Everything you need to know about Fidget Spinners

If you don't know what the Fidget Spinners are, there are only two explanations: you are over 40 or you've lived in a cave until today. I save you the bother of "googling" them: Fidgets Spinners are small anti-stress toys as big as a palm of a hand, made of plastic or metal, consisting of a circular central pivot and two or three ends that function as "blades ".

The purpose of the game? Turn this "peg-top" holding it close between the thumb and the index. According to some psychologists, playing with Fidget Spinners should relax and give a sense of gratification. In fact, this little toy was originally created to help students with attention deficit, holding their hands busy and increasing their concentration on their homework. From "healing" toy to obsession of the moment, the story of the success of Fidget Spinners has one more chapter.
In 1993 Catherine Hettinger created the first Fidget Spinner as we know it: to play with her daughter Sara, who suffered from Miastenia Gravis, a neuromuscular disease, Hettinger created this toy. Having seen success with her daughter, and figuring out the potential of the game, she decided to patent it, but no toys company wanted to sell it.

After twenty years Catherine Hettinger's patent expired, but Fidget Spinners came back under the spotlight, until 2016 when the phenomenon exploded online, thanks to some Youtubers, becoming viral. Not only kids but also adults seem to go crazy for this new game of the moment, so much that Saturday Night Live has broadcast a parody spot featuring a Fidget Spinner by Cartier to ironize on this new collective mania.

The reasons for this success are still unknown: like any other obsessions of the moment, there is no real explanation for the popularity of these Fidget Spinners, but just the right mix of timing, simplicity, and immediacy of this toy, and the ability – or luck – to have been able to attract a very young target, which made the product immediately trendy. I would not be surprised if a collection of Fidget Spinners from Gucci or Vetements came out soon, but in the meantime we have to be content with those Colette has listed on its website – including the Marvel-themed ones.

Like any good trend, a "pro" version of the Fidget Spinners has been released, the Fidget Cube, a small cube with casters, buttons, spheres and moving parts that should help restore calm and concentration.

Now that you know everything about Fidget Spinners, you're ready to brag like an expert with your friends on Facebook.