When was the last time you saw a fidget spinner? The toy – which was initially marketed as a stress-reliever – was the must-have piece of tat in 2017. But as heavily hinted at in the name, all they do is spin, so it's no surprise the craze quickly died out – to the point that the toy has now almost completely disappeared from schools and playgrounds.

One person who held on to his spinners is toy salesman Ruben Rooijackers from Eindhoven, a city in the south of the Netherlands. Up until a few weeks ago, Rooijackers had about a million of them sitting in his warehouse when he decided to just give them away for free because nobody wanted to buy them.

At the peak of the craze, this collection had a street value of €1.8 million, Rooijackers told me. Now, they're worth nothing. "Giving them away hurts, but not that bad," he said, explaining that the fact he sold around 37 million spinners at the height of their popularity softens the blow a little.

Rooijackers' massive giveaway took place in the parking lot of his toy emporium, Toi-Toys, in Eindhoven. Unsurprisingly, thousands of children turned up from far and wide to pick up a free fidget spinner, waiting patiently in the 31 degree heat for their turn.