fidget spinner

{{Infobox toy

|name = Fidget Spinner

|image = fidget spinner red, cropped.jpg

|caption = A typical three-lobed fidget spinner

|inventor = Catherine Hettinger, Scott Mccorskey

|patent = US9914063B1

|type = Stress-relieving toy

|country = United States

|from = 2014

|to = present

|materials = Brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper, plastic, etc.

|slogan =

}}

File:Fidget Spinner being spun Trim.gif

A fidget spinner or hand spinner is a toy that consists of a ball bearing in the center of a multi-lobed (typically three-lobed) flat structure made from metal or plastic with metal weights in the lobes, designed to spin around its central axis. Fidget spinners became very prevalent trending toys in 2017.

The toy has been promoted as helping people who have trouble focusing or those who may need to fidget to relieve nervous energy, anxiety, or psychological stress. There are claims that a fidget spinner can help calm down people who have neuro-developmental or mental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism,{{Cite web|url=https://fidgetsguide.com/best-fidget-spinners/|title=Fidget Spinners|last=McGri|first=David|date=2017-08-18|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-21}} though peer-reviewed studies for this notion are lacking.{{cite magazine| last=Andersen | first=Rachel | title=Experts' Advice: Fidget Spinners Are Not for ADHD Treatment | magazine=Autism Parenting Magazine | date=9 March 2022| url=https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/fidget-spinners-not-adhd-treatment/}}

A fidget spinner consists of a round, flat central bearing (usually a ball bearing) that allows the arms connected to it to rotate; around this central axis, there are usually three weighted arms, but their number varies depending on the model. When spun forcefully, they can continue spinning for up to several minutes, depending on the model.Anne Demoulin, [https://www.20minutes.fr/mode/2066139-20170511-video-hand-spinner-toupie-fait-tourner-tete-petits-grands « Le Hand Spinner, la toupie qui fait tourner la tête des petits et grands »], 20 minutes.fr, 11 mai 2017.

Development

In an interview appearing on May 4, 2017, on NPR, Scott McCoskery described how he created a metal spinning device called a "{{vanchor|Torqbar}}"{{cite news |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Guadalupe |title=The Inside Story Behind the Rapid Rise of the Fidget Spinner Trend |url=https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/who-created-fidget-spinners-catherine-hettinger-scott-mccoskery.html |access-date=April 16, 2022 |work=Inc |url-access=registration |date=June 8, 2017 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Millions sold: Was the original fidget spinner made in Suquamish? |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/our-high-end-fidget-spinner-will-beat-the-competition-local-makers-say/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |work=The Seattle Times |date=May 17, 2017}} around 2014 to satisfy with his own tendency to fidget in meetings and on conference calls while working in the information technology field in the Seattle, Washington, area of the United States.

He said he believed it was the first fidget spinner as they became known in their popular form.

In response to requests from an online community, he began selling the device online.{{cite web|last=Malone|first=Kenny|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/05/04/526931943/fidget-spinner-emerges-as-must-have-toy-of-the-year|title=Fidget Spinner Emerges As Must-Have Toy Of The Year|work=Planet Money|publisher=NPR|date=May 4, 2017|access-date=May 18, 2017}}

Popularity and usage

File:Fidget spinner search popularity 7d rolling mean.svg popularity of fidget spinners in early 2017]]

With the rapid increase in the popularity of fidget spinners in 2017, many children and teenagers began using them in school, and some schools also reported that students were trading and selling the spinner toys.{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/05/04/fidget-spinners-distraction/|title=Many Schools Ban Hot Toy For Being Distraction|work=CBS Los Angeles|date=May 4, 2017|access-date=May 6, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/05/02/fidget-spinners-kids-reports-distracting-parents-say-not/|title=Fidget Spinners For Kids: Reports Say It's Distracting, Parents Say Not So|work=CBS Miami|date=May 2, 2017|access-date=May 7, 2017}} The popularity of the spinners also led to them being the subject of Internet memes, particularly on 4chan and Reddit.{{cite web|last=Hathaway|first=Jay|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/fidget-spinners/|title= The dank memes and questionable science behind fidget spinners |work=The Daily Dot|date=May 24, 2021|accessdate=November 12, 2024}}

As a result of their frequent use by children at school, many school districts in the U.S. prohibited the toy. Some teachers argued that the spinners distracted students from their schoolwork.{{cite web |last=Calfas |first=Jennifer |date=May 4, 2017 |title=Here's Everything You Need To Know About Fidget Spinners |url=https://money.com/fidget-spinners-what-to-know/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024124825/https://money.com/fidget-spinners-what-to-know/ |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |access-date=May 6, 2017 |work=Money.com}} According to a survey conducted by Alexi Roy and published in May 2017, 32% of the largest 200 American public and private high schools had banned spinners on campus.{{cite news|last1=Roy|first1=Alexi|title=The Fidget Spinners Are Banned in 32% of the Largest High Schools U.S.|url=https://spinnerlist.com/pages/fidget-spinners-new-ban-study-2017|work=Spinner List|date=May 10, 2017|language=en|access-date=June 5, 2017|archive-date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915113835/https://spinnerlist.com/pages/fidget-spinners-new-ban-study-2017|url-status=dead}}

When fidget spinners rose in popularity in 2017, many publications in the popular press discussed the marketing claims made about them for people with ADHD, autism, or anxiety.{{cite web|last1=Singh|first1=Anita|last2=Horton|first2=Helena|last3=Fuller|first3=George|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/03/fidget-spinners-new-classroom-craze-banned-across-nation/|title=Fidget spinners: the new classroom craze being banned across the nation|work=The Telegraph|date=May 3, 2017|access-date=May 16, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Luscombe|first1=Richard|title=As fidget spinner craze goes global, its inventor struggles to make ends meet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/03/fidget-spinner-inventor-patent-catherine-hettinger|access-date=11 May 2017|agency=The Guardian|date=May 5, 2017}} However, there has not been research proving this notion.{{cite web |last=Calfas |first=Jennifer |date=May 11, 2017 |title=Do Fidget Spinners Really Help With ADHD? Nope, Experts Say |url=https://money.com/fidget-spinners-adhd-anxiety-stress/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307125244/https://money.com/fidget-spinners-adhd-anxiety-stress/ |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=May 16, 2017 |work=Money.com}}{{Cite news |last=Bogost |first=Ian |date=May 12, 2017 |title=The Fidget Spinner Explains the World |language=en-US |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/05/the-fidget-spinner-explains-the-world/526521/ |access-date=2017-07-09}} They quickly fell in popularity and sales after peaking in May 2017.{{Cite web |last=Fu |first=Lisa |date=June 14, 2017 |title=Get Over It. Fidget Spinner Trend Is Dead |url=https://fortune.com/2017/06/13/the-fidget-spinner-trend-is-ending-and-you-missed-it/ |access-date=September 1, 2020 |website=Fortune}}

Invention and patent status

On May 11, 2016, Michael Scott McCoskery filed a provisional patent application for a utility patent on a version of the toy featuring a centrally mounted ball bearing and other specific design elements. His application included illustrations depicting two- and three-lobed versions of the toy. Following the submission of a final patent application in May 2017, McCoskery was granted a U.S. patent in March 2018.{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Kenny |date=May 4, 2017 |title=Fidget Spinner Emerges As Must-Have Toy Of The Year |work=Planet Money |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/05/04/526840892/fidget-spinner-emerges-as-must-have-toy-of-the-year |access-date=May 18, 2017}}{{cite patent |country=US |number=9914063B1 |title=Toy designed to spin in a user's hand |fdate=2017-05-11 |gdate=2018-03-13 |inventor=Michael Scott McCoskery |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US9914063B1 |quote=This application claims priority to provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 62/334,879 filed on May 11, 2016}}

On November 29, 2016, David Allen Pavelsky of Killeen, Texas, applied for a design patent covering a three-lobed version of the toy with a centrally mounted ball bearing. Unlike McCoskery's patent, Pavelsky's application did not claim functional innovation, but rather focused on the toy's aesthetic design. He was granted a design patent in October 2017.{{cite patent |country=US |number=D801440S1 |title=Triple ended spinner toy |fdate=2016-11-29 |gdate=2017-10-31 |inventor=David Allen Pavelsky |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USD801440S1}}

By May 2017, the patent for fidget spinners had not yet been granted, despite growing market demand. {{vanchor|Catherine Hettinger}}, a chemical engineer, was incorrectly credited by some media outlets as the inventor of the fidget spinner, with reports from publications such as Money,{{cite magazine |last1=Calfas |first1=Jennifer |date=May 3, 2017 |title=Meet the Woman Who Invented Fidget Spinners, the Newest Toy Craze Sweeping America |url=https://money.com/fidget-spinner-inventor-catherine-hettinger/ |url-status=live |magazine=Money |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416021515/https://money.com/fidget-spinner-inventor-catherine-hettinger/ |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |access-date=August 31, 2018}} The Guardian, The New York Times,{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Alex |date=May 6, 2017 |title=How Fidget Spinners Became a Hula-Hoop for Generation Z |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/style/fidget-spinners.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120063803/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/style/fidget-spinners.html |archive-date=20 January 2023}} and the New York Post.{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Joshua Rhett|url=https://nypost.com/2017/05/05/woman-who-invented-fidget-spinners-isnt-getting-squat/|title=Woman who invented fidget spinners isn't getting squat|newspaper=New York Post|date=May 5, 2017}}{{Clarification needed|reason=No source is stated which states she has not invented it explicitly.|date=December 2024}}

Hettinger had filed a patent application for a "spinning toy" in May 1993. Her invention more closely resembled some sort of "finger frisbee" or a "finger hat". The patent was issued to her in January 1997.{{cite patent |country=US |number=5591062A |title=Spinning toy |pubdate=1997-01-07 |gdate=1997-01-07 |fdate=1993-05-28 |pridate=1992-02-10 |inventor=Catherine A. Hettinger |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US5591062A}} However, she allowed the patent to lapse in 2005 after failing to find a commercial partner to manufacture the toy.{{cite web|last=Brustein|first=Joshua|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-11/how-the-fidget-spinner-origin-story-spun-out-of-control|title=How the Fidget Spinner Origin Story Spun Out of Control|work=Bloomberg News|url-access=subscription|date=May 11, 2017|access-date=May 12, 2017}} Even if her patent had not lapsed, it would have expired in January 2014, prior to the rise in popularity of fidget spinners. Additionally, a May 2017 Bloomberg News article clarified that Hettinger had not invented the modern fidget spinner, as her design lacked the central bearing that allows the toy to be held and spun in place—an essential feature of today’s spinners.