WOODBURY – You walk into a classroom at Nonnewaug High School and you see small colorful toys being passed from student to student. They happen to be the newest trend across schools worldwide: Nee-Dohs.
This squishy fidget toy has helped many students focus in classes by squeezing and stretching them. However, as students pass them from classmate to classmate, some begin to ponder the question: could this popular toy also be the root of spreading germs during peak flu season?
Nonnewuag school nurse Sandy Sanabatis shares her knowledge of the disease that has hit Nonnewaug in the past few months.
“Three weeks ago, to a month ago, an influx of influenza B came through,“ said Snabatis. “Influenza B is usually something that is spread from human to human later in the flu season.”
Students and staff at Nonnewaug are now beginning to think the Nee-Doh craze is the culprit of the sickness that has hit NHS.
Nonnewaug Spanish teacher Karen Sandor has been a witness to this new trend.
” I see a lot of kids holding the Nee-Doh and passing it to other kids,” said Sandor, “ I feel it could be linked to the fast spreading of the sickness this year.”
Sandor has seen many Nee-Dohs per class, and she has created a theory that the spreading of Nee-Dohs is the cause of this disease.
“I think that if you’re passing it to everybody and anybody,” said Sandor.” People are touching it and everybody’s sneezing, coughing and getting sick, and I feel the disease must spread quicker because of that,”.
Bryce Gilbert, a sophomore at Nonnewuag, chooses to stick with her own Nee-Doh to play with to stay away from the germs.
“If everyone is getting sick, would you still want to play with someone’s Nee-Doh,” said Gilbert. “The communal Nee-Doh seems to be a big ball of germs, so I will just stick to my own.”
Even though these Nee-Dohs could be the cause of the germs spreading fast, students find benefits to using them in class, such as focusing on classwork and staying on task.
“I think they’re needed and they help people,” said Sandor. “ They’re kind of fun when used responsibly.”
NHS freshman and Nee-doh collector, Hailey Lavallee shares her input on when the trend started.
“I first noticed the trend when people started bringing them to school and I saw it all over TikTok around November,” said freshman Hailey Lavallee. “I’ve had a few myself already so I started bringing them to school since they help me focus during tests and big assignments.”
Regardless if Nee-Dohs really are the culprit of the schoolwide sickness, they are here to stay at Nonnewaug, bringing students together over their shared love for the toy, and helping them focus in class all while possibly spreading a wave of sickness throughout campus this April.
