Yo-yos, spinning tops, bolides, Tiki-Taka, marbles, Rubik's Cubes, plastic pacifier-shaped trinkets, the Tamagotchi. I've seen many objects and toys enjoy enormous popularity, and all of them eventually became (sooner or later) unbearable. The new accessory that apparently has taken the world by storm is the Fidget Spinner, but we haven't yet detected signs suggesting its disappearance. In fact, someone went as far as turning it into a web app, compatible with computers and mobile devices.
The year was 1989, and Batman had conquered the cinema. Just a little kid in elementary school, I was completely obsessed. Batman T-shirts, Batman socks, Batman keychains... even Batman underwear. And just as it appeared, that madness faded into thin air shortly after. Almost thirty years later I can say that Batman is a pretty bad movie (yes, I'm Spartacus), but its advertising campaign was one of the most successful I've ever seen. If a superhero-based film revolutionized entire schools, imagine the impact of a toy that anyone can carry in their pocket and show off to their classmates...
The Fidget Spinner Goes Online
The latest specimen with such potential is the Fidget Spinner. As is usually the case, the origins of this accessory are not entirely clear. Some patents filed in the early '90s indicate that a certain Catherine Hettinger is the inventor, but a recent article published by Bloomberg puts that into doubt. They come in all types, and with very varied prices, courtesy of the Red Giant of the East that mass-produces any toy the West demands overnight. And now a virtual version is added, which we can find at the portal fidget-spinner.xyz. It offers a total of twelve models, and the possibility to change the color of each spinner. The rest is... spinning it.
The Fidget Spinner is supposed to work as an anti-stress toy, similar to those rubber balls we can squeeze at will. This online edition is quite disappointing in that regard, and should barely be interpreted as a curiosity, or as the personal project of someone trying to take advantage of its current popularity. If you want something more addictive, you can always try Cookie Clicker, but don't say I didn't warn you.
