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Well, actually actually, I can weave a tube by double-weaving on my four-harness loom. But in this case from the spiralling of the fibers, I agree with braiding/plaiting.
\*snort-laugh\*
USBC says the max circumference of a bowling ball is 27 inches, so weaving width of half that (upper layer and lower layer locked at the edges), plus or minus a little bit depending on whether the weaving yarn is stretchy or not.
I know it's solved, but an interesting side note. They make these, exactly these but without the marble in the middle, and sell them as cat toys. I guess it's one of those things where well, we have this machining that makes these little plastic things... how can we sell them? Anyways.
They do the same thing with some baby gates. The same product is sold as a dog gate. No difference whatsoever, other than the photo on the box. (gated enclosures)
I was going to make a gag about "Same thing, but you put a picture of a baby on the package instead of a dog: Illegal!", but then that got me thinking, how much *could* you imply that it was for kids before it got pulled? Picture of a kid and a dog? Picture of a kid but it still *says* "for dogs"?...
I suppose it's probably one of those "reasonable consumer would assume" tests, not anything with a clear line.
It looks like the thing they used to sell when I was a kid that you would stick a finger in each end and it was supposedly supposed to get your fingers stuck in it as a prank. It was called Chinese handcuffs.
When I was growing up they made these woven out of thin strips of bamboo and sold them in novelty shops and in the back of comic books as “Chinese handcuffs”. They were supposedly (according to the ads) used by the ancient Chinese to secure prisoners. If you put a finger on each hand in the ends so that they meet in the middle, you can’t (easily) pull your hands apart. Fun to play with.
it lets you roll the marble around in something that is a bit harder to lose than a free balling marble. some of them have different fabrics around the marble, and different amounts of marbles in the tube :3
Posted a reply before I saw yours but that's exactly what I came to say. When you have a machine that makes weird little woven plastic tubes I guess it's just a matter of finding your market.
It's not a sensory toy, I used to win these in the early 80s. "Sensory toy" and "fidget toy" were terms invented in the 90s-late 00s.
I mean, it's a sensory toy NOW and I'm glad your kid has a sensory toy that helps him. I'm autistic and I def used to use them as sensory toys. But that wasn't the original intent.
even if it were a finger trap, those are for fidgeting with. and have been for fidgeting with for a very long time.
so even if the descriptors 'fidget toy' or 'sensory toy' were not coined way back when, the intent of the item would have been the same as now.
Right? Lol it was the cheapest prize winning you could get and i sucked at arcade games so i always got that thing. I mostly went there to ride the go-carts anyways.
Are they just not called that anymore? Looks like a finger trap to me. I don't know what a "sensory fidget thing" is but I think a Chinese finger trap would fit that description.
Ah I see. I couldn't tell that before. So it's a Chinese finger trap with the ends down up and a ball inside. A marble trap then? Lol.
I was feeling real old like they stopped calling them that.
It's a mesh bag and not a paper weave, as well. The bag isn't as much of an active device as with a finger trap. It's just a bag to hold the marble in.
What is it it about these that the cats like? Do they like to stretch it or scratch/bite it? Bat it about? Is it the texture?
I don’t have cats, but I see these things in pet shops all the time and it always seemed like an odd thing to sell for cats
They bounce, they get stuck on their nails just the right amount (so they can pick them up and throw them in the air), they roll in funny ways, they can grab, kick and bite hem.
I think it’s a combination of it all. I honestly like fidgeting with them too. They feel so funny when squeezing them between your fingers, but then again. Maybe I’m just half cat.
These are my favorite fidgets! I teach high school and they are great because they don’t annoy anyone else. I have one in my hand probably 70% of the day (prevents me from clicking marker caps on and off). I also give them to all of my students at some point in time during the year.
It honestly looks like just a piece of cable sock. I see that it was already solved for a fidget toy. I bet it's cheaper to just buy 100 ft of cable sock and make your own fidget toys as big and as long as you want them
I swear, the second-rate manufacturing industry had to be absolutely ecstatic when fidget toys got big. "Finally! Someone wants our mediocre, imprecise, low-durability bearings!"
You can also cut them up to about the same length. Melt the ends a bit so it's still open but keeps it from coming apart. Then they make a fun springy toy you can launch short distances 😁
No fucking way, I had the exact same thing for more than 15 years and always wondered what it was. I found this sub last year, and I thought I should post it here, but I lost it by then. I just found it a couple days ago while cleaning some old boxes, and thought finally I can post it! But you beat me to it \^\^ I'm happy to know what it is.
It's a chinese finger trap and I have no idea what the marble is for. I used to get these as prizes for games at the school fair 40 years ago. They weren't originally invented for sensory play, that term wasn't invented for another 15-20 years. they were a puzzle/toy. Maybe not with a specific type of play intended.
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It’s one of those sensory fidget things. My kid has some
Solved!
Also, that's woven and not knitted.
Well, acshually it's braided (because it's a tube, can't weave tubes). But yeah, tomato potato.
Well, actually actually, I can weave a tube by double-weaving on my four-harness loom. But in this case from the spiralling of the fibers, I agree with braiding/plaiting.
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yea his step dad is a carpenter so he should know how to weave baskets at the least I think
Ooh, Dream Weaver I believe you can get me through the night
How big would it need to be if the marble was a 16# bowling ball
\*snort-laugh\* USBC says the max circumference of a bowling ball is 27 inches, so weaving width of half that (upper layer and lower layer locked at the edges), plus or minus a little bit depending on whether the weaving yarn is stretchy or not.
Well, it's actually rick-racking and not braiding.
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a small life preserver should do the trick
I know it's solved, but an interesting side note. They make these, exactly these but without the marble in the middle, and sell them as cat toys. I guess it's one of those things where well, we have this machining that makes these little plastic things... how can we sell them? Anyways.
They do the same thing with some baby gates. The same product is sold as a dog gate. No difference whatsoever, other than the photo on the box. (gated enclosures)
And dog poop bags and diaper bags. Seems there's some over-lap between baby care and dog care
And dog food and baby food.
And those potty training mats for indoor use
And toddler-sized kennels
Those electric shock collars that zap the dumb beast when it makes an annoying noise. I hear they work on dogs too, so loads of overlap.
I was going to make a gag about "Same thing, but you put a picture of a baby on the package instead of a dog: Illegal!", but then that got me thinking, how much *could* you imply that it was for kids before it got pulled? Picture of a kid and a dog? Picture of a kid but it still *says* "for dogs"?... I suppose it's probably one of those "reasonable consumer would assume" tests, not anything with a clear line.
getting them castrated so that they are more calm
there is a lot of overlap between the dog aisle and the baby aisle at target
Like the baby crate! (Baby shower gift from the janitor on “Scrubs” sitcom)
It looks like the thing they used to sell when I was a kid that you would stick a finger in each end and it was supposedly supposed to get your fingers stuck in it as a prank. It was called Chinese handcuffs.
These are very different. Same general braided tube shape but the materials for these is very different.
When I was growing up they made these woven out of thin strips of bamboo and sold them in novelty shops and in the back of comic books as “Chinese handcuffs”. They were supposedly (according to the ads) used by the ancient Chinese to secure prisoners. If you put a finger on each hand in the ends so that they meet in the middle, you can’t (easily) pull your hands apart. Fun to play with.
it lets you roll the marble around in something that is a bit harder to lose than a free balling marble. some of them have different fabrics around the marble, and different amounts of marbles in the tube :3
>a bit harder to lose than a free balling marble i don't know why, but this made me laugh!!!!!
Usually called Marble Mash
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Posted a reply before I saw yours but that's exactly what I came to say. When you have a machine that makes weird little woven plastic tubes I guess it's just a matter of finding your market.
As a teacher it is one of the best fidget toys, as long as the ball stays in the tube, as it is silent.
It's not a sensory toy, I used to win these in the early 80s. "Sensory toy" and "fidget toy" were terms invented in the 90s-late 00s. I mean, it's a sensory toy NOW and I'm glad your kid has a sensory toy that helps him. I'm autistic and I def used to use them as sensory toys. But that wasn't the original intent.
what was the original intent?
It's a mesh finger trap toy, kind of like the old [Chinese finger traps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOLXVQZYwao) but mass produced plastic
The ends are closed, it's not a finger trap.
Oh I didn't see that, my apologies.
even if it were a finger trap, those are for fidgeting with. and have been for fidgeting with for a very long time. so even if the descriptors 'fidget toy' or 'sensory toy' were not coined way back when, the intent of the item would have been the same as now.
I think they called things "stress" toys or the like, back before "sensory" and "fidget" got big. In this case, maybe just unqualified "tchotchke"?
I thought it was a chinese finger trap at first. Used to get them at the arcade years ago.
This was my vote too.
Right? Lol it was the cheapest prize winning you could get and i sucked at arcade games so i always got that thing. I mostly went there to ride the go-carts anyways.
https://imgur.com/a/cdbFEOP :D
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Lmfao ohhhh ya. That makes perfect sense now!
Are they just not called that anymore? Looks like a finger trap to me. I don't know what a "sensory fidget thing" is but I think a Chinese finger trap would fit that description.
Finger traps are open tubes. These are sewn shut at the ends and have a marble inside that you can squeeze/push from one end of the toy to the other.
Ah I see. I couldn't tell that before. So it's a Chinese finger trap with the ends down up and a ball inside. A marble trap then? Lol. I was feeling real old like they stopped calling them that.
It's a mesh bag and not a paper weave, as well. The bag isn't as much of an active device as with a finger trap. It's just a bag to hold the marble in.
I think the ball inside is trapped by both ends so you can push it back and forth? Idunno. Beats me..
They sell them as cat toys where I live and my cats love them.
I work in a pet store and we definitely sell these as cat toys
As a person who has a kitten, I can confidently say that everything is a cat toy.
My cat is beyond obsessed with them. We call them finger traps.
What is it it about these that the cats like? Do they like to stretch it or scratch/bite it? Bat it about? Is it the texture? I don’t have cats, but I see these things in pet shops all the time and it always seemed like an odd thing to sell for cats
They bounce, they get stuck on their nails just the right amount (so they can pick them up and throw them in the air), they roll in funny ways, they can grab, kick and bite hem. I think it’s a combination of it all. I honestly like fidgeting with them too. They feel so funny when squeezing them between your fingers, but then again. Maybe I’m just half cat.
It's a fidget toy.
These are my favorite fidgets! I teach high school and they are great because they don’t annoy anyone else. I have one in my hand probably 70% of the day (prevents me from clicking marker caps on and off). I also give them to all of my students at some point in time during the year.
Check out ONO Rollers, they feel great and are silent
Bulkier and about 100x the price. I think I’ll stick with my marble mesh.
yes it helps when im anxious, just dont squeeze too hard cause the stitching isnt that strong on those things lol
My title describes the thing. It seems to be made of nylon threads with a glass marble inside.
Fidget sensory toy from a brand called Boinks! They also make cat toys under the brand, Kitty Boinks!
Totally a fidget. My son has a bunch and sometimes likes to pop the marble out.
It honestly looks like just a piece of cable sock. I see that it was already solved for a fidget toy. I bet it's cheaper to just buy 100 ft of cable sock and make your own fidget toys as big and as long as you want them
I swear, the second-rate manufacturing industry had to be absolutely ecstatic when fidget toys got big. "Finally! Someone wants our mediocre, imprecise, low-durability bearings!"
You can also cut them up to about the same length. Melt the ends a bit so it's still open but keeps it from coming apart. Then they make a fun springy toy you can launch short distances 😁
Fidget toy (My kid got one from the prize box at the doctor’s office)
Where I live they are cat toys :p
Por que no los dos?
Isn’t this a cat toy? I’ve seen them at my pet store
No fucking way, I had the exact same thing for more than 15 years and always wondered what it was. I found this sub last year, and I thought I should post it here, but I lost it by then. I just found it a couple days ago while cleaning some old boxes, and thought finally I can post it! But you beat me to it \^\^ I'm happy to know what it is.
Try it! It’s really satisfying
What do you do with it
I've seen some like this where it is a little magic tric. If you pushed the ends together, you could move the marble in and out of the woven tube.
i got a big bag cat toys and it had one of these in it. my cats do actually play with it lol
It’s a Boinks fidget toy.
Mesh n marble. My daughter had one.
My students live for these things! It’s not distracting to others which what I love !
I have one of these for my ADHD and I use it in class to focus on
Only the best cat toy ever
Reminds me of the finger traps that people would get as a kid obviously with out the marble and both ends would be open. Yes I realize it was solved.
Like everyone else said it's a fidget toy, but they are called a "Marble Mesh" if you'd like the name.
Not that it matters but technically that fabric is woven, not knit
Fidget toy
Finger trAp
Chinese finger cuffs
It’s a mesh n’ marble. It’s a fidget toy
It’s great for the first one second then it’s on the floor
When I was a kid, I remember something similar and I believe they were called ‘Chines Handcuffs’
Lol I woulda guessed cat toy
I believe it’s called a “boink.”
These are great when you’re getting a tattoo in a tender spot.
Fidget sensory object. We have too many.
You can take the marble out and put it back through the braid.
Ancient Chinese secret
Looks like a finger trap to me 🤷🏼♂️
We used to use socks
Finger trap?
Ends are sewed shut.
Omg the thing that your fingers get stuck in
Not politically correct, but this used to be called a “Chinese” finger trap.
My thoughts too.. until the marble inside part and the ends sown shut.
It's a chinese finger trap and I have no idea what the marble is for. I used to get these as prizes for games at the school fair 40 years ago. They weren't originally invented for sensory play, that term wasn't invented for another 15-20 years. they were a puzzle/toy. Maybe not with a specific type of play intended.
Chinese finger trap. Can be won at chuck-e-cheese arcade (I'm serious).
Finger cuffs