About

Fidget Spinners are triangular toys that can be spun on on the finger tips thanks to a bearing at the center. Online, trick videos featuring the toys have been uploaded to YouTube, while image macros associating fidget spinners with autism are frequently circulated within various meme communities.

History

On January 7th, 1997, Catherine A. Hettinger patented the invention of the Fidget Spinner, which she filed May 28th, 1993.^[2][3]

Precursor

In October 2016, Antsy Labs set up a Kickstarter to fund the Fidget Cube,^[4] a cube-shaped, stress-relieving toy designed for people to direct their fidgeting. The fidget cube included a spinning bearing, buttons, and switches. The fidget cube became the 9th most-funded project and the second highest backed in Kickstarter's history, brining in over $6.4 million.

Online Presence

On July 19th, 2016, YouTuber Sam KenKnight uploaded a video (shown below, left) of Spinner Tricks to YouTube, receiving more than 590,000 views in the firs nine months. A little over a month later, YouTuber EpicSnuggleBunny uploaded a video (shown below, right) introducing the Fidget Spinner, entitled "Hand Spinner – Fidget Toys," which received more than 3.3 million views in the first year.

On November 4th, Redditor xMinti^[5] founded the subbreddit /r/FidgetSpinners. The community as of April 2017 has more than 10,000 subscribers.

During the first third of 2017, Fidget Spinner videos, both which explain and exhibit the spinner, started appearing frequently on YouTube. YouTuber Giaco Whatever uploaded one (shown below) on January 29th, 2017, entitled "99999+ RPM Fidget Spinner Toy." Within four months, the video had received more than 9.9 million views.

On April 24th, 2017, Fidget Spinner memes began appearing on the subreddit /r/dankmemes. The one shown below on the right by suck_boi^[11] received more than 2,700 points (95% upvoted) and 115 comments in the first two days.

White Supremacy Symbol

On May 10th, 2017, YouTuber Craynonymous posted a video of a custom fidget spinner shaped like a Swastika (shown below).

On May 14th, an anonymous 4chan user submitted a post to the /pol/ board saying "we need to find a way to make fidget spinners symbols of white supremacy" (shown below).^[12] The following day, HeatStreet^[14] published an article titled "Are Fidget Spinners the Newest Symbol of White Supremacy?" Also on May 15th, the conservative news blog Victory Girls^[15] published a post titled "Fidget Spinners Are The New White Supremacy?" On May 16th, Mic reporter Melanie Ehrenkranz tweeted a screenshot of the 4chan post.^[13] Meanwhile, Redditor splodedpen submitted the HeatStreet article to the /r/drama^[16] subreddit.

News Media Coverage

Several news outlets covered the trend, including Popular Mechanics,^[6] Fox,^[7] CBS,^[8] Forbes,^[9] CNET,^[10] and more.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References