Those fidget spinners trending with kids are now popular with adults, too

By Kathy Flanigan , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, - June 6th, 2017 -  www.usatoday.com 


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Matthew Poulson of Ruckus & Glee in Wauwatosa explains how Fidget Spinners work. The hand-sized toys are now being sought after by adults. Michael Sears/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kids made fidget spinners wildly popular. Now, adults are keeping them that way. The spinners, hand-sized toys balanced with ceramic ball bearings weighted in the center and three rings on the outside, stay in motion between one's fingertips with little effort. The toys sell for $7 to $20. Fidget spinners were invented in the 1990s in one of two ways, depending on which story one reads. Both stories credit Catherine Hettinger of Florida as the inventor.

One claims Hettinger heard about boys throwing rocks at police officers and wanted to give them something to do. The New York Times interviewed Hettinger and said she created the toy after her myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness, made her unable to play with her elementary school daughter.

Either way, what are they doing in the gift shop at Lakefront Brewery?
"I ordered samples from China, and everybody around here was compulsively playing with them," said Chris Ranson, director of tours and environmental programs for Lakefront, 1872 N. Commerce St.
Fidget spinners with the brewery's logo sell for $7.
"People click pens or twirl them," Ranson said. "It's the same thing. They're moving their hands."
Hasbro initially passed on the toy in the 1990s. But it eventually got marketed, and this year it took off. There's enough hoopla that fidget spinners have been declared the new hula hoop. Or Slinky. Or yo-yo. You get the idea.
Amazon, which listed fidget spinners in each of its top 20 bestselling toy spots in May, features at least one fidget spinner geared directly to adults. It offers the "HITASION Hand Spinner Fidget Toys for Adults," a high-speed spinner that costs $9.77.
The spinners have been touted as a remedy for students who have trouble focusing or paying attention. Adults might be using them for similar reasons but keep their use under the table — including the conference table.
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