“Silly question. Here’s one of Uncle John’s favorite toy stories: the origin of Silly Putty. THE WRIGHT STUFF During World War II, Japanese invasions of rubber-producing countries in the Far East vastly reduced the availability of rubber in the U.S. In the early 1940’s, the U.S. War Production Board asked General Electric for help in developing a cheap substitute that could be used in the production of boots and tires. G.E. hired an engineer named James Wright to head the project. In 1943 Wright... accidentally dropped some boric acid into silicone oil. Result: he created an unusual compound that stretched further and bounced higher than rubber. Not only that, it was impervious to mold, didn’t decay the way rubber did, and stayed stretchy and bouncy in extreme temperatures. The only problem was that neither scientists nor the military could find a good use for the stuff. In 1945, G.E. mailed samples to scientists all over the world, to see if they could figure out what to do with it.MoreLessRead More Read Less
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