The Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK) have apparently been ordered to take a good look at fidget spinners, the latest hot sensation to hit the market. This is to ascertain if it’s possibly dangerous to those who use it.
Fidget spinners are these little gadgets which are possible to spin at high speeds in your hands. They apparently help users to keep focused, especially those suffering from ADHD. But can they be dangerous? Apparently so.
Most of the fidget spinners you’ll find on the market are made of plastic. Aside from the occasionally unavoidable ding from a fidget spinner that was accidentally let go of, they are fairly harmless. Even if the fidgets are made of metal, as long as they have rounded edges, they’re usually ok, if you’re spinning them by hand that is.
Things get a little dicier when you amp up the speed of the spin on these gadgets. With the help of some compressed air, the speed on these spinners can go up to 1000rpm. At that speed, anything can be dangerous, metal or not.
That’s already the case with fidget spinners in their more benign form. It seems, more spinners are being designed with somewhat dangerous shapes as well. A simple search on Google and you’ll find some of the more ridiculously dangerous looking fidget spinners that can be found.
Then there’s this trend of modifying the more benign spinners to be dangerous. This can be done by attaching anything from sharpened metal to actual razor blades. As you’ll see from the video, some people have actually gotten hurt doing stuff like this. So it’s no surprise that some concern has popped up over the safety of these spinners.
According to a statement to the Malay language daily, Berita Harian, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism said that the Ministry will be collecting samples of the gadgets in the market to be sent to SIRIM for examination. This would be a short-term measure to ensure that the fidget spinners are not harmful to consumers in the country.
Berita Harian had earlier reported that a couple of Malaysian Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are worried about the dangers the fidget spinners as they can not only be modified and exploited as dangerous weapons but might also be used to commit crimes. The Ministry is especially concerned about schoolchildren, who will have easy access to the things given how widely they are sold.
We’re quite certain thought that we’ll get to keep our spinners, but be prepared for some banning and restrictions of its use in certain places.
What do you think about fidget spinners? Are they really dangerous? Let us know in the comments!
