TIME Germany

German Customs Officials Seized 35 Metric Tons of Fidget Spinners in May

Hand Spinner Around Paris
Chesnot—Getty Images A fidget spinner

They will be destroyed, officials said

An airport in Germany has taken a strong anti-fidget spinner stance by stopping 35 metric tons of the toys from entering the country in May.

Customs officials at an airport in Frankfurt said children could potentially choke on pieces that might detach from the whirling contraptions, and that they planned to destroy the seized toys, according to the Associated Press.

Fidget spinner, which have inspired everything from nail art to new culinary techniques in the U.S., have been claimed by some to help kids with AHDH — though the science on that doesn’t quite hold up. Others call the toy dangerous, including one mom whose daughter had to go into surgery after swallowing a piece of the spinner.

 

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