5 ms·

A virtual Fidget Spinner

46 points by madhukarah 9y ago

bcherny 9y ago
Does anyone know who is behind the Fidget Spinner phenomenon? A few months ago they didn't exist, and now they're everywhere. Who's getting rich off this?
- throwanem 9y ago
  No one, because they're not branded or licensed. The people doing well out of them own the factories in China that make them, or buy them from those factories to mark up and sell to the gas stations and convenience stores where they get marked up again and sold to the kids who want them. Thirty (twenty?) years ago, it was "slap bracelets". Same story; it's just that the Internet makes everything faster.
  - joefreeman 9y ago
    There was a recent StartUp (the podcast) episode about slap bracelets: https://gimletmedia.com/episode/you-have-to-invent-something-season-5-episode-1/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/you-have-to-invent-something...
- gh0zt 9y ago
  According to an article linked here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 Catherine Hettinger filed the original patent
  - ilanco 9y ago
    As pointer out by @wlesieutre [1], the fidget spinner does not do not correspond to the claims of Catherine Hettinger's patent. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914
- Artlav 9y ago
  Perhaps Ripple have something to do with it - http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/ http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/
  - bentpins 9y ago
    Why would Ripple have anything to do with it?
    - Artlav 9y ago
      Ripple symbol: http://www.cryptocoinsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ripple-logo.jpg http://www.cryptocoinsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01... Seriously, jokes about Ripple is the only time i ever heard about "fidget spinners". They likely have nothing to do with it what-so-ever.
- deluvas 9y ago
  They did exist, they just weren't very popular. I remember back in January, there was this video [1] that kept showing in everybody's recommended videos, similar to the "1000 DEGREE EXPERIMENTAL KNIVES" video from MrGear [2]. It became popular very quickly and so the trend started. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP-tqMKqDAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP-tqMKqDAQ [2] https://youtu.be/hjSheQ7LgJ4 https://youtu.be/hjSheQ7LgJ4
- electic 9y ago
  The Fidget Spinner as we know it came about because the patent holder could not afford the fees to renew the said patent. Her name is Catherine Hettinger[1]. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-spinner-inventor-patent-catherine-hettinger https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-...
  - BrandoElFollito 9y ago
    It looks like it is not her after all (also saw that on other sites) : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-11/how-the-fidget-spinner-origin-story-spun-out-of-control https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-11/how-the-f...
bfu 9y ago
HN 2017
- ainiriand 9y ago
  Flag this submission please.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
shacharz 9y ago
So now someone should implement it with css only

46 points by madhukarah 9y ago

Does anyone know who is behind the Fidget Spinner phenomenon? A few months ago they didn't exist, and now they're everywhere. Who's getting rich off this?

throwanem 9y ago
No one, because they're not branded or licensed. The people doing well out of them own the factories in China that make them, or buy them from those factories to mark up and sell to the gas stations and convenience stores where they get marked up again and sold to the kids who want them. Thirty (twenty?) years ago, it was "slap bracelets". Same story; it's just that the Internet makes everything faster.
- joefreeman 9y ago
  There was a recent StartUp (the podcast) episode about slap bracelets: https://gimletmedia.com/episode/you-have-to-invent-something-season-5-episode-1/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/you-have-to-invent-something...
gh0zt 9y ago
According to an article linked here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 Catherine Hettinger filed the original patent
- ilanco 9y ago
  As pointer out by @wlesieutre [1], the fidget spinner does not do not correspond to the claims of Catherine Hettinger's patent. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14271914
Artlav 9y ago
Perhaps Ripple have something to do with it - http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/ http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/
- bentpins 9y ago
  Why would Ripple have anything to do with it?
  - Artlav 9y ago
    Ripple symbol: http://www.cryptocoinsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ripple-logo.jpg http://www.cryptocoinsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01... Seriously, jokes about Ripple is the only time i ever heard about "fidget spinners". They likely have nothing to do with it what-so-ever.
deluvas 9y ago
They did exist, they just weren't very popular. I remember back in January, there was this video [1] that kept showing in everybody's recommended videos, similar to the "1000 DEGREE EXPERIMENTAL KNIVES" video from MrGear [2]. It became popular very quickly and so the trend started. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP-tqMKqDAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP-tqMKqDAQ [2] https://youtu.be/hjSheQ7LgJ4 https://youtu.be/hjSheQ7LgJ4
electic 9y ago
The Fidget Spinner as we know it came about because the patent holder could not afford the fees to renew the said patent. Her name is Catherine Hettinger[1]. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-spinner-inventor-patent-catherine-hettinger https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-...
- BrandoElFollito 9y ago
  It looks like it is not her after all (also saw that on other sites) : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-11/how-the-fidget-spinner-origin-story-spun-out-of-control https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-11/how-the-f...

bfu 9y ago

HN 2017

ainiriand 9y ago
Flag this submission please.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

shacharz 9y ago

So now someone should implement it with css only