Certainly we ’ve all looked at a popular invention – perchance a paper clip , or a series of teenvampire novels– and thought with a leer , " I could ’ve thought up that stunned thing , made a billion dollars and ultimately have shown everyone how very significant I could be . " When you find oneself yourself filled with this kind ofjealous rageand desire to make yourself even more insane with anger , consider the eccentric of Silly Bandz .
Silly Bandz arerubber bands . Technically – as we ’ll see later on – Silly Bandz are made of a silicone rubber that can be molded into a human body ( say , a dinosaur or a princess ) . But here ’s the thing that makes boring old bands into Silly Bandz : you’re able to stretch them out to wear as bracelets , only to have them pop decently back into their form when you take them off .
What , not astonished ? Then maybe you ’ll be impressed to learn that Robert Croak , who is the CEO of BCP Imports , the fellowship that makes Silly Bandz , rake in $ 200 million dollars ' worth of cut-rate sale in 2010 [ source : Sealover ] . Cue the envious fury and tot in some bafflement .
But like all just trends , was this one just another flash in the pan , flaring quickly and sputtering out just as truehearted ? ( For reference , you might want to match outHow Jelly Shoes Workedfor a dramatic fizzle of a fad . )
We ’ll determine out – and get our silly on– in the next few pages .
The Popularity of Silly Bandz
Like all trends as hot as wildfire , this fashion vogue bulge where almost all of them get down – Alabama ?
All right , so the Heart of Dixie is n’t broadly count the authority of the smart and manner - forward . But theme seem to indicate that it was in Birmingham , Ala. , around late 2009 that Silly Bandz suddenly blame up sales pep pill [ author : George ] . By November 2010 , the East Coast ( admit New Jersey , Long Island and Staten Island ) started spotting Silly Bandz on the wrist and in the rucksack of youngster .
Robert Croak , CEO of Silly Bandz , claims to have pop out the Silly Bandz craze after seeing a shapeablerubber bandat a Taiwanese business deal show . Croak , who also created the customized silicone polymer bracelets made pop by Lance Armstrong and his Live Strong campaign , saw the chance to branch out . relieve oneself the bands slimly thick , he envisioned them as a fashion add-on [ seed : Berfield ] .
Made of what the Silly Bandz Web site call " 100 percent aesculapian - grade silicone polymer , " the bands are manufactured quite chintzily in China [ source : Silly Bandz ] . In fact , a miniature analyst estimates that each punch-drunk Bandz package cost " nickels " to grow , and eyes the earnings margin at close to 75 pct [ source : Berfield ] .
The science behind the bands is predictably unsubdivided . Silicone is a very malleable material . With alteration to its molecular structure , the means can become quite rigid and hard ( like the India rubber incar tire ) or it can take on the property of a fragile fluid ( think silicone polymer gel in bosom implant ) . Landing somewhere in between both extremes , the silicone polymer in Silly Bandz is able-bodied to have a " backbone " that can stoop without intermit and mold toward specific configuration [ source : Dow Corning ] .
And while some might grumble that loads of rubber band are n’t helping the environs , the original use ( from a Japanese designer who molded rubber into whippy shape ) was really intended to prevent people from hurl away countless galosh bands by keeping them attached to their frog - mold band [ root : Marek ] .
Types of Silly Bandz
So far , we acknowledge that Silly Bandz are made of siliconerubberand come in shapes . That ’s all fine and estimable , but what the heck are people actually doing with them besides oohing and aahing as their wristband comes off to reveal a blobby bear - shape ?
First of all , lease ’s establish who exactly is wearing these bands . Silly Bandz were first aim toward elementary schoolhouse - age children ( manufacturer - recommended for ages 5 to 12 ) [ beginning : Amazon ] . While that sure enough makes up the volume of their hearing , it ’s not limited to children .
Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker , Zooey Deschanel , Anthony Bourdain and Shakira have all shown up on red carpets or inpaparazzisnaps run around their favorite kid ’s rage . Teenagers – perhaps propelled by a horse sense of irony – have commence embracing the movement in 2011 , fag out the bracelets to high school [ source : Stone ] .
Now that we have it off who ’s wear them , the question quickly becomes why . Like a lot of trends – especially those pop among elementary schooling kids – Silly Bandz are n’t exactly answering life ’s larger questions . In universal , the bands are trade for interesting shapes and styles ( there are many debates about " rarer " Silly Bandz ) . Unlike one-time trend like Pogs , popularized in the ' 90s , or Pokémon trading poster , there is no " game " that goes along with Silly Bandz – although any instructor with Silly Bandz experience will maneuver to the long time - old " shooting rubber bands at each other " game that can discover out at any moment .
Many company , celebrity and any number of endorsements have shape partnership with Silly Bandz . Some seem to make the target area consultation just right ( Justin Bieber Silly Bandz , in the cast of his trademarkbaseballcap ) , while others seem a minuscule flakey ( Kardashian Silly Bandz in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe of a purse).NASAeven have in on the secret plan with special Silly Bandz for their Physics of the Cosmos program [ source : NASA Blueshift ] .
Internationally , Silly Bandz have also made a big splash . By August 2010 , Silly Bandz were getting buzz in Britain as the " next big affair . " Even India reported child down with the Silly fad [ source : YouTube ] .
But Silly Bandz are n’t all fun and ( no ) games . embrace the hydrophobia , bourgeon over to the next Sir Frederick Handley Page to see how teachers are using the accessory for educational cock – and how Silliness broaden to far more than just Bandz .
Silly Bandz Create Serious Brains
It may not be altogether precise that Silly Bandz are going to spark a lot of cerebral rarity , but it ’s also true that there are redeemable educational moment to be discover in the stretchy shapes .
Targeting the elementary curing , how about asking kid to demonstrate a report on their favorite Silly Bandz animal [ reference : Kreusch ] ? Because of the embarrassment of shape , it ’s also a commodious room to get kids to recall lessons in a tactile agency . For representative , little ones can play with letter - regulate Bandz as they learn their alphabet .
Math lesson such as grouping or even simple arithmetic may also become clearer when small fry can see a tangible product . And although Silly Bandz can be choking jeopardy for little ace , a parent who ’s supervising might be able to give a lesson or two about colors or sorting to a toddler .
Some even contend that Silly Bandz are teach an even more realistic liveliness lesson : Trading and scrupulously keeping data track of Silly Bandz read youngsters the joys of budgeting and saving , not to remark pooling , communion and bargaining their resources . Even more realistic than instruct youngster the joy of socialism , many teachers are finding a much more traditional way to apply Silly Bandz in the schoolroom : good , quondam - fashioned graft for excellent grades or exemplary behavior .
Say you ’re stress to teach your kids the importance of faith or their ethnic history ? Do n’t you eat away with heavy books or ho-hum stories – instead , think buying your child Silly Bandz of the Aleph Bet , or Hebrew alphabet [ source : Biblical Bandz ] ( Do n’t worry , they ’re kosher ) .
allow ’s not stop there . Silly Bandz have expand and reached into many sectors of kid ’s lives . There are now Silly Earringz to mate your Bandz ( just do n’t sample stretching them to your wrist ) , Silly Slapz slap sentinel ( which , it must be said , is more " slap " than " silly " ) and even rampart calendar ( admittedly , this is just a calendar with Silly Bandz included ) . Of course , Silly Bandz can also be perfumed , glow - in - the - dark and tie - dye .
But that ’s not the only thing Silly Bandz have done to snag publicity . Read on for some Silly Bandz rumor and lore that will make you clutch your pearl or silicone polymer bracelets – whichever is most handy .
Banning, Burning and Banishing Bandz
While Silly Bandz were certainly marketed as a fun , playful accouterment for kids , others attend far more insidious reasons that children were interested in the accessary . One of the ideas floating around was in reality quite perturbing : that shoal kids were using Silly Bandz to denote and take in sexual act .
Naturally , this was much more media whirlpool than it was credible . It seems like every few age , there ’s an alarmist news report about how Kyd are using some benign object to signal theirsexual experienceor desire . Remember the idea that if you pull in the tab of a soda can , it somehow mean you could redeem it for akiss ? Or that removing a recording label from abeerbottle without tearing it meant something sexual ? In 2003 , the bracelets - signaling - sex - acts angle first popped up , with the estimation that unlike colored watchband mean a unlike activity could be asked for if a boy " snap " one off a girlfriend ’s wrist joint [ source : Haberlin ] . This was never confirm by any genuine kids . It reappeared shortly when Silly Bandz became pop and was just as unwarranted .
Another rumor distribute around elementary schooltime claim that Silly Bandz were made from recycled – and used – safe . Never mind the practicality of cast off used condoms in the recycling bin ; understandably , this one is unfounded [ germ : Silly Bandz ] .
Some of the Silly Bandz rumors are n’t so innocuous . In August 2010 , there were alarming reputation that Silly Bandz were causing injury to child by switch off off circulation to their hand and arms , while also causing skin irritation or even wounds . This account also come out virally after an epitome was disseminated through e - mail about a preschooler who had bear such an injury .
alas , this one checks out . Although Silly Bandz themselves pose no harm , it ’s certainly genuine that everything should be done in moderation . Wearing stacks and scores of watchband for Day at a sentence can , in fact , affect circulation by causing a tourniquet - like coarctation ofblood vas . The easy resolution to this ? Just tire out a few bracelet for a short time period of prison term . And call up : They ’re Silly Bandz , not Seriously pock Bandz , so take them off if your wrist starts hurting [ origin : Fox News ] .
Speaking of taking bands off , where precisely are we now in the craze ? As of this composition , February 2012 , it would appear that Silly Bandz have exited the collective mind of schoolchildren as quickly as they entered it . No longer are there breathless level about them in the word , but they do still belt down up on celebrities like the Kardashians and others . Attempting to really ramify out , Silly Bandz even created avideo gamebased on the democratic bracelet [ source : Neumeier ] . Kind of a reaching , even for rubber bands .
So while the tail end of the fad is likely upon us , do n’t you care : Like most trends , there ’s always Leslie Townes Hope for a nostalgic ( or ironic ) comeback .
To learn lots more about tendency and the strange things we do for mode , snap on over to the next page .
