17 Years in the Making – There are Rules to Follow
1. No styrofoam in the center is allowed. Has to be a rubber band core.
2. You have to find the rubber band or be given a rubber band.
Rubber is heavy. Like a medicine ball. I was surprised by the weight of it.
This ball is so large that the newspaper rubber bands can’t fit around it. A chef donates his escarole rubber bands. Mr. Laszlo Zongor has taught a couple of young people how to start a rubber band ball the correct way.
I believe there are other rules but I can’t remember and he said to not misquote him!!
In Pittsburgh, rubber bands are called gum bands by many!
And yes, I looked it up and there is a guy who claims he has the real deal biggest authentic rubber band ball that he has stretched each band onto, individually. My friend E at work has a ball she started 11 years ago! She said she had started to buy the lettuce, pre washed in a bag and wasn’t getting those nice big fat Romaine bands lately.
I wish I had asked what motivated them to start making the rubber band ball……………….and then the commitment to “growing it”.
And a P.S. from Melinda (his wife) after viewing the post
“I think the last rule you forgot was that the rubber bands cannot be lengthened by tying one to another – each band has to fit entirely around the ball on its own. That’s the challenge at this point: finding bands that are long enough, since most will no longer work. ….Makes it somewhat self-limiting in size!”
Not sure who checks if one is following the rules but wanted to include it, since I forgot!
I love that one!! I remember wondering how to make a rubber band ball as a child! His face is just exactly what I would imagine for someone who has made one.
April 27, 2012 at 12:46 am
Great post today, Ruth. I’m with Barb. This guy and his rubber band ball go well together.
April 27, 2012 at 3:04 am
But can he ever find one when he needs one
April 27, 2012 at 8:06 am
Once, when my son was little, he had been at my office and playing with a colleague’s rubber band ball. A few days later it disappeared, and she accused my son of hiding it or taking it, which was very distressing. I couldn’t figure out why she was so upset. A few years ago, when cleaning out a long-neglected “junk” drawer, I started rolling all of the bands into a ball. It reminded me of that incident so long ago & I laughed. But a few weeks later, my now college-aged son, sitting at my desk while on a lengthy phone call hold, started playing with it & unwound it. I was upset! It was a lot of work and it wasn’t even that big! And then we both laughed at the absurdity of it! I have no desire to make one so big that you can’t stretch some bands around it, but I do like having them in one place — or more, as I know have a couple of these, starting a new one every time it gets too big to fit into the desk drawer.
April 27, 2012 at 9:00 am
Great story about a rubber band ball
Thanks for sharing
April 30, 2012 at 10:34 am
Great photos. I did one as well during my working years. Making it was a great stress relief.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
April 27, 2012 at 10:10 am
It’s the Einstein look-alike. He rules!
April 27, 2012 at 8:17 pm
Absolutely Rufus, I also thought it was Albert himself at first,I was waiting for the scientific process and the ball creates an energy! :-0) Lovely face and a great ball.
April 27, 2012 at 9:19 pm
haha, what a project!
April 28, 2012 at 11:15 am
We had a rubben band ball in college at the dorm mail desk where I worked. It was so fun!
May 1, 2012 at 10:09 am
That is one big rubber ball. I bet it’s heavy! How did you find this chap, and how did the topic of his rubber band ball come about? I’m intrigued… (And no, I will not be starting a rubber band ball of my own.)
May 3, 2012 at 9:05 pm
He was the owner at the national coverlet museum and I spied his ball in a plastic bag and before you know it I heard the whole story
Sent from my iPhone
May 4, 2012 at 12:18 am
I did a rubber band ball from 1971 to 1993. Concurrently, from 1973 to 1993 I also did an aluminum foil ball.
May 4, 2012 at 11:07 pm