A chatter ring (also known as a gyro ring or jitter ring) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

toy ring of thick metal wire with several beads. The toy is used by swiping the beads to get them spinning, while keeping the ring turning. Around fifty thousand rings were purchased in New Zealand at department stores, street markets and

dairies A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

in 1996, and was a popular Christmas gift for children that year. During this time, there were several mentions of chatter rings on both radio and television.

2011 revival

The toys were originally popular in the 1990s, and had a revival in 2011 when Apple Activities Educational Toys hosted the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region ...

Chatter Ring Reunion in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

. Prizes were awarded in a lucky dip as well as for winners of a number of categories such as best performance, oldest verifiable ring, youngest player and oldest player. Toshiaki Sasaki, recognised as the world's number one chatter ring player, visited New Zealand for a twelve-day tour to support and promote the re-release of the rings. The chatter ring has been played with by the former

Mayor of Invercargill The Mayor of Invercargill is the head of the municipal government of Invercargill, New Zealand, and leads the Invercargill City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system every three years. The current m ...

Tim Shadbolt Sir Timothy Richard Shadbolt (born 19 February 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He was the Mayor of Invercargill and previously Mayor of Waitemata City. Early life Shadbolt was born in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in 1947. His father died ...

. A new generation of chatter rings was launched by Murray Potts who described the unveiling of his newly developed and produced jitter rings as a case of "what goes around comes around". Potts had previously made them commercially, working out of Japan. He later worked with a toy maker in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

to produce the new jitter rings and along with

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, both New Zealand and Taiwan became the first locations to experience the toy. Chatter ring performances were included on an episode of New Zealand children's television series '' What Now'' and at department store

Farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

.Jitter Ring Demonstration
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

L'anneau bavard, a.k.a. Chattering, a.k.a. Jitter ring

Gyro Ring Fascinations

Jitter Ring Official Website
Rings (jewellery) 1990s toys New Zealand culture 2010s toys Physical activity and dexterity toys