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Silly Putty Information
by Jerry White
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Overview
The pliable, gooey oddity known as Silly Putty has been entertaining kids for half a century; more than 4,500 tons of it have been sold since the toy first appeared in stores in 1950. But what is the enduring appeal of an egg-shaped piece of goo that can be molded into any shape and can duplicate comic strips? The unusual history of Silly Putty is as fascinating as the toy itself.
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A Scientific Failure
Silly Putty did not start out as a toy at all. In the middle of World War II, the Japanese invasion of rubber-producing countries in the Far East cut off the supply of rubber to the United States. As a result, the U.S. government asked industries to develop their own synthetic compound, and in 1943 James Wright accidentally invented a gooey substance that could bounce. General Electric, which owned the patent, sent the putty to engineers around the country, attempting to find a purpose, with no luck.
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A Toy is Born
Finally, in 1949, a toy store owner named Ruth Fallgatter purchased the "failure" and sold it in a novelty catalog. Although the "bouncing putty" sold well, Fallgatter had no further interest, so a man named Paul Hodgson borrowed $12,000 to sell the toy himself. He decided to put the putty in plastic eggs, and sold it for $1, choosing the name Silly Putty. By August of 1950, Hodgson had received more than 250,000 orders for the toy.
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What Is It?
A polymer made from silicone oil and boric acid, Silly Putty has unique properties due primarily to the manner in which its molecules are bonded. Within the molecules, the polymers possess covalent bonds. This means that when you pull gently at the putty, it doesn't tear because only a few bonds are broken; the molecules slide over one another, giving it a "flow." However, the exterior of the molecules are joined together by hydrogen molecules, which break easily and allow the putty to be torn when greater stress is applied.
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Features
As a toy, Silly Putty can be rolled into a tight ball and bounced. It can also imprint newsprint and be stretched, torn and pulled into all sorts of different shapes.
As a scientific oddity, Silly Putty has a number of bizarre characteristics. When it is heated, it burns a bright white, leaving behind ash that crumbles easily. When it is baked, it gives off foul-smelling fumes.
Silly Putty can also be used as a stress reliever.
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Silly Putty Experiment
At Alfred University, students did an experiment involving Silly Putty. They wanted to see what would happen to this strange substance if a large amount of it was dropped from a high height. Thus, an egg of Silly Putty weighing 100 pounds was dropped from the roof of the McMahon Engineering Building. The egg bounced 8 feet into the air, then shattered when it hit the ground again.
