In the course of an evening, I met about 17 middle-school kids all sporting "silly bands." OK, that's an exaggeration, but seriously, where did these things come from? And why do I know nothing about them?
They seem to be a trend reminiscent of slap bracelets, stickers, or pogs. You know, they're really cheap, Justin Bieber-aged kids trade them at school, they get outlawed because the behavior surrounding them resembles gambling, and then they eventually die out.
Is this a nationwide thing or just popular in Arkansas? I have to wonder, are we behind or ahead of the curve?
They are bracelets made out of a thin rubber-band-like substance that look sort of crinkly while you're wearing them, but the amazing thing is, when you take them off and lay them out flat, each resembles the outline of an animal shape. There are dinosaurs too. Maybe some inanimate objects like houses as well, but I can't vouch for that, as you can see from my photos. I also hear that the horseshoe (or was it the unicorn?) is extremely special and comes in limited edition, so is particularly coveted.
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"where did these things come from? And why do I know nothing about them? "
ReplyDeleteThey came from the same place other we traded growing up came from. Amazing marketing to kids and a large enough group buying in to reach a tipping point. However, I believe you graduated middle school and thus why you have not heard of these (unless you secretly watch Sunday morning cartoons)
Our generation now has a great thing called Farmville. Wont you be my neighbor?
Monday night at Greenhouse in nyc one was handed to me. people were trading them all night
ReplyDeleteThe origin of Silly Bandz (which I have since learned is the correct spelling), from Parade Magazine, July 11, 2010:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/100711-new-fad-makes-kids-and-teachers-crazy.html
This is funny, Sam; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis past Saturday, Justin and I passed a Walgreens that had on its sign outside: "We have Silly Bands." Neither of us had a clue what they were, but figured they had to be some sort of kid-friendly trend.
Then yesterday we were at Bed, Bath, and Beyond (yes, I know, exciting), and at the counter they had Wild Bands. I wondered if they were the same thing, but then thought, no, that can't be what all the fuss is about. Apparently I was wrong, they are basically the same.
Guess this is the type of thing you only know about if you are, or are closely related to, someone in the 8-12 yrs age group. Also realized I'm very behind as this post was in June :)