The inventor said he came up with the idea for the original anti-stress toy in 1993 and tried to pitch it to several toy retailers.

Hasbro was among them. However, since the spinner was not appreciated in the market, the author of the anti-stress device refused it. Many years have passed since then, and a spinner has appeared in almost every home, and its popularity has reached unprecedented heights.

Why did retailers make millions from the invention and why did the author do nothing?

As noted in the publication, Catherine received a patent for her invention in 1997, but that patent expired in 2005 after she was unable to pay $400 to renew her rights to the device.

This meant that anyone could now create their own spinner version or design without running into any legal issues.
– stated in the broadcast.

And indeed: In 2014, a guy named Scott McCoskery invented something similar and called his device Torqbar. According to McCoskery, the reason for the emergence of this gadget was the desire to focus on something and keep his hands busy during business meetings, when he was significantly nervous because of his boss. In fact, he was a spinner.

Was the author of Spinner upset?

Still, Catherine told The Guardian in 2017 that she was “delighted” that people were enjoying her creations.

He also admitted that most inventions don’t make money, but he suspects things might have been very different if someone had invested in it years ago.
– reported the publication.