Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world is going a bit mad for a new(ish) toy called a Fidget Spinner.
Billed as Generation Z’s answer to the stress ball, the beauty of the nifty little gadget lies in its simplicity: you hold it between your finger and thumb, while three bearings on the outside rotate (pretty much endlessly) around a central ball bearing.
Behold:
The spinners are designed to reduce stress levels and aid concentration, but a number of schools have already instigated bans. We’ve been here before with Tech Decks and Yo-Yos. Put something fun in a child’s hand and your multiplication lesson is dead in the water.
It’s not just youngsters, though, who are draining the nationwide stock levels of Fidget Spinners and similar gadgets. Adults are all over them, too. Need to endure a tedious department meeting? Fidget toy. Feel your anxiety levels rising every time the words “Donald Trump” appear on your social media feed? Fidget toy. Just need something to stop yourself habitually cracking your knuckles all afternoon? Get a fidget toy. Please.
With that in mind, we’ve done a helpful roundup of the options. We can’t guarantee any improvements to your productivity, but still...TOYS.
Metallic Finger Fidget Spinner
This is the most basic Fidget Spinner you can buy, and the one that’s flying fastest off the shelves. Get involved.
Available from theworks.co.uk, £4
Whiny Cube Anxiety Stress Relief Fidget Toy
Know what’s even better than spinning? Buttons! Switches! Clicking! This little multi-feature dice – each side has a different mechanism to fiddle with – is skewed more towards the adult market, designed to help you keep your mind on the task at hand, no matter how much it winds up your colleagues.
Available from newchic.com, £6.26
Fidget Spinner EDC toy
Looks and operates exactly like the standard Fidget Spinner. The only (but extremely important) difference is that this one is for ninjas.
Available from Etsy, £8.50
Fidget Dodecagon II 12 Sides
For elite fidgeters, four sides just isn’t enough. Those people need to get themselves a Fidget Dodecagon II, which looks and sounds like it’s been designed exclusively for space marines. 12 sides. 12 damn sides, each with something different to do while you sit on your motionless, twice-delayed train home. In fact, let’s just appreciate the supplied list shall we:
1.) Gear - Three gears which can be rolled back and forth
2.) Rotating disk - A circular dial which can be clicked and turned in any direction
3.) Buttons - Buttons replicating a gaming controller
4.) Silicone ball - Soft, elastic silicone ball can be pulled and pinched
5.) Switch - On/off switch which pivots back and forth
6.) Joystick - Gaming joystick which allows for 360° rotation
7.) Silicone rope - Allows you to hang your Fidget Dodecagon wherever you please
8.) Soft button - Button replicates the feeling of clicking a pen
9.) Finger massage - The soft tactility of the surface has the function of improving blood circulation
10.) Worry stone - Modeled after an ancient tool for anxiety relief, rub it repeatedly to relieve stress
11.) Sliders - Slide them back and forth to the rhythm of your life
12.) Minions - Three cute little faces, they won't get angry no matter how hard you pinch them
Now that is a fidget toy.
Available from Amazon, £12.83
Pop Rainbow Magic Ball
Looks like a rainbow and a football made sweet love, which is a good start. The goal appears to be working out how to get each of the colourful balls into their corresponding holes. It sounds a bit too puzzle-oriented not to totally distract you from whatever important thing you’re meant to be doing, but nothing relieves stress like realising you are in fact a wizard of logical thought.
Available from Amazon, £1.87
(Main Image: Etsy)
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