You know the ones I'm talking about. It's the latest rage amongst kids across the nation aged 5-15. Those thin rubber bracelets shaped not only like animals, but pirate symbols, princess icons and any other shape you can imagine (but always something with high appeal to children). And, yes, my kids have the fever, too. They slide them on their wrists, but when removed the bracelet reforms into its original shape. Great, huh? Very cool. Sure, it would be if you didn't have to drop 2.99 a bag on every dozen. Seems a little steep for a bunch of rubber. So, you know what I'm talking about here, and you may even be experiencing it yourself if you have kids who are into this latest fad. But, here's a few things I learned today that you may not know.
These rubber bracelets are the brain child of a man named Robert Croak. Mr. Croak coined the bracelets "Silly Bandz", which are the original versions if you're trying to select between all of the other knock-off brands out there today. Mr. Croak is also the founder of Brainchild Products (or BCP), whom you may or may not have heard of (I, for one, had not). Approximately 3 years ago, Croak visited a trade show in China where he stumbled upon rubber bands in "stretchy animal shapes", brought the concept home and revolutionized it. Thus, Silly Bandz were born. Oh, but it gets even better. These animal-shaped rubber bands had been a product of China since 2002. In fact, the team that created them had been recognized with a National Design Award. And, get this. According to one Internet site I found, the whole concept of these rubber band bracelets came from a man in China who created them in an effort to stop people from throwing out rubber bands and help the environment. Ah, Capitalism at its finest!
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