1 . It is likely that on American TV shows you at times will be attracted by rubber balls on people’s desks.     1     People can squeeze them when feeling stressed out. It’s believed that by concentrating on the act of squeezing, they can let go of the negative energy in their bodies.

Indeed, stress is a big problem for many people.     2     In fact, the rubber stress relief balls that are so popular today in the US are believed to date back to ancient China. Back in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), soldiers used walnuts to get rid of stress. By squeezing them during moments of anxiety, soldiers were able to calm themselves down before going into battle. And in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), ordinary citizens—not just soldiers—developed the habit of rolling two walnuts, or balls made from iron or stone, around in their hands.     3     And today, we have many gadgets (器具) and toys that are designed to reduce stress in addition to stress relief balls. One example is the popular fidget spinner (指尖陀螺).     4     You have to spin the gadget around. There’s also the fidget cube, which features different “gimmicks (机关)” on each side of the cube. You can click, spin, pull, push and rotate different parts of the cube.

    5     But perhaps we should take them more seriously. “After all, the history of stress balls is a history of modern-day coping (应对),” reporter Nadia Berenstein wrote for Woolly magazine.