I recently stumbled across these fractal fidget hexagons thanks to The Algorithm™ figuring out my deep appreciation for fidget toys and desk toys, and that I can especially become hypnotized by ones of a more visual nature. I spent an embarrassing amount of time watching an ad the first time it popped up in my feed

Now, I’m linking to a generic Amazon search page rather than any one product here, because they’re pretty much all the same thing as this:

Dangerously mesmerizing, isn’t it? Keep one of these on your desk and use that uniquely visual + tactile experience to soothe anxiety/stress whenever it strikes. I imagine it could also be used by some people to increase focus at times.

Most of these toys are priced around $9–$16 each and there are plenty of colorways to choose from. Happy fidgeting!

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In the late 1960s, Danish cabinetmaker Hans Gustav Ehrenreich decided the world needed a little more happiness and cheer. To that end he designed Hoptimist, a line of fun little bobbing-head figurines that serve no real purpose except to bring a smile to your face — and isn’t that needed more than ever these days?

Whenever you’re feeling blue or stressed out, just give your Hoptimist a little tap on the head and let its indomitable jaunty bouncing infect you with enthusiasm you didn’t know you had.

You’d probably have to be a sour soul indeed not to crack a smile, or at least a smirk, while watching this thingy go. I am given to catastrophizing, but this doojigger helps me to pause, get perspective, and reset with a sense of humor.

—Chantel Tattoli, The Strategist

The Classic Collection pictured above is the obvious place to start, but they have many other collections to choose from as well, like the Soft Collection:

…the Wood Collection:

…and the list goes on.

Whatever design you choose, it will happily fulfill its role as desk toy, conversation piece, or special gift to someone. Every Hoptimist is assembled by hand too, so each one has a degree of uniqueness.

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Despite its name, your workspace doesn’t have to only be about work. If you’re like us, there are going to be times when your hands are idle while you internally contemplate a problem, or as you simply spend a few minutes staring out a window, daydreaming.

Give ’em something to do with these five office-friendly fidget toys below.

PlayableART Helicone »

($60)

The Helicone is an interactive kinetic sculpture that, with a quick twist, transforms between helix and pine cone shapes, and it’s suuuper satisfying to play with:

It’s made from 38 precisely laser-cut wooden pieces assembled on a brass tube, and includes a solid wood display stand.

PlayableART Ball »

($30)

Made by the same folks as the Helicone above, the PlayableART Ball is a set of 20 colorful, interconnected wooden balls that can be easily twisted and turned into a number of shapes, like so:

They’re made from high-quality beech wood and colored with non-toxic, water-based paint that’ll add a nice touch of color to your workspace.

Moondrop Fidget Toy »

($25)

Designed by Kristoph Krisjans — who’s also made popular crowdfunded desk spinners like the Vortecon and the Mezmoglobe — the Moondrop is a gravity-defying desk toy made from aerospace-grade materials with strong neodymium magnets inside.

The slider bit in the middle has a precisely calculated amount of resistance meant to imitate gravity on the Moon and on Mars. It’s also fun to flip and spin around in all kinds of ways:

The “Thinket Now” Fidget Toy »

($64–$75)

David Weinstock’s generation-3.0 Thinket Now looks similar to the Moondrop at first, but operates rather differently. The bar has to be pushed through the tube’s magnetic field, rather than simply falling one way or the other.

By placing an O-ring on either end of the slider’s head (or removing it), you can modify whether it bounces or thuds as it slides. Each is satisfying in its own way.

The Vortex Dome by PhysicsHack »

($90)

David Fowler of the PhysicsHack YouTube channel handmakes a marvelous desk toy he calls the Vortex Dome. You simply spin the glass dome one way or the other and watch the rheoscopic fluid swirl fascinatingly inside. Be careful because it WILL hypnotize you.

All kidding aside, this is a handy thing to have around if you need something to focus your mind or sooth your nerves, at your desk or elsewhere. Fowler put together a video showing it in action:

We also like this video (you may recognize the guy in it from a past guide of ours):

Each Vortex Dome is handmade to order in the UK. I’m linking the blue version on Amazon here, but you can also order straight from the maker and get additional color choices like green, gold, orange, or purple. After international shipping costs and currency conversion, the cost is about the same: ~$90 USD.

Yeah, sure, spinning a coin is all well and good as far as boredom activities go, but the novelty of it doesn’t last all that long. Have you ever tried spinning a Euler’s Disk though? If not, you’ve gotta give it a shot.

Originally developed by Joseph Bendik and colleagues and named after 18th-century Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler, Euler’s Disk is a 3″ diameter chrome-plated steel puck that comes with a 9″ concave mirror base to spin on. The physics of it is a little complicated, but in layman’s terms, this combo creates a disk that can spin for a loooooong time. In fact, the slow buildup of friction is really the only reason it stops spinning at all!

Watch this video to see what I’m talking about:

Notice how it actually levitates for those split seconds just before it finally comes to a rest? How cool is that?? Not to mention the steady increase of rapid-fire vibration noises that, by the end, make it sound like a spaceship taking off. On top of that, the set includes 9 pieces of magnetic holographic foil so you can change up the colorful light display the disk creates as it spins.

Whether you’re into the science or visuals of it, or you just wanna annoy your office buddies, this is a fantastic little desk toy. Grab the set for $35 on Amazon.

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Filed under “I Want This Yesterday”: David Fowler of the PhysicsHack YouTube channel handmakes a marvelous desk toy he calls the Vortex Dome. You simply spin the glass dome one way or the other and watch the rheoscopic fluid swirl fascinatingly inside. Be careful because it WILL hypnotize you.

All kidding aside, this is a handy thing to have around if you need something to focus your mind or sooth your nerves, at your desk or elsewhere. Fowler put together a video showing it in action:

I also like this video (you’ll recognize the guy in it from a recent guide of ours):

Each Vortex Dome is made to order in the UK and can be had for ~$58 USD on Etsy in your choice of blue, green, gold, orange, or purple.

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The “normal distribution” is a useful reference for all kinds of probability problems. If you ever make graphs of certain kinds of statistics — the heights of adults, the weights of babies, classroom scores, etc — the results tend to form a bell curve. It’s a neat concept, but its significance can be hard to grasp until you see it happening for yourself, over and over again.

The Galton Board by Four Pines Publishing is a desk toy that lets you do just that. After the 3,000 steel balls have accumulated in the hopper at the bottom, flip the board over and watch as they cascade through 12 levels of branching paths into the row of bins below. Time and time again, the stacks they form end up approximating a bell curve distribution. It’s pretty sick.

Watch this delightful video to see what I mean:

Redditor “MorningPants” succinctly explains what’s happening here:

When a ball hits a peg, there’s a 50% chance for it to go left or right. So for it to fall in the leftmost slot, it would have to go left every time. For it to fall in the middle, it has to go left and right the same number of times. There are lots of ways that can happen, so more balls end up in the center than on the edges. This creates a predictable distribution pattern marked by the dark line.

Like the magnetic field demonstrator set I recently wrote about, the Galton Board would be a great toy to keep on your desk or in a classroom environment.

Get it for $50 on Amazon.

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I try to be selective about the Kickstarter projects I decide to feature here on T&T. However whimsical or unexpected, they should be useful or intriguing on some level.

But the Vortecon kinetic desk toy? This thing is pure, useless fun:

Oh sure, they’ll talk about how it “releases creativity” or “relieves stress while you work” or whatever, and maybe it does, but let’s be real here: This is a super neat, well-made, and fun-to-play-with optical illusion you can enjoy staring at yourself or showing off to your friends.

Isn’t it mesmerizing?

As of March 5th, 2018, they’ve far exceeded their modest funding goal and still have 22 days to go. Go back the project at the $32 USD level or higher to eventually get one of your own.

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PlayableART — the same folks behind the colorful, interconnected “Ball” toy we included in our 2016 Christmas Catalog — also make something called the “Helicone”. It’s an interactive kinetic sculpture that, with a quick twist, transforms between helix and pine cone shapes, and it’s suuuper satisfying to play with:

The Helicone is made from 38 precisely laser-cut wooden pieces assembled on a brass tube, and includes a solid wood display stand. Even the box it comes in is handsome, and is perfect for giving as a gift.

Get the Helicone for $60 at Amazon.

Side note: PlayableART also recently released a plastic-and-stainless-steel version of the Helicone, which they’ve dubbed the “Lollipopter” ($25). It’s available in four colorways, pictured from above here:

From left to right: “Sugar Plum Shuffle”, “Mango Fandango”, “Green Apple Turnover”, and “HuckleBerry Spin”.

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I’m one of those people who gets fidgety after a while of having to sit still with idle hands. My usual remedy is to pull out my iPhone and repeatedly, mindlessly browse my feeds, but that’s no good all the time.

I just stumbled across a Kickstarter project called the Fidget Cube that looks absolutely perfect for people like me. This six-sided doodad has a bunch of built-in toys to fidget with. Here they are, listed by side:

1. Click — Three clicky buttons and two silenced ones, for when you just need to push buttons.
2. Glide — A gaming-style joystick.
3. Flip — A rocking switch that can be toggled gently and quietly, or quickly and clicky…ly.
4. Breathe — Basically a oval-shaped “worry stone” indentation for calming your nerves.
5. Roll — Three combination lock-style dials and a rolly ball, the latter of which has a built-in click feature.
6. Spin — A rotating dial with a little nub to rest your finger/thumb on.

I mean, how great must this thing feel in the hand? I totally have to get one. Even their announcement trailer (get ready to barf because I’m going for it) pushes all the right buttons (commence barfing):

To say the Kickstarter project has already been a success is a massive understatement. They asked for $15K, and backers have pledged over $5 million to get Fidget Cube off the ground, and there are still 19 days to go as I write this.

Go back the project at the $19 level or higher to get a Fidget Cube of your own, in one of 10 color schemes.

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