美国国家公共电台 NPR Fidget Spinner Emerges As Must-Have Toy Of The Year

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The must-have toy of the year has emerged¹, and it is called the fidget spinner. And, Robert, I understand you are seeing one of these for the first time.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

I am unwrapping it right now for the first time to see it.

MCEVERS: OK.

SIEGEL: All right. I see it.

MCEVERS: OK. What does it look like?

SIEGEL: It consists of three circles. You know, it's - it fits in the palm of my hand, and they're - they form a triangle.

MCEVERS: OK.

SIEGEL: There's a hole in the middle of each circle, and I guess I take the center of the spinner and I hold it between my fingers and then I - whoa - and I make it go around. And can you hear that?

(SOUNDBITE OF FIDGET SPINNING)

MCEVERS: Oh, yeah, I can.

SIEGEL: I - that's about it. You know, it just spins around.

MCEVERS: OK. Here's the thing you need to know about this toy - it is a phenomenon. Kids all over the country want one of these. And Kenny Malone from our Planet² Money podcast is about to tell us how that happened.

SIEGEL: It's still spinning.

MCEVERS: (Laughter).

SIEGEL: It's still spinning.

KENNY MALONE, BYLINE³: There's a street vendor⁴ in New York City named John Codrington.

JOHN CODRINGTON: They're called spinners.

MALONE: He was the first person I ever saw selling these fidget spinners.

CODRINGTON: We spin all day, and we spin at night.

MALONE: Can I look at one of those metal ones? Are those 10?

CODRINGTON: You can look at whatever you like.

MALONE: Codrington's table is teeming⁵ with customers today, but not long ago, he was less successfully trying to sell cologne, watches and sunglasses. But then he says he got a tip. There's this toy. It's called the fidget spinner.

CODRINGTON: A friend of mine was telling me about it before he told anybody, and he said it's going to be big.

MALONE: Like, how long ago was that?

CODRINGTON: Maybe about two weeks ago.

MALONE: And now Codrington is doing gangbusters. He says he hasn't seen a run like this since the selfie stick.

CODRINGTON: All we doing is riding the wave. We riding the wave.

MALONE: Unlike the Tickle⁶ Me Elmo doll or the Furby, the fidget spinner is a brand-list phenomenon that just seemed to happen overnight⁷. And it may be showing us a new way to create a product, a meme-ification (ph) of manufacturing⁸ if you will, because just like an Internet meme spreads and morphs at a breakneck pace, so can manufacturing now. But that doesn't mean someone somewhere didn't make a first version⁹ of the thing.

SCOTT MCCOSKERY: I had a long career in the IT world.

MALONE: This is Scott McCoskery, and as an IT guy in Seattle, he says he spent a lot of time on conference calls and in board meetings that he didn't really need to attend.

MCCOSKERY: During those times, I often found myself clicking a pen, opening and closing a knife or...

MALONE: A knife in a board meeting, Scott?

MCCOSKERY: A small pocket knife. It was nothing too threatening.

MALONE: All right, all right.

To get through those meetings, McCoskery built what he believes is the first fidget spinner as we know them. It was about three years ago, and it was just for him. It was metal. It was beautiful. And then he shared pictures with an online community that takes particular pride in things you carry every day, like a wallet or a watch or a pocket knife. When he shared those pictures, he got flooded with requests, and so he started selling what he called the Torqbar.

How much were those going for originally?

MCCOSKERY: They were probably between $300 and $500.

MALONE: McCoskery partnered with a longtime friend to sell the spinners full time, and they filed for a provisional patent last year. It's too early to know what rights that will give them, but shortly after the Torqbar went online, other people started making and selling their own spinners, some machined from metal, others 3-D printed from plastic. And eventually, major retailers¹⁰ caught on to the trend.

RICHARD BARRY: We are getting them in as fast as we can and using the fastest mechanisms¹¹ to get them here.

MALONE: Richard Barry is chief merchandising officer at Toys R Us Toys R Us put in orders for fidget spinners several months ago before the trend really took off. But now, they're doing everything they can to get those on shelves, even chartering¹² planes.

It's like a scramble-the-jets¹³ moment for you guys.

BARRY: We have the jets, and they are in the air, and the products will be in the stores real soon.

MALONE: When the Tickle Me Elmo doll came out, people raced to stores like Toys R Us trying to get in on the hot new thing. With the fidget spinner, the trend is here. It started going viral on its own online. And so now the retailers are the ones racing¹⁴ to the trend. Toys R Us, for its part, says fidget spinners will be hitting their shelves this week. Kenny Malone, NPR News.

1 emerged   

vi. 浮现, (由某种状态)脱出, (事实)显现出来

参考例句：

• They emerged from the church into the bright daylight. 他们走出教堂来到明亮的日光下。
• The swimmer emerged from the lake. 游泳者从湖水中浮出来。

2 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

5 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

6 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

7 overnight   

ad.前一天晚上，一夜间 a.前一天晚上的

参考例句：

• She stayed overnight in the hotel. 她在旅馆过了一夜。
• Our success is not won overnight. 我们的成功不是一夜之间得来的。

8 manufacturing   

n.制造业，工业adj.制造业的，制造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的现在分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Manufacturing processes may be affected by the functionality of the product. 生产过程可能要受到产品设计目的的影响。

9 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

10 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

11 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 chartering   

n.租用v.发给…许可证( charter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We can also take the responsibility of chartering a ship. 我们也可以负责租船装运。 来自商贸英语会话
• Will you take the responsibility of chartering a ship? 你们可以负责租船装运吗？ 来自商贸英语会话

13 jets   

n.喷嘴( jet的名词复数 )；喷气式飞机；喷射流；煤玉

参考例句：

• The firemen directed jets of water at the burning building. 消防队员把水柱喷向燃烧着的楼房。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。