Friday, February 5, 2010

You're bound to lose control when the rubber band starts to jam


Joey and I used to love watching "Mr. Wizard's World" on Nickelodeon. Neither of us are big science people but I would say we are both curious about the way things work. And occasionally we would do some of the experiments ourselves. Like putting milk in a pan and adding food coloring to watch the designs it forms. (The only thing milk is good for, in my opinion.)

It's not an experiment and it's fairly mundane compared to most everything else on the show, but I'm fairly sure that Mr. Wizard is also where we got the idea for rubber band messages. We'd stretch out a rubber band on a ruler, write a message on it, and then when it was un-stretched we'd have a rubber band with tiny words on it. I'll still occasionally find myself doing this if I have a thick rubber band and some time; it amuses me. But even more amusing was one I found today that said:

"Have a good day! Hello! Joey! This is a rubber-band note!
"

It's hardly Pulitzer-worthy writing, I'm aware. Not to mention the excessive exclamation points and unnecessary hyphenation. (Proof it is from me, however.) Now, I don't know for sure that this was written when we were kids, but it sure wasn't done any time recently. But the fact that it's with me after 14 moves and a good number of years, is quite a feat. It shows the enduring nature of the rubber band message.

Yes, I wish my message had of been a bit more exciting or prophetic, but the message endures nonetheless. And just think of the possibilities! Marriage proposals, dinner invites, apologies, advertisements, political platforms, revelations, innovations! The rubber band message knows no bounds. You truly were a man ahead of your time, Mr. Wizard.


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