Cutting edge, professional, "thiking" fidget toys

August 6, 2015 8:27 AM

We're trying to present ourselves as a super cutting edge team. Traditional fidget/thinking toys like Rubik's Cube, pipe cleaners, wooden blocks elasticated together, wooden puzzles, brain teasers, etc, are ALL OUT. They are sooo retro which is NOT what we're going for. I'm looking for CUTTING EDGE toys - gadgets and gizmos that team members can fiddle around with during a meeting or class, and make us look new and fresh.
posted by rebent to Grab Bag (28 answers total)

I honestly don't understand why you would want to be that annoyingly distracting person in a meeting, but that wasn't the question... To answer the question you asked, Uncommon Goods has a Tech/Electronics subsection in their Fun category with a lot of stuff that I think would meet your needs.
posted by amro at 8:38 AM on August 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Only speaking to your goal of having your team look "new and fresh", cutting edge fidget toys wouldn't do it for me. If you need to use this kind of prop during a meeting or class, individuals should use what works best for them, regardless of some of them being "retro". Mandating super-cool-next-generation-office-toys just seems like an affectation.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:40 AM on August 6, 2015 [26 favorites]

I enjoy some kinetic sand myself.
posted by cecic at 8:42 AM on August 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: This assignment comes down to me from above.
posted by rebent at 8:42 AM on August 6, 2015 [10 favorites]

Have you browsed ThinkGeek?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 8:45 AM on August 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Squishy balls, plastic ring puzzles, stretchy balls, silly putty. I've seen this at lots of meetings and surprisingly not distracting as long as they don't make noise. Search sensory fidgets.
posted by tamitang at 8:55 AM on August 6, 2015

Anything marketed as a fidget isn't going to get the approval of whatever knucklehead has told you to do this, I suspect. I would get a bunch of cool looking whatevers from the MoMA store, or your local equivalent, dump them out, and let people find their own way to use them.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:58 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

This looks kind of neat; too wooden? There are other things on that site, if you have the budget for it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:01 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Clearly there is only one answer to this question: http://www.amazon.com/Estes-Proto-Quadcopter-Colors-Black/dp/B00G924W98
posted by bdc34 at 9:18 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

You are looking for Buckyballs. Super addictive, a little bit exclusive because they are fraught with controversy and danger
posted by mjcon at 9:23 AM on August 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

This Curly Cube is pretty cute.
posted by Don Pepino at 9:45 AM on August 6, 2015

Knitting is cool again. And mathy.
posted by aniola at 9:53 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Magformers? The colours are very pretty and the magnets are super-strong; they're a pretty satisfying thing to put together.
posted by kmennie at 10:04 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

This assignment comes down to me from above.

well, a long shot, but how about so retro it's cool again? blackboards with chalk? whipping tops? monopoly and scrabble?

edit: and knitting fits!
posted by andrewcooke at 10:47 AM on August 6, 2015

I'm a big fan of ferromagnetic fluid
posted by Mchelly at 10:57 AM on August 6, 2015

Sets from the Lego Architecture line.
posted by bondcliff at 11:06 AM on August 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

i also wondered about lego mindstorms. but maybe that's passe?
posted by andrewcooke at 11:17 AM on August 6, 2015

Nanoblocks?
posted by stormyteal at 11:30 AM on August 6, 2015

This Tangle Is fit for display.
posted by saradarlin at 11:30 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Another vote for finding these types of things really annoying and rude.*

To answer your question, I like Fat Brain Toys.

*Mini-rant: If whatever is happening in that meeting or class is not as exciting as the toy, FIX THE DAMN MEETING OR CLASS. Your work should be more engaging than a toy. End rant.
posted by slipthought at 11:42 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Las Sillas or anything from Ludis Ludi
posted by biscuits at 12:29 PM on August 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

There are a bunch of levels of the Perplexus maze-in-a-sphere toys.
posted by bookdragoness at 12:34 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Behold, the Ball of Whacks.
posted by deludingmyself at 12:38 PM on August 6, 2015

I feel so torn. While I agree with everybody who's saying this assignment is moronic, I also would very much like to own every single one of those Ludis Ludi items biscuits recommends. The little stools! Chairs Jenga! And look at this o-o-o-o-o-one!
posted by Don Pepino at 12:55 PM on August 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

My younger brother got some of these fidget pencil toppers as a kid and I instantly demanded my parents order me some as well. The tangles are also cool. I am linking you to the National Autism Resource because these toys are designed for multitasking and will hopefully promote focus. Might be a good way to find other resources as well.
http://www.nationalautismresources.com/fidget-toys.html

If you're looking for something a little more engaging, Perplexus is amazing but I'm not sure I could study with it. It is a maze ball that comes in varying levels of difficultly.
posted by rubster at 12:57 PM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

I really like Crazy Aaron's Putty. It's been around a while so I don't know if it's cutting edge. But it's cool!.
posted by dchrssyr at 1:44 PM on August 6, 2015

Magnetized hematite stones are fun to play with.
posted by Ostara at 9:13 PM on August 6, 2015

> If whatever is happening in that meeting or class is not as exciting as the toy, FIX THE DAMN MEETING OR CLASS. Your work should be more engaging than a toy

These aren't toys. They're tools people with ADHD, autism, and other traits use to help them focus on the work at hand. They look like toys to make them socially acceptable, and some may be marketed as toys as well, but in a classroom or workplace they shouldn't be mistaken for toys any more than a service animal should be mistaken for a pet.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:05 PM on August 8, 2015 [2 favorites]