All of a sudden, I am hearing about fidget spinners everywhere. Even in the funny papers! When I first saw the gadgets on the counter, they reminded me of the replacement heads for Norelco shavers ...

This fidget toy is one of the best high-quality picks, hence the price tag. The slick and storable magnetic stones can offer stress relief for adults with the ability to stack, mold and design.

Therefore, the fidget spinner's price premium ($15 on Amazon) over other common fidget objects such as pens, pencils, balls and coins probably isn't due to massive research and development costs.

Not all fidget toys are for consistent fidgeting — at least, not for me. Sometimes I just feel a quick burst of physical energy that needs to be expended so I can get back to whatever I was doing.

The team will study natural physical movements, or fidgeting, in addition to giving some participants a specially designed “smart” fidget ball developed at UC Santa Cruz to squeeze, stroke, or tap.

You might have fidget toys like stress balls, fidget spinners and pop-its at your desk. What role do they play in our impulse to bounce and tap? The research on these toys is conflicting.

Faith Bench introduced fidget toys on social media to keep her students engaged during the pandemic. “It was really hard to connect with my students; they were home, I was home,” said Bench.