Must-have toy for 2017, the fidget-spinner, hits Mumbai

A colleague plays with two fidget spinners simultaneously. Pics/Atul Kamble

If you look up fidget spinner on YouTube, you'll find a number of videos on the toy, uploaded in the last couple of months. In one, a professional shows you cool tricks with the toy while another hilarious video has an Arab gentleman ditching the spinner for a huge, three-winged fan! In Mumbai, you will spot vendors selling it at markets across the city, in local trains and even at traffic signals, for as less as Rs 100.

For the uninitiated, a fidget spinner is a palm-sized propeller-like object with three blades and a bearing in a circular pad at its centre. You need to spin a blade and balance the centre pad on your finger. As the name suggests, it is supposed to calm fidgety people.

The spinner's origins are unclear - Orlando-based Catherine Hettinger, who created a similar toy in the 1990s, was credited as an inventor but several patent lawyers have seen little resemblance between the modern toy and her version. However, its popularity is undisputable. While it was mentioned as the must-have office toy for 2017 by Forbes last December, Google Trends show that the interest in fidget spinners began spiking in April.

From plastic and metal versions to ones with LED lights, there are various types of spinners available in the market. We ordered three from Flintstop - a city-based that portal curates quirky gadgets and imports fidget spinners from Taiwan and China - and took them for a spin.