-spinning-de-stressor-finger https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/638415231/classic-fidge...
- quietplatypus 9y agoFidget spinners are genuinely useful though---arguably even more useful than the other items on the list, for their ADHD/anxiety-reducing properties plus portability. 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.
- Neeek 9y agoWait, I thought the cube was just a bunch of interesting things to fiddle with, there's no problem solving element to it is there? And when I say interesting, I really just mean different switches with a satisfying tactile response. I fail to see how it's any more complicated to operate...
- omginternets 9y agoI'll stick to playing with my pen.
- lucasmullens 9y agoCareful, Misophonia is a thing and you might annoy some people. Although the spinner probably wouldn't be much better.
- fapjacks 9y ago"Annoy" might be too gentle a word here.
- omginternets 9y agoHmm, I guess I'll have to continue using my good judgement and good manners then, avoiding excessively noisy and distractive things. But frankly, if one is so maladapted that a reasonable amount of pen-spinning makes them unable to work/live/whatever, then we can hardly expect the entire world to conform to their needs. There's a point at which we move beyond the realm of installing handicap ramps (reasonable) and onto the realm of policing innocuous behaviors for the benefit of an extreme few (unreasonable). I'm sorry for people who can't function around spinning pens. I really am, but it's unreasonable for them to expect anything beyond common courtesy. I suggest they buy earplugs if it's that bad.
- bsder 9y agoI feel so out of touch. I'll just sit over here popping my bubble wrap.
- deckarep 9y agoThese 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: https://twitter.com/deckarep/status/864658318479851520 https://twitter.com/deckarep/status/864658318479851520 Original artwork by Renée French
- ThomPete 9y agoIt's all the craze at my sons school.
- dankai 9y agoI ordered one yesterday to give it a try. If someone cares, I can report back later.
- ThomPete 9y agoThere is nothing to it really. My sons have several. They are kind of fun but kind of limited in their fun.
- tunesmith 9y agoJust the thought of playing with one of these makes me feel anxious - they're supposed to reduce anxiety?
- falcolas 9y agoWorks for me. Not enough mass to hurt anything, but enough to play with precession. I like mine.
- wingerlang 9y agoWhy?
- pmoriarty 9y agoMy 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.
- jhulla 9y agoThis is a great article about fidget spinners: https://geeksdistrict.com/inside-the-fidget-spinner-gold-rush/ https://geeksdistrict.com/inside-the-fidget-spinner-gold-rus... "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. "I'm selling a couple thousand a week just walking around and asking stores if they them""
- legopelle 9y agoWarning, the site tries to forcefully redirect to ads.
- hodgesrm 9y agoThis looks like a product where some investor will end up with a few dozen railway cars full of unsaleable fidget spinners when the excitement dies down. Some VCs I know had a similar problem with garden gnomes a few years back. They used a few for office decorations and probably buried the rest.
- DanBC 9y agoBut unlike other fads the bearings have some minimal value, and fidget spinners are easy to breakdown into a pile of plastic and a pile of bearings.
- gm-conspiracy 9y agoThis is what I am waiting for - an abundant, inexpensive supply of bearings for projects.
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
- ilaksh 9y agoIts not really an interesting product. Its a fad. The article really doesn't explain why fads happen. 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.
- vacri 9y agoAnimals that copy other animals tend to be the smarter ones.
- amelius 9y agoUntil they get sued for patent infringement.
- wslh 9y agoWhy is it not an interesting product? What is an interesting product in your opinion? Good to hear your thoughts.
- scrollaway 9y agoNerdwriter made a video about it recently :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXxAlcbMK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXxAlcbMK4
- cortesoft 9y agoOur ability to copy others is a sign of intelligence, not stupidity.
- Qantourisc 9y agoBut our inability to realize we are copying and stop and think why is a sign of stupidity ;) Or is there more going on and I am being stupid ? Like people being aware but doing it to fit in due to social instincts ?
- psyc 9y agoI'd have gone with the && operator on this one.
- fineline 9y agoAt last - an invention that is truly revolutionary.
- zanecodes 9y agoAt 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).
- gm-conspiracy 9y agoDo you have any good links for learning the tricks? I saw the practice knifes are about $10 on Amazon.
- mhalle 9y agoSeems 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.) 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. School disruption is another matter. Our kids can only share them at recess.
- drawkbox 9y agoTrue, they are like a slinky or a yo-yo, they might teach you about some physics while playing which is nice.
- WillPostForFood 9y agoI agree, kids don't get as many physical, mechanical toys. They just feel good in your hand, you get them spinning fast and you can balance them on a finger. Angular momentum conveyed physically instead of in some diagram in a book.
- Kluny 9y agoYeah, I figure the faddishness will fade in about 6 months, as it normally does, but I'm planning to get one myself. I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain, a plain silver ring on one finger, and a bracelet on one wrist all for the purpose of having some metal to play with during slow meetings. A fidget spinner will fit right in. Actually, can I get a recommendation? I want one that's solid machined aluminum, minimal plastic, and on the smaller side (I have little fingers).
- DanBC 9y ago> I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain Here's a fidget toy made from keyrings and a bit of bike chain. https://youtu.be/tzXUznrgdbw?t=38s https://youtu.be/tzXUznrgdbw?t=38s This one has slightly different threading of the keyring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bfPgeq7GE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bfPgeq7GE
- mrfusion 9y agoI think It would be a hit to make one with a magnetic bearing. Anyone want to go in one that with?
- 6stringmerc 9y agoCheap 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. 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. 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!" 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.
- skraelingjar 9y agoIt'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). 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. 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.
- teddyh 9y agoHow long until someone sharpens or put spikes on theirs, turning it into a shuriken or similar thing?
- gm-conspiracy 9y agoIs this a symptom of children growing up with touchscreens and lack of tactile buttons?
- tekromancr 9y agoI 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.
- edanm 9y agoI've been in the "fidget" and specifically "spinner" community for a long time, well over a year at this point. It's funny, but all these articles and all these posts are completely missing the story of the actual rise of the spinners. That's too bad - it's a good story. 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). The plastic spinners that all the kids are buying are one offshoot (obviously the largest) of this community. (This is hinted at in the Nerdwriter video). All in all, it was an amazing experience to watch this group grow into this global craze.
- Kluny 9y agoWhere can you get the original (metal) ones?
- beaconstudios 9y agointeresting! Could you expand on what this original spinner was, and what led to it drawing a community of its own? Especially given that it sounds pretty expensive.
- DanBC 9y agoThis is the actual original: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914
- squarefoot 9y agoThe 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.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoClackers.
- jhoechtl 9y agoCame here and thought this is more of a discussion about human behavior and self-portrayal: > Why Being Interesting Can Do More for You Than Being Useful Because that is what I witness regularly.
- schtitt 9y agoHave you found any good ways to mentally deal with this arguably sucky part of human nature, assuming you belong to the part of humanity that would rather be useful than interesting? For me it's a daily source of consternation and I would like to develop a more healthy way of dealing with it.
- throwanem 9y agoNo reason you can't be both.
- schtitt 9y agoIn a given person's life, there might be plenty of reasons why they can't be one or the other, but that's just me being a pedant. However, as I see it you can choose to invest time and resources into being 'useful' or 'interesting', but the one will usually divert said time and resources away from the other. E.g. you can do deep science, and help the scientific progress of humankind, or you can be 'interesting' like Nye or Tyson. What really gets be is how fame, or 'interestingness' at times cloud our judgment so that the individuals who focus on that path are more recognized (often for much less actual useful work) than the sticklers who are actually doing most of the useful work.
- throwanem 9y agoYou're talking about fame. I wasn't; I took "interesting" to mean "not boring".
- schtitt 9y agoI think much of the original point still applies: Should I put mental resources into being perceived as 'not boring' or should I disregard all that and focus on doing what I do well? Maybe I catch a lucky break and somehow just have an interesting personality without having to do much, but then again, maybe not. Recognition of one's work is a lot of the time a function of how 'not boring' you are, as well. Thus, if you do excellent work but don't advertise it, the next promotion will very likely not go to you. This is, IMO, an inherent weakness in how humans perceive the world and I'm not looking for a fix, just a way to cope with it, since the injustice of it all sometimes really gets me down.
- squarefoot 9y agoAnd 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.
- CDokolas 9y agoPlease correct the title. The actual article's title is different!
- electricblue 9y agoI 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.
- electricblue 9y agoI 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.