Ethnic Avenue – The Street That Crosses All the Others

If you’ve spent any amount of time in a classroom with young Asian people, you’re familiar with their penchant for spinning pens (interchangeably known as “pen flipping” or “pen twirling”). And, sooner or later, you’ve wondered what gives.

So, why do they love it so much and why are they so good at it? Even though other races engage in the practice, nobody comes close to matching Asian dedication and skill.

The Reasons Behind Asian Pen Spinning

1. Natural Extension of Chopstick Manipulation Skills

There’s no question that using thin, stick-like objects to pick up food, beginning in early childhood, predisposes Asian people to skillful manipulation of similar objects (e.g., pens and pencils). If you can use two sticks to grab a grain of rice, you can easily spin a single, shorter stick in intricate patterns.

2. Non-Threatening Form of Expression and Entertainment

Video games and pen spinning are things you can do at home without stressing out your smothering parents, and incurring their notorious wrath in the process. It’s not surprising Asians excel at both. But pen spinning has the added advantages of silence and portability (i.e., you can do it in class).

3. Asian Weapons Heritage

As with the Chopstick Hypothesis, traditional Asian weapons (e.g., nunchaku) also encourage every form of twirling and twisting of stick-objects.

4. Slender, Adroit Asian Fingers

The same physical feature that helps Asians become great piano players–and skilled detail-workers in Chinese factories–makes them master pen spinners in-the-making.

5. Spend a Lot of Time with Writing Utensils in Their Hands

Smothering parents are at the root of a lot of Asian behavior. Thanks again to their constant pressure–this time to get into one of the Historically Asian Colleges¹–kids spend a lot of time doing math homework, or at least pretending to. What else are you going to do with that idle time and mind?

¹ West of the Mississippi: one of the University of California campuses, especially Berkeley and Los Angeles (UCLA).

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