CREDIT: GEORGE MARAGOS
Fidget spinners have recently become a way for people to keep calm, focus and occupied.

It’s the 21st century and at this point we’re supposed to have flying cars and hoverboards, instead we have a new spinning toy called a fidget spinner.

These new toys can be bought at the mall, variety stores, and online. They can be made of plastic or with different metals, and with different design variations.

It is a toy that resembles a propeller that rests between a person’s thumb and pointer finger.

Fidget spinners are good for kids, anyone with a desk job, or in an instance where you’re sitting bored. People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or with sensory needs may find this new toy helpful. It can also be calming for people. If you need to relax, stop and spin for a bit.

According to reports from Bloomberg Technology and bloomberg.com in an article titled “How the Fidget Spinner Origin Story Spun Out of Control”, by Joshua Brustein, Catherine Hettinger, a woman living in Orlando Fla., was dubbed the creator of the fidget spinner by major mainstream media outlets.

According to Brustein, someone created a Wikipedia page crediting her for the invention.

According to Hettinger she doesn’t know who did it, and it wasn’t her.

When asked about how she created the fidget spinner she told them her story, how she created a “spinning toy”, as well as expressing her financial difficulties. Headlines interpreted this information to mean a lone inventor was being taken advantage of by corporations.

Hettinger said she filed a patent back in 1993. She began making fidget spinners at home to sell at fairs and festivals and even pitched her idea to Hasbro according to Brustein. Her invention was called a “spinning toy”; the patent was granted in 1997 and lapsed in 2005.

Brustein’s report also included information from Jeffrey Blake from the Merchant and Gould law firm about the patent case.

“Even if Hettinger’s patent had covered the current spinners, and she hadn’t let it lapse in 2005, she would have had no claim to any fortunes created during the spinner boom that started last year. Her patent would have expired in 2014, 17 years after being issued,” said Blake.

Regarding the supposed inventor of the fidget spinner Fanshawe alumna Nadine Ryckman has some thoughts about the device.

“I’d be happy to just know it’s being used for good purposes and it’s helpful, you don’t have to make money off of everything that’s helpful,” she said.

The fidget spinner can help stop bad habits, which is the case for Fanshawe student Christina Partridge.

“I bite my nails, but if I have my fidget spinner I won’t,” she said. The fidget spinner has found a niche in our generation.

“Our generation is the kind of generation where we need to be doing more than one thing,” Partridge said.

Describing the benefits of a fidget spinner, Ryckman explained, “It helps people stay focused. When I’m holding the fidget spinner I actually finish one thing at a time.”

“There is some good in an invention that serves as an outlet for people’s nervous fidgeting habits,” Partridge said.

Having a fidget spinner can help you finish tasks and fidgeting doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.

According to Partridge, some people have nervous habits that can be minimized or eliminated with the use of a fidget spinner.

“If you’re fidgeting then maybe you should get a fidget spinner,” Partridge said.

The fidget spinner is being celebrated as an outlet for excess mental energy.

“[The fidget spinner] is there to help you focus. Some people are attentive and can focus all the time and some people can’t,” Partridge said.

The attitudes of people have changed now from what they might have been in the past.

“People today are more aware of other people’s accessibility needs,” Ryckman said.

Some people may only decide to use a fidget spinner for only a minute before getting bored with it.

You can share a fidget spinner with a friend for a moment, but to really get the benefits of a fidget spinner you’ve got to get your own.