Fidget Spinners

Fidget spinners are undoubtedly this year’s leading toy fad. The “must-have” toy of the year has two or three paddle-shaped blades attached to a central core. Hold the core between two fingers, give the blades a flick and they spin. That’s it.

A basic fidget spinner

When it first took off last month, stores could not keep them in stock. Parents were scrambling to find them. In early April, the most basic spinner retailed for about RM35-RM40 but due to huge competition  recently, prices have now plummeted to as low as RM8 in Miri. A lot of retailers who keep large quantities of the spinners are now facing slow sales.

A fidget spinner is touted as a type of stress-relieving toy. A basic fidget spinner consists of a bearing in its centre circular pad and is made from any of a variety of materials including brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper and plastic. The toy has been advertised as a concentration aid by acting as a release mechanism for nervous energy or stress.  Experts were divided on this claim, with some supporting it while others refuted its scientific basis and argued the toy may actually be more distracting. Some schools have banned them as these spinners have become a distraction.

The fidget spinner is a toy that comes out of nowhere to become a worldwide craze. It is estimated that a few hundred million units of the spinners have been sold. But like all fads, the mania is beginning to fade away. The end seems near!