Many Kids Are Sticking With Low-Tech Toy

There are no batteries required, no bouncing figures on a TV screen and no garish prom dresses for a figure that exists only in the minds of toymakers.

Now, the lowest-tech toy imaginable is appearing everywhere from grade schools to college campuses: It’s three sticks.

They have become one of the hottest-selling toys in America, and some say they have the potential to become a time-honored staple of kids’ closets, joining Frisbees and yo-yos.

What’s more, they even seem to have sociological implications in an age of kid couch potatoes and flabby youthful biceps.

For those who haven’t seen them, devil sticks - whose name, as well as history, is something of a curiosity - are hard to imagine. But what they basically boil down to is old-fashioned juggling, balance and coordination.

In this case, that’s cool.

Noah Bernsohn of Evanston, Ill., got a set of devil sticks for his 11th birthday. When he’s juggling, he has no interest in watching TV, playing Sega Genesis or sitting in front of a computer.

And that alone explains why his mother applauds his twirling tricks.

“A lot of the mainstream toys are just things to accumulate,” said Terri Bernsohn. “I think these have a lot of play value. He can use them inside or outside. And there’s no right or wrong, no winning or losing. He can just get better at it.”

Also sold under several other names - Mystix, Rhythm Sticks and flower sticks - the toy is essentially three tape-wrapped batons that sell for $15 to $20 a set. The main stick, tasseled and brightly colored, is twirled, rolled and batted back and forth between two smaller control sticks.

The sticks require practice to master but not any special skill, and they appeal to a wide age range.