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“Simply hold the middle of the spinner between your index finger and thumb as if you are picking it up. Then, flick one of the outside branches with your middle finger and watch it spin...” Unlike many toys and gadgets, fidget spinners don’t need charging to work so they can be used anywhere at any time. You can also lie the spinner on a table and hold its center with your index finger. Use your other hand to flick one of the branches and then let go with your index finger. Depending on the type of spinner you have, it should steadily spin for quite a length of time.
Fidgets spinners were created by an American inventor, Catherine Hettinger, in the early 1990s. She was ill but still caring for her eight-year-old daughter and found she didn’t have the energy to play with her as much as she would have liked. Catherine began inventing toys for her daughter and between the two of them, they created the first fidget spinner.
In 1997, the fidget spinner toy was patented, which means the person who created it has rights over it to protect the idea from being copied. However, a patent has to be renewed every few years and in 2005 Hettinger didn’t have enough money to renew the patent. She lost the rights over the design and now any company can freely make their own versions. The companies make a lot of money from them but have to give none of it to Hettinger. When she owned the patent, Hettinger would have been making most of the money from the product.
Some people believed that the fidget spinner would be useful for helping people to concentrate. It was found to be an especially useful gadget to help children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or other special educational needs that affect concentration spans. It is thought that the sensory experience of the spinner vibrating and creating patterns helps some children with specific needs, to concentrate or to calm down. The fidget spinners are also used to reduce stress by helping the user to “zone out” and clear their mind. Because of this, many office workplaces are seeing a rise in workers using finger spinners to ease stress and nervous energy within adult workers.
Some schools have banned fidget spinners as they say they are a distraction to other pupils and can negatively affect learning. They could also pose a potential safety hazard. Some parents of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are concerned that banning the devices will cause their children to lose concentration and/or feel “different” to their peers if they are allowed them but their friends are not.