So, sad stuff, my mom died when I was 23, and my dad just passed this week, as I’m just shy of 40. Early and sucks but is what it is.
The sad isn’t the point of this, though. The point of this is that I now have both of their thick gold wedding bands. I probably could have asked for them before, and he probably would have given them to me, but they weren’t my memory to have yet.
Now that I have them, however, they have proven to be a peak fidget toy for driving. I hate driving, especially long-distance, and I tend to start nodding off because it’s boring af. Im AutDHD, so yeah the falling asleep bit is normal for me, and so fucking dangerous. If public transit was an option, I’d absolutely use it, but it isn’t a practical option (thanks carbrain US, for making me a danger to the people around me as a matter of course… really thrilled to be forced into this position…)
My mom’s is just big enough to fit my off-hand index finger, and my dad’s is just small enough to not fit over that, but its way too big for me alone. But if I put it on first and then my mom’s, it stays put and jingles around. The noise it makes when I tap my finger on the wheel is so ridiculously pleasing to me. It keeps me occupied enough to stay awake, so I’m not a giant hazard on the road. Yay! Win!
So, what’s your “turns out I needed this all along” fidget?
I keep a large nut and bolt on my desk, and do them up and undo them when the urge takes me. They’re well finished, with rough bits and smooth bits to touch.
Outside of work I rarely need anything like that.
Balisong or “butterfly” knife. Its got risk, flow, and steez all in one. Not super socially acceptable to use in public though
illegal on my state sadly, but I got a “practice” one that’s probably most of the fun with almost none of the risk (I say almost cuz I still accidentally drop or throw the thing which still can damage stuff)
it’s also got a fox paw design on the tip of the “blade” for peak furry pawslut trash vibes
Nice. Mine is hot pink for peak bimbo dangerslut vibes :3
I got into flippin’ when I was like 15, and didn’t have the funds for a 120USD Benchmade 42 at my local shop… I will forever regret not being able to pick that up. I also got a Spyderfly too, but decided against it. Can I please go have gotten those please?
Mine is just cheap american made. It was like $40 from a local shop but the forge is based out of the south somewhere. I think its called bear paw or something
A “Rubik’s” cube (actually a Chinese MoYu speedcube) that I tuned to feel “just right”.
It’s both a great fidget toy and a nice way to kill a minute or two with a puzzle when my mind drifts. I work from home and I find long meetings become much more bearable by just spinning layers at random or spinning it by its vertices.
Speedcubes are incredible. There are different ways of solving one that suit different people. if you don’t want to learn lots of algorithms there’s the beginner method or roux, if you have a medium taste for algorithms there’s cfop (with 1-look and 2-look variants of OLL and PLL) and if you’re a memorization slut there’s always ZB with its 774 algorithms to learn. I love it. Then there are also algorithms and solutions for higher order puzzles, and also ones for different puzzle shapes. It’s an awesome hobby. And if you get a good cube set up right the feel is really good too.
The lightbulb moment for fidgets was my wedding rings and I guess my iron ring. I got my iron ring a few years before I got married and I was always tapping it on hard surfaces when I was thinking but part of the whole thing is that it’s supposed to remind you of your obligations as an engineer so I thought that was normal?
I would constantly tap my wedding rings with my thumbs of the same hand and joke that they give me my strength. My partner is my rock but the secret sauce is the stim lol.
I think your actual question is about what purpose built fidget toys we like? My current fave is something like this:
It’s hard enough being a 40+ lady type whose job it is to argue on construction sites without bursting jell filled stress balls all over yourself lol. I like that this one will not explode. I honestly dgaf that it’s ‘childlike’, I’d love to have someone make a shitty remark to my face. I’ve got the “say the vilest shit imaginable impulsively” autism.
I’ve got the “say the vilest shit imaginable impulsively” autism.
Hehe same here, ive never been so fluid and eloquent as when im pissed and laying out the most hurtful and destructive words conceivable
A heavy pen to roll around on my hand and between my fingers. Even when I’m working on a computer, i got my trusty pen within reach.
I will take sweatshirt strings, pull them out, and tie knots along the entire length of the string. I then take and roll those knots in my fingers. I could probably use a worry stone, but something about about rolling the hard knots between my fingers seems to suit me better.
Probably gonna sound weird. But I have a bunch of textured beads on a bracelet. The textures vary enough for me that i can spin them or pinch them between my fingers and it doesn’t “look” like a fidget so I don’t get a lot of weird looks. I have also tried knotted bracelets and those are good too but they aren’t as easy to clean and texture of the material could be a problem for some.
I have the prickly stim ring and the prickly roller those are my favorites
I really like my Ono Roller! I keep misplacing it tho lol
I have to keep my roller in my bag. If I use it too much my hands start to hurt. Growing up, I used to have a flash drive I spun on a lanyard, and my most recent obsession has been this thing. It makes the most lovely clicky noise when I want, and is dead silent when I don’t want.
For me any soft foam ball I can throw at the wall and then catch again. It’s occupying brain regions I don’t need for reading or watching on the monitor while not making noises for my neighbours.
A baseball to do pitching grips
My partner got me a fidget spinner ring and now I’m permanently fidgeting.
I got a lot of fiddling with things when I was a kid so all my fidget toys that I found for myself got taken away in the places I needed them most like school etc. My solution was to use my own hands. I curl my fingers a little and then touch the crease between the first and second metacarpal on the index finger, then go down to middle and ring in the same spot, then diagonal up to the flat of the second metacarpal then the crease of the second and third metacarpal, then I reverse course. I can do the same with the straight from the second to third metacarpal crease on index, middle, then ring, then diagonal up to the first to second crease on the index. It is a nice pattern and except for times where I have broken or flayed my hands respectively it is always available. I can go slow or fast, do variations of the patterns, and I can do it subtly so people don’t notice. Very… Handy. Ha.
