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Fidget Spinners Are Over (fivethirtyeight.com)

Posted by msmash on from the good-riddance dept.

Walt Hickey, writing for Five Thirty Eight: The toy craze that has swept the nation -- cheaply manufactured fidget spinners of dubious metallic constitution -- is probably on the way out, with the high-water mark of fidget obsession appearing to be about a month behind us and the interest in the glorified ball bearings plateauing or declining. [...] Even if there's a long tail on this trend, it's very likely that peak fidget spinner is behind us. The kind of content now doing well on YouTube is either fidget-adjacent stunt videos or videos that have taken a particularly weird turn. This doesn't mean the ball-bearing business is doomed, just maybe don't go long on the spinner industrial complex or quit your job to live off a fidget-related Kickstarter idea at this point.

175 comments

  1. Prediction by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fidget Spinners will see a massive, nostalgia-fueled comeback in the late 2030s.

    --
    Finding God in a Dog
    1. Re:Prediction by Jhon · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Along with POGs.

    2. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know. Pogs are overdue for their comeback.

    3. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Along with POGs.

      Pianist Occupied Governments?

    4. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      my mom is still hoping beanie babies come back. we have a shed full of them sealed away.

    5. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll come back in ALF form.

    6. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other words buy up a bunch of them now so you can sell the "collectibles" by then for BIG BUCKS.

      On the other hand, I didn't even know fidgets were a thing until like probably a couple weeks ago. And I still don't care about'em.

    7. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      my mom is still hoping beanie babies come back. we have a shed full of them sealed away.

      Dude, DON'T LOOK IN THE SHED!

    8. Re:Prediction by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      Along with POGs.

      Pianist Occupied Governments?

      No, POG is a tasty drink composed of a blend of passionfruit, orange, and guava juice, hence the name. I still recall first drinking some in college when a Hawaiian friend had a few gallons shipped to him.

      Oh yeah, but some idiots stole some game and marketed it. I don't know what that's about. Drink POG. It's a lot more enjoyable than some stupid game.

    9. Re:Prediction by Smidge204 · · Score: 3, Funny

      They said I was crazy to dump my life savings into POGs in the late 90's, but that fad will come steamrolling back any day now and I'll be king of the playground again!

      BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
      =Smidge=

    10. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF is it with those fidget spinners? I only just heard about them the other day when Ashens did a video on one.

      I guess I'm just not frivolous so all of that trendy shit passes me by.

    11. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF is it with those fidget spinners? I only just heard about them the other day

      It's a teenage Fad, which is both why people who don't hang around high school kids haven't heard of them, and why they're already "on the way out" just like every other teenage Fad that adults are behind the Fashion Curve with. And ANY time a teenage Fad catches the attention of the adults, general public, and mass media, it will automatically 'age out' of fashion almost overnight. And then the only people still pursuing the Fad are the "unpopular" kids who crave social acceptance, and parents or adults who are desperately trying to be Teenagers.

    12. Re:Prediction by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      No, Pre-owned governments. It's going to be the craze, everyone will want to have a senator or congressman. By that time they should be affordable for everyone, after all, it's not like they'll have any real value anymore, it's going to be more of a nostalgia thing.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    13. Re:Prediction by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yup. How do you know a trend is over? You read about it being the latest trend in your local newspaper.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    14. Re:Prediction by sheramil · · Score: 1

      ... and I'll be king of the playground again!

      BWAHAHAHAHAHA! =Smidge=

      A cautionary tale:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad5BTc41HH0

      "'Cause when you're in the jungle, watch it - it's a playground out there."

    15. Re:Prediction by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      My wife ordered one a few weeks ago to give to my 6 year old nephew. I had never heard of them and have no idea how he knew about them, but apparently he's more hip to the scene than me these days. Oh well.

    16. Re:Prediction by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      I saw my daughter with a little gizmo an hour ago, so I asked her what it was and she said "A fidget spinner". I had never heard of them before. Then I open Slashdot, and learn that it was a huge craze that swept the nation and now it is fading away. I totally missed it. God do I feel old.

    17. Re: Prediction by NonFerrousBueller · · Score: 1

      Eh, don't worry about it. Heard a catchy tune last year at my daughter's ice skating lesson so I Googled the lyrics. At that point "Uptown Funk" had been watched about a billion times on YouTube. Also, I saw a Volvo 240 at a classic car show.

    18. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you mispelled PAWG

    19. Re: Prediction by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 1

      Remember "state of the art" double floppy drives?

      --
      Finding God in a Dog
    20. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Add Vodka and ice to make a delicious adult beverage: the POGatini.

    21. Re:Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ayyyyyyyyy

  2. So, help a father out... by thermopile · · Score: 4, Funny

    So ... what's the next ridiculous craze that I should work to prevent my daughter from getting into? Thanks for letting me breathe a small sigh of relief from having dodged this bullet...

    --

    "Diplomacy is something you do until you find a rock." --Richard Pound

    1. Re:So, help a father out... by Bodhammer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sex, drugs, and Rock n' Roll are much better!

      --
      "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
    2. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looking back into the past, at least it wasn't something as totally useless as a cheap rubber wristlet. At least the spinners did something. There have been worse fads. Of course the pinnacle was the pet rock.

    3. Re:So, help a father out... by RyoShin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Just adopt every possible trend yourself. She will never get into them if she knows her parent(s) are into it.

    4. Re:So, help a father out... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Looking back into the past, at least it wasn't something as totally useless as a cheap rubber wristlet.

      You think that's bad, I used to sell bracelets I made out of neoprene scrap I got from O'Neill's at school in Jr. High. Wore one as a watchband as an advert. At least those rubber wristlets can be used as cockrings, my bracelets were only fashion statements :p

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:So, help a father out... by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Funny

      So ... what's the next ridiculous craze that I should work to prevent my daughter from getting into?.

      Java

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    6. Re:So, help a father out... by OrangeTide · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or you could just accept that your daughter will want to experience novelty in her life. And have faith that she'll outgrow obsessive behavior once it's run its course or that there are lots of options for professional help if she never outgrows it.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    7. Re:So, help a father out... by thegarbz · · Score: 0

      I have a craze: The free parenting craze. Like actually letting your daughter get into something. It will blow her mind.

      But yes I understand dodging the bullet. Parting with a few dollars may not seem like much, but that's just a gateway drug into cars, astronomy and other super expensive hobbies. Best to stifle them early.

    8. Re:So, help a father out... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Snap bracelets were one of the many fads of my generation, and were superior to any rubber bracelet or wristlet. And not everything has to do something, it can just look cool.

      Pro Tip: if you ever had to buy a gift for a young girl, getting her something she can wear and show her friends usually works.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    9. Re:So, help a father out... by wooferhound · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for Clackers to come back . . .

      --
      We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    10. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like a colorful bra with a bow in the middle.

    11. Re:So, help a father out... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      You know if spinners are your greatest worry about your daughter I would have thought you'd consider yourself lucky.

    12. Re:So, help a father out... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Great. You just Rule 34'd a thread on ball bearing toys.

      I hope you're happy now.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    13. Re:So, help a father out... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

      The Pet Rock was the epitome of great marketing. Basically, you were buying a box containing an item you could go out and pick up off the ground in many locations, i.e. a small river rock.
      They also worked as emergency car window openers*.
      *some throwing skill required to access this function

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    14. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obligatory Robot Chicken

    15. Re:So, help a father out... by geekmux · · Score: 2

      Looking back into the past, at least it wasn't something as totally useless as a cheap rubber wristlet. At least the spinners did something.

      Putting Lance Armstrongs indiscretions aside for a moment, the Livestrong foundation sold 80 million wristlets, and was created as a fund-raising item which other organizations have developed similar programs funding charities, so yes they did something far more than just sit on your wrist.

      The fidget spinner did nothing. Didn't even garner a validated study that confirmed they offered any medical benefit, regardless of what marketing tried to dubiously claim.

    16. Re:So, help a father out... by lgw · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well,played, sir. Well played.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    17. Re:So, help a father out... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      At least the spinners did something.

      Did they? Apart from spinning, of course, which I think we can take as read.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    18. Re:So, help a father out... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

      They were stim toys, which autistics and a decent subsection of nerds, and drummers, have been into for quite a while, in various ways. There was also a bit of a popularization of that kind with stress balls back in the day.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    19. Re:So, help a father out... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      With the statement being "I don't know jack shit about fashion"?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    20. Re:So, help a father out... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Have you ever tried that? It's harder than it may seem to be to smash a car window from the inside.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    21. Re:So, help a father out... by arth1 · · Score: 1

      I see your bracelets and raise you the fad of safety pins through various body parts, including eyebrows, cartilage of the ear, heel of the hand and interlocked down the leg.

      Almost as bad as clackers.

    22. Re:So, help a father out... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      Upper corner is the best bet, dead center will just bounce. Spark plugs work better than rocks, I also have needle nose vise-grips in my rear pocket when driving, they too work better than a rock. Buddy of mine had a junkyard, the windows are gonna get crushed anyway if they aren't sold before the carcass gets scrapped...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    23. Re:So, help a father out... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I'll see your clackers and raise you deely boppers.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    24. Re:So, help a father out... by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

      With the statement being "I don't know jack shit about fashion"?

      Pretty much. They were made out of gin-u-wine O'Neill's wetsuit scrap though, see? It's like those tee shirts which are fifty bucks because they have some shitty clothing company's logo on them.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    25. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      No you don't want a safety pin through the clackers, trust me on this.

    26. Re: So, help a father out... by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      When I was in high school I shattered the windshield of my parents truck by just stretching and flexing my leg while I had my legs up on the dash. Now though I just keep a knife with a window breaker and seatbelt cutter in my car. It's a little more practical

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    27. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Getting boned in the school's janitor closet.

    28. Re: So, help a father out... by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      The windshield is easy to break with simple blunt pressure. Its designed to give to blunt pressure such as when your head is smacking into it.

      The side windows not so much. A karate-kid kick from the outside works, but from the inside its kinda hard to do that. The side windows are designed to fail completely or not at all: they are tough suckers until they break, at which points they instantly turn into ten thousand little pieces of glass all roughly the same size.

      I don't know the technical terms for the different kinds of glass strengths, but there are multiple forces to be considered when designing glass. Aside from the other differences (such as that the windshield has a sheet of clear plastic sandwiched inside of it) you will note that windshields can crack. People will drive for years at times with a cracked windshield. Ever see a cracked side window?

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    29. Re:So, help a father out... by onkelonkel · · Score: 1

      Preferably all three at once.

      --
      None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
    30. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to have a Hypercolor shirt back in junior high. That one had the benefit of getting the girls to touch my body.

    31. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's true. I saw my parents having sex once. Now I'm on /.

    32. Re:So, help a father out... by elgatozorbas · · Score: 1

      So ... what's the next ridiculous craze that I should work to prevent my daughter from getting into? Thanks for letting me breathe a small sigh of relief from having dodged this bullet...

      Boys!

      You knew. Every father knows. Bring out your shotgun!

    33. Re: So, help a father out... by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      No, but I can't recall a single time in my life where a side window got hit with an object while moving. Might be related to how cars go in the general direction of forward and backwards.

    34. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to have a Hypercolor shirt back in junior high. That one had the benefit of getting the girls to touch my body.

      A true benefit would have been for you to touch their bodies.

    35. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not about letting her be free, it's about you not buying her stuff immediately based on some fleeting desire she has. There are values you can teach the child, you know. They don't have to figure everything out on their own. Then again, most people here in the US are a bunch of consumerists, so maybe you don't see a problem with teaching that type of value.

    36. Re:So, help a father out... by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Snap bracelets and colour changing shirts.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    37. Re:So, help a father out... by sh00z · · Score: 1

      So ... what's the next ridiculous craze that I should work to prevent my daughter from getting into?

      Saw a teen playing with a yo-yo (the original fidget toy) a few weeks back. Might be a one-off, or possibly a trend?

    38. Re:So, help a father out... by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      Putting Lance Armstrongs indiscretions aside for a moment, the Livestrong foundation sold 80 million wristlets, and was created as a fund-raising item which other organizations have developed similar programs funding charities, so yes they did something far more than just sit on your wrist.

      Generally speaking, plastic bracelets preceded Lance Armstrong and snap bracelets. Then there were braided friendship bracelets also which bled into the 80's all the way from the 60's. Bracelets and such did serve a purpose, besides a crafts that kids can get involved in, it allowed for socialization and interaction between kids as they traded and gave them away.

    39. Re:So, help a father out... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      No, they don't do anything. Marketing does something to sell you bullshit.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    40. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So ... what's the next ridiculous craze that I should work to prevent my daughter from getting into?

      Thanks for letting me breathe a small sigh of relief from having dodged this bullet...

      Pet Rocks ? :)

    41. Re:So, help a father out... by locotx · · Score: 2

      GAHTDAMN! *Burned*

    42. Re:So, help a father out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >wants daughter to explore and think for herself
      >by indulging in the utter opposite

    43. Re:So, help a father out... by Wolfrider · · Score: 1

      --Color changing shirts can already be found on Amazon... Search for "shadow shifter"

      --
      .
      == WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
  3. Don't tell me this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm just now making my first fidget spinner unboxing video!

    1. Re:Don't tell me this! by istartedi · · Score: 2

      Don't worry, you can just put a red hot nickle ball on the spinner, crush it in a hydraulic press, and toss the result into a blender.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    2. Re:Don't tell me this! by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      Will that flush?

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  4. Strange by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Just heard from five friends who got one this weekend.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:Strange by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your five friends are not cool, is what this means.

    2. Re:Strange by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1 Funny

      OOO BURN

          -Highdude702

    3. Re:Strange by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Your five friends are not cool, is what this means.

      You will never go broke if your business will be profitable as long as there are uncool people.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Strange by Wolfrider · · Score: 1

      --But if they all pooled their money together to buy ONE fidget spinner, does that count as being Hipster Ironic??

      --
      .
      == WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
  5. Oh yea? Is not! by Bodhammer · · Score: 1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    --
    "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
  6. what are over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are they PCIe?

  7. Making my own... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    .. on the 3D printer I borrowed from Elon Musk.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Making my own... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      .. on the 3D printer I borrowed from Elon Musk.

      That he made in a cave from a box of scraps.

    2. Re:Making my own... by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Musk is just copying again, because there's prior art there.

    3. Re:Making my own... by rebelwarlock · · Score: 1

      That's only cool if the 3D printer is controlled by a Bitcoin farming Beowulf cluster of Raspberry PIs.

  8. Bring back the Pet Rock... by foxalopex · · Score: 1

    Ah, crazy short term fads. I don't own a fidget spinner but I've seen them so I guess I missed the whole craze. I do have to admit some of the solid metal ones that were hand machined were impressive but at the end of the day it isn't much different then having a rock to play with or coin or something else to fidget with at your desk. Someone needs to try to sell a fidget rock with no bearings (it's just a rock) for laughs.

    1. Re:Bring back the Pet Rock... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      I think the problem is that "peak fidget spinner" coincided with the shortage - now that everyone is able to bring in a 1000 a day, everyone can go out and buy one immediately without looking very hard (and fueling the craze).

      A store I regularly visit used to get about 1000 inquiries a day about them, but now he brings them in, they move, but slower. Mostly because everyone else has them, too.

    2. Re:Bring back the Pet Rock... by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Every 7-11 around here has boxes of them. Some up to $20.

      Thankfully, I waste my money on more permanent collections: Magic the Gathering cards

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    3. Re:Bring back the Pet Rock... by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      I bought a first edition Charizard card at near the price peak. It wasn't even mint. A week or two later, I got a mint one in an expansion pack.

    4. Re:Bring back the Pet Rock... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      it isn't much different then having a rock to play with or coin or something else to fidget with at your desk

      Hmm. Yeah, if you're on the autism spectrum then something to fidget with is pretty much going to happen whether it's planned or not. At least a fidget spinner is a recognised device rather than "why are you so weird?"

      So it is different. It's more interactive than a rock, it's harder to drop than a coin, it's more socially acceptable than clicking a pen and it's a fuck of a lot cheaper than taking off your watch and spinning it around until you accidentally lose control and see it flying off to land on a concrete floor.

      I speak from experience.

    5. Re:Bring back the Pet Rock... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your implied substitution contradicts your past self, who paid extra for a First Edition.

  9. slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always count on /. for the news that matters.

    1. Re:slow news day? by OrangeTide · · Score: 2

      Then submit something better. Or did you not know /. gets its news as user submissions?

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  10. Thanks, Obama by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First the Patriot Act, and now this

  11. Wait a spinner... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    How can this be over? I just found out last week...

    1. Re:Wait a spinner... by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      How can this be over? I just found out last week...

      You're old.

  12. Pet Rocks by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Fidget spinners are the "pet rocks" of the 2000 era. Never understood these fads, never wasted my money on this garbage. But at least the ball bearing manufacturers made a few bucks.

    1. Re:Pet Rocks by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      It's a good way to support ball bearing industry, since kids don't go outside rollerskating and skateboarding anymore.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    2. Re:Pet Rocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's hilarious. You can walk into a Reject Shop and buy fidget spinners for $3, but there's some tool selling one on eBay for $102... with free shipping!

    3. Re:Pet Rocks by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Fidget spinners are the "pet rocks" of the 2000 era.

      Pet rocks don't do anything, unless you put them in a sock and hit someone with them (My pet rock named Schleprock who slept in a tube sock?) but spinners are kinetic toys. They don't do anything by themselves either, but they're a hell of a lot more interesting than a pet rock. I'd say they're almost all the way up to gyroscope. :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Pet Rocks by sconeu · · Score: 1

      My folks got a pet rock as a gag gift back in the '70s. Forget which one of their friends did it.

      It came with a handy little cage to keep it from roaming around at night.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    5. Re:Pet Rocks by sheramil · · Score: 1

      My folks got a pet rock as a gag gift back in the '70s. Forget which one of their friends did it.

      It came with a handy little cage to keep it from roaming around at night.

      Someone gave you a dead Horta? That's horrible.

      Give them a dead Ogri. That'll teach 'em.

    6. Re:Pet Rocks by Sir+Holo · · Score: 2

      You can still buy Pet Rocks.

      The Pet Rock was a pointlessly pointless idea, which was the point of the fad.

      Fidget spinners let you feel precession forces with your fingertips, which most people, being uneducated in physics, find endlessly fascinating.

      Gotta admit, despite my PhD+ in physics, I find great joy in rolling Buckyballs across the floor (try it), and in watching airplanes taking off. It never gets old.

    7. Re: Pet Rocks by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      OK, Sheldon.

  13. Ok, fuck it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, enough is enough: I'm out of here.
    Is it possible to delete your /. account?

    1. Re:Ok, fuck it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not when you are an ac no

    2. Re:Ok, fuck it. by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      We've been trying for years to delete the Anonymous Coward account, but ever time you log into it, the Options/Account/Logout menu in the upper right corner disappears.

  14. Kid fads always end by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    When their parents start participating. When uncool morning TV show hosts start talking about the latest trend kids are into these days, you can consider that the beginning of the end.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:Kid fads always end by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's FiveThirtyEight "reporting" on this. Just another shitty "news" site with no real contribution to anything. It's the alt-left version of Breitbart. Just shit and junk all over their site trying to create clickbait article to feed their ad revenue.

    2. Re:Kid fads always end by schleimkeim · · Score: 1

      You should see a doctor.

  15. Ball bearing fidgeting peaked in 1954 with Queeg. by OzPeter · · Score: 1

    Queeg was the original ball bearing fidgeter and it's mutiny if you think otherwise.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  16. Wait, whut? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but I just bought one!

  17. Suspicion Confirmed by tsqr · · Score: 1

    I figured they were on their way out when I saw them on display at the car wash cash register.

    1. Re:Suspicion Confirmed by Matt · · Score: 1

      I figured they were on their way out when I saw them on display at the car wash cash register.

      And near the registers in every CVS.

      I first noticed these things when I was traveling in UK last month, and I saw them in shops everywhere. I'm glad I didn't bother getting a couple as silly gag gifts while I was there, because I'm noticing them here (USA) now too.

    2. Re:Suspicion Confirmed by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      I had some old woman in New York City try to sell me one on the street about a month ago. Didn't know what it was at the time, but figured it out soon after. I figured I didn't want her merchandise of suspicious provenance, in any case.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  18. over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am still getting lots of friends requesting custom ones....

    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2392595

    1. Re:Over? by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      Going by social media trends: Probably.
      Going by actual usage in classrooms: Not even close.

      Yay! A physics-based response!

      Freshman Physics. Bicycle Wheel. Extended Axle. Professor spins it up, and then hangs it from a string by one axle-end. Oohs and Aahs. Bonus if a strobe light was involved.

      Precession.

    2. Re:Over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't california trying to precess from the union?

    3. Re:Over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No kidding. Here in Texas, the availability of spinners is just now skyrocketing. They're starting to show up being sold in every convenience store now instead of only in novelty stores and booths at the mall.

  19. What already?! by EvilSS · · Score: 1

    I didn't even around to buying one. Well I guess I'll just have to keep annoying my co-workers with click-pens then...

    --
    I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    1. Re:What already?! by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      I didn't even around to buying one. Well I guess I'll just have to keep annoying my co-workers with click-pens then...

      You like click-pens? There is a cube-shaped 6x clicky toy out there... I probably shouldn't have told you that.

      I've had an office-mate with the "click-pen" habit before, so am a bit sensitive. If you are one day seated near me in an open-office environment, and have one of those 6x clicky-cubes, I swear that I will stab you as many times as I can with a gallium knife (probably 5x until it melts but I will go for 6x).

    2. Re:What already?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cubes have silent buttons, too. If someone is deliberately pressing the noisy buttons around other people, they deserve your fury.

    3. Re:What already?! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      It's hard to get the right tactile feedback silently, and the sound can be comforting too.

      I do have to concentrate on putting down my pen in meetings :(

    4. Re:What already?! by Atryn · · Score: 1

      Didn't we already deal with computer nerds and click pens in the 90s?

      Goldeneye click-pen explosion

      --
      Come play Moral Decay!
    5. Re:What already?! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      " This video is not available. "

      Guess it's blocked in the UK. I can work around that, but based on the video title I'm guessing this is even less acceptable in meetings.

  20. BOGLIN HYPE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Come on Jim by boi.

  21. Clackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Warning: Don't use them near your balls.

  22. Why was this even a thing?? by Faw · · Score: 1

    I don't get it.

    1. Re:Why was this even a thing?? by MacTO · · Score: 1

      The kids that have them don't get it either, but they were sure proud of them when they got them. Actually, I know of one kid who probably does get it. He is now trying to set his own trend.

  23. as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why is this on slashdot? who fucking cares?

    1. Re: as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clickbait motherfucker!

    2. Re:as always by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      You fucking clicked on it, didn't you? Obviously you care.

  24. Re:Ball bearing fidgeting peaked in 1954 with Quee by radarskiy · · Score: 1

    It's all ball bearings, nowadays.

  25. Rule 34? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Depends what she's doing with them.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  26. Dammit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So I guess I'm too late to make butt plug spinners?

  27. You're talking gibberish by fnj · · Score: 1

    What the fuck is a fidget spinner?

    1. Re:You're talking gibberish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the focus of your most recent failed attempt to impress strangers by feigning fashionable ignorance.

    2. Re:You're talking gibberish by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

      Agreed, I have never heard of this and I am still not sure what it is after I have searched the internet for it.

  28. Enhancements by BrookHarty · · Score: 1

    There are LED fidget spinners that display text like spinning bike wheels, Bluetooth enabled spinners, animated spinners,etc.

    7-11 started selling the, and they are already basically giving them away at price.

  29. Or.... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

    Or enough people have them that current sales figures can no longer be sustained. Fidget spinners are a stim toy, and stim toys serve a fairly practical purpose (although they may be supplanted by something else, such as fidget cubes). But you don't continually need more, and presumably, the vast majority of fidget spinners are not yet broken. So, logically, once a large enough portion of the population buys them, sales will level out.

    Every time a new class of product arrives or is popularized, you see the same articles written by people who have apparently never seen adoption trends before.

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    1. Re:Or.... by arth1 · · Score: 1

      They're just the modern day equivalent of worry stones.

    2. Re:Or.... by freeze128 · · Score: 2

      If you need a fidget spinner, you're doing it wrong. A fidget spinner is likely to be taken away from you by your teacher, because it distracts from learning. Instead, learn to fidget with a pen or pencil. No teacher would dare take one of those from you, and it doesn't cost $12 and chew through batteries.

    3. Re:Or.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "you see the same articles written by people who have apparently never seen adoption trends before..." ... or the same people who even as late as 10pm on election night were swearing up and down that Hillary was still going to win, because that's what they had predicted all along, with claimed "supernatural" accuracy...

      I'm glad to see Nate Silver has been reduced to writing articles about fidget spinners that make the front page of a cut-rate, has-been tec^H^H^H politics blog.

    4. Re:Or.... by sheramil · · Score: 1

      They're just the modern day equivalent of worry stones.

      or rosary beads.

    5. Re:Or.... by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

      I don't have a teacher, so I don't have to worry about that, although I find a fidget cube more convenient. IMO, pens and pencils aren't particularly good fidgets, as they lack the mass to have really good balance, although pen clicking can be satisfying, but tends to be annoying to others. Drumsticks, on the other hand, work great for the same kinds of motions. I did once see a bullet pen, with bolt action to extend the tip, and it's a great fidget toy, but they are in the same price range as other fidget toys, anyway. Also, AFAIK most fidget spinners do not require batteries. They just use ball bearings, so they can continue spinning roughly as long as a yo-yo.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    6. Re:Or.... by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      Or enough people have them that current sales figures can no longer be sustained. Fidget spinners are a stim toy, and stim toys serve a fairly practical purpose (although they may be supplanted by something else, such as fidget cubes). But you don't continually need more, and presumably, the vast majority of fidget spinners are not yet broken. So, logically, once a large enough portion of the population buys them, sales will level out.

      Every time a new class of product arrives or is popularized, you see the same articles written by people who have apparently never seen adoption trends before.

      They will not wear out. Rollerblades use the same type of bearing, and those suckers last a really long time, depending on how aggro you get with your stunts. If you just go to-and-fro, they will never wear out, despite bearing your body's weight. Thus, those in fidget-spinners have an effectively infinite lifetime.

    7. Re:Or.... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Except that they do get grit in them.

      On a rollerblade the momentum is massive (because you're quite heavy) but in a fidget spinner there's barely any momentum because although it's very high rotational velocity there's very little mass.

      So that grit does stop them from spinning as freely and that's a massive issue that does lead people to replace the bearings (as it's cheaper/easier than trying to clean them).

    8. Re:Or.... by xvan · · Score: 1

      pens and pencils aren't particularly good fidgets,

      Koreans beg to disagree https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    9. Re:Or.... by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      That, and I forgot to mention that rollerblade bearings are sealed.

  30. Ok by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

    I have a nice heavy solid copper one. It will be a nice memory, at least.

  31. Over? by Trogre · · Score: 2

    Going by social media trends: Probably.
    Going by actual usage in classrooms: Not even close.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  32. Put them to good use. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They use the same size bearings as a skateboard. Skateboard bearings fail pretty frequently. Pop out the bearing rings and give them to kids at your local skatepark.

    1. Re:Put them to good use. by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      They use the same size bearings as a skateboard. Skateboard bearings fail pretty frequently. Pop out the bearing rings and give them to kids at your local skatepark.

      There are several different grades of skate-bearing, specifically a #608-sized bearing. There are several rating systems, usually based on smoothness of the balls and races. ABEC-9 is the highest-grade. Then you get into materials. If you want something that will last longer than stainless steel (titanium, ceramic), then you can get into some seriously high prices. Some are $15 retail for one (Yes, really, and skates need 16.) Hard-core stunts involve hard-impact landings – repeatedly – for hours.

      Odds are that the fidget-spinners employ the lowest grade, ABEC-1 or even rejects, and wouldn't last a day in a skateboard or Rollerblade.

    2. Re:Put them to good use. by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Depends on the spinner. If you want jewellery class looks with top-end performance you have to pay for it, but it's available:
      https://flyawaytoys.com/produc...

      Sure, it's not ABEC-9 - but it's also not supporting high impact 150lb loads.

  33. old meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Has Netcraft confirmed it?

    1. Re:old meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does your fidget spinner run *BSD?

  34. Re:Ball bearing fidgeting peaked in 1954 with Quee by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

    Are you the one who stole the strawberries??

  35. Re:Ball bearing fidgeting peaked in 1954 with Quee by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

    Queeg was the original ball bearing fidgeter and it's mutiny if you think otherwise.

    Nope. A wheel from my Rollerblades, with ball-bearing inserted, and played with in the exact same way, is much closer to the original fidget spinner.

    That was 1990.

  36. Ok...I'll be the old fart here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WTF is a fidget spinner?

    I've never seen one. Only just hearing about them. What the hell are they? And should I care?

  37. Re:Oh yea? Is not! by fermion · · Score: 1
    We will have to wait until August to see if it is over. Note that the spinner became really popular after spring break in the US. Students went out, had a week to play with theirs, and then bring it back to school. I think it became a big hit because 1) schools did not know what to make of it and 2) it was presented not as a toy but as a way to keep kids calm. To kids, it was simply a toy that they could use to waste time, most importantly a toy that schools did not seem inclined to take away.

    Now that most kids in the US are not in school, they have many other interesting avenue to kill a day. The question is when they are forced to sit in a classroom all day, will they ask for the spinners, or will they find something new. Will the school continue to accept the spinners, or now that they is some understanding, treat them like any other toy.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  38. Or everyone who wanted one has one by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

    Or everyone who wanted one has one, or two, or whatever. It's not like they wear out easily or get lost easily. Unlike memory sticks, which I don't bother buying anymore because I just end up losing them.

    --
    There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
  39. Wait, aren't that medical devices to soothe ADHS? by gotan · · Score: 1

    Don't you get them on prescription?
    Fidget spinners are serious business!

    --
    "By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself." -- Bill Hicks
  40. So a Fad doesn't last long by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

    News at Eleven

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  41. Huh? by dcw3 · · Score: 1

    When were they actually a thing? I've yet to see one (other than online), and I don't exactly live a sheltered life...I left momma's basement 40 years ago.

    --
    Just another day in Paradise
    1. Re:Huh? by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      Same here. The only place I've seen them is online, where people are promoting them as a fad. Is it really a fad if I live in a moderate sized city and I've yet to see one in person, or has the media decided it's a fad, because that gives them something to write about. (Because our current politics need some foil.)

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  42. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  43. Re:So, help a father out... (oxymoron) by gosand · · Score: 1

    Or you could just accept that your daughter will want to experience novelty in her life. And have faith that she'll outgrow obsessive behavior once it's run its course or that there are lots of options for professional help if she never outgrows it.

    faith... outgrow obsessive behavior...quite an oxymoron.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  44. They still have possibilities by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

    A major toy manufacturer might market then and make a horrible cartoon based on them.
    Fidget Battle Xtreme! "Sanada, a Japanese zombie samurai, who is in possession of a fidget spinner that he stole from Sun Tzu, plans to take over the world with it's spinning power
    The only ones that stand in his way are the students of Fidget Spinner Academy. Only they can begin to master the ancient magical fidget spinners of destiny."
    There's a lot of exploitation left here.

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
  45. Re:Oh yea? Is not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    schools around here had already banned them before school got out.

  46. Another firm and reliable prediction ... by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

    ... from Nate Silver's company!

    Just like Hillary's 70% chance of winning the election.

  47. School year is over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are fidget spinners over, or is it just that the school year is over? I thought these things were for concentrating during class and many kids don't have class for a few months.

  48. Wow.... by MerlTurkin · · Score: 1

    Everytime I hear the word Fidget I think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  49. Quick fortune gizmos by seabrook · · Score: 1

    Suggested reading: R. A. Lafferty's "Slow Tuesday Night"

  50. Re:So, help a father out... (oxymoron) by OrangeTide · · Score: 0

    Choosing the meaning of other people's words to suit your own position? A timeless classic.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  51. How confusing by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Did someone actually mod me down for impugning their GUESS tee shirt? The mind boggles.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  52. Re:So, help a father out... (oxymoron) by gosand · · Score: 1

    Choosing the meaning of other people's words to suit your own position? A timeless classic.

    Quite. Coincidentally, it's as old as organized religion.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  53. Gyroscopes by SpammersAreScum · · Score: 1

    Fidget spinners are the "pet rocks" of the 2000 era.

    Pet rocks don't do anything, unless you put them in a sock and hit someone with them (My pet rock named Schleprock who slept in a tube sock?) but spinners are kinetic toys. They don't do anything by themselves either, but they're a hell of a lot more interesting than a pet rock. I'd say they're almost all the way up to gyroscope. :)

    In fact, I'd say the gyroscopic effect is a part of what makes a fidget spinner interesting. To me, anyway. (I know I'm a fidgeter, so I picked one up recently.)