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◆ Did you have this?
👍 I had this💔 I wanted this2010s · toys
Fidget Spinner
A three-pronged bearing toy that became an explosive fad in 2017. Every kid had one, every classroom banned them, and then they vanished almost as fast as they appeared.
- Era
- 2010s
- Released
- 2017
- Category
- toys
- Availability checked
- 7/17/2026
From the archive
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Why people remember it
- They were in every kid's pocket within weeks.
- The banning in schools only made them more desirable.
- They came in every color from cheap plastic to metal.
Did you know?
- Patented in 1993 by Catherine Hettinger, the patent lapsed before the 2017 craze.
- At the May 2017 peak, spinner sales were a huge percentage of Amazon toy sales.
- The craze lasted only a few months before demand collapsed.
How people search for it
“spinning toy you hold”, “ball bearing spinner toy”, “thing that spins between your fingers”
Tags
Questions people ask
- When were fidget spinners popular?
- The fad hit in early-to-mid 2017, lasting about six months.
- Can you still buy fidget spinners?
- Yes, though no longer a craze. Still sold as fidget/stress toys.



