Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 30, 2010
What’ll they dream up next?
Wild Bands
Misty S. Brown
Wild Bands are the 100 percent silicone bands that kids all over the nation can be seen wearing on their wrists and trading with friends. The bands will return to their original shape after they are worn. These two sets of shapes – sea and music – are just some of several shapes available.
- Misty S. Brown
For the life of me, I do not understand why some kids and their parents go absolutely insane over certain toys. In my lifetime I have seen people go crazy over Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, Pound Puppies, Teddy Ruxpin, Tickle-Me Elmo, Pogs, Skip-It, Nerf guns, TY Beanie Babies, Tomagotchi virtual pets and Polly Pocket, among others. There have even been instances when people were trampled to death when they rushed to be the first to get their hands on some of these toys.
Don’t get me wrong – I probably had most of all the afore mentioned toys myself, but I never threw a fit if I did not get any of them, and my parents and grandparents would certainly not have risked their lives to buy them for me. I was usually one of those kids who got hand-me-downs or the popular toys two years after they reached their popularity.
I grew up learning not to expect things because I felt like I was owed them. I remember one Christmas I wrapped an old comb and wrote “To: Me From: Me” on the wrapping because I had been chastised earlier in the week and thought that I had been bad enough that there would be nothing under the tree for me that year. I wanted to be able to unwrap at least one thing, even if it was an old, used comb. To my surprise, I had plenty under the tree that year, thanks to my generous family – Pound Puppies and Teddy Ruxpin included.
Lately, there has been another craze among kids that has me utterly baffled – Wild Bands.
What it is
Wild Bands are 100 percent silicone bands that come in multiple shapes, colors, and sizes. They are also called Silly Bandz, Goofy Bandz, and a variety of other similar names.
How it works
This craze that has swept the nation has kids wearing the bands on their wrists like bracelets. When they are removed from the wrist, they return to their original shape, which can be anything from an apple to a zebra and everything in between. The basis of the appeal is the trading and sharing that it facilitates with others who wear them, much like a modern-day baseball card.
Pros and cons
These bands are very inexpensive and require no batteries, do not make noise and can apparently keep kids entertained. There are some versions that have sparkles or glow in the dark. They are relatively durable, unless overstretched, which could cause pain if it breaks.
The bands can be tempting to kids who like to taste all their toys, thus presenting a choking hazard, especially to children younger than five years old.
The bands come in different sizes, but can cut off circulation if worn too tightly.
These can be used as tools to teach children how to share and trade. However, because they can be distracting, some schools around the nation are banning them, much like Pogs were banned in the mid-1990s.
If you are an adult who is still a kid at heart, you can use them as an office supply like you would a regular rubber band and nobody is likely to notice.
Beware of purchasing too many of these for your kids because you will start finding them all over the place and they might clog up your vacuum.
Where to buy
I purchased my Wild Bands at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $2.99 for a package of 24. With the craze sweeping the nation, you are sure to find a version of these at your local store for a similar price.
Submissions
Send your gadget ideas and comments to misty@dailydata.com.
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