naphtalia's Full Review: Universal Remote Control 00416 Rubber Bands Rubber...
I never gave rubber bands much thought. Growing up, my mother had a tin in the junk drawer filled with rubber bands in various sizes and colors. If you needed a rubber band, you just went and got the right one for the job at hand. Then I started studying magic and came across the work of Dan Harlan. Harlan is a master magician. Among his other specialties is magic with rubber bands. I've been fortunate enough to have met him on several occasions and to have had a few lessons from him. No longer will a rubber band be just a rubber band to me.
Rubber bands come in odd sizes and measurements. A size 8 rubber band is not half of a size 16. I'm also told that different manufacturers will have different names for the same size of rubber band. If size really is an issue to you, you'll need to check the measurements in inches or cenitmeters. This package contains size 16 rubber bands which this manufacturer defines as being 2.5" long when laid out straight, but not stretched, and 1/16" across the band.
Most rubber bands today, these included, are made of natural rubber (latex) because of its superior elasticity. If one has a latex allergy, it is possible to find rubber bands made of synthetic rubber or crepe. No matter what material your rubber bands are made out of, it pays to buy from a supplier who will have good turnover. Rubber bands do age and become less elastic over time. Older bands are more prone to breakage. I know. I still sometimes get rubber bands from my mother's junk drawer when I'm at my parents' house; some of those rubber bands were there when I was growing up. They break if you blink too hard.
My favorite use for size 16 rubber bands is as a bookmark. They are a good size to stretch around a book and mark my page. They are also useful in the kitchen for holding a cookbook open to the page I want to be on. Anything I can do to not touch a cookbook with greasy hands is a plus. I also find this size useful when I'm going to potlucks. A couple of these across a casserole dish will hold the lid in place nicely.
I find this is a good size for wrapping around too long electic cords on electronics that need to be hidden behind furniture. I also like to wrap one of these around jars of paint when I'm doing craft projects. Then when I have to take excess paint off my brush, I scrape across the rubber band instead of the edge of the can/jar. It gets more paint back in the container. When it comes time to put the lid on, the paint is less likely to glue the container closed.
When engaged in cubicle warfare with work-mates, size 16 seem to work very well for shooting from most of my rubber band guns. Of course, they're also good for bundling mail or other bundlable items in the office.
And then there are the magic applications. Size 16 turns out to be, for me, the most useful size for me in regards to those purposes. If that really interests you, I suggest you find a DVD called Bandshark by Dan Harlan. It's the best material available on the topic.
Size 16 also turns out to be the perfect size if, like me, you seem to load up on rubber bands on your wrist. While they still look tacky, they're loose enough that my blood can still make it all the way to my fingertips.
I really like latex rubber bands. Other than Office Max which has poor quality rubber bands, I have not found a significant difference between brands of rubber bands. I have found, however, that Universal brand rubber bands always seem to be fresh when I get them. That hasn't been true of all brands. For this reason, if I need to purchase through the mail, I stick with Universal. If I am in the store, I will buy whatever is on sale provided they do not appear old.
Dan Harlan would be proud of me. The man knows more about rubber bands than anyone I know. He'd appreciate how much I've learned. Thanks to his tutelage, I am now picky about picking my rubber bands.
Universal 00416 ( UNV00416 ): Rubber Bands, Size 16, 1/8 x 2-1/2, 535 per 1/4lb Box; General purpose rubber bands for home or office use. Approximate ...More at OfficeWorld.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.