Who could have predicted it?
Silly Putty seems to be making a comeback, especially in the college dorms…

Oh, c’mon, of course you remember that plastic egg-shaped container with a strange stretchy bouncy substance inside! It’s in the American National Toy Hall of Fame and everything.

But… what’s the attraction?

What (G-rated) activities can you do with Silly Putty, besides throwing it at your baby brother and sticking it to the drapes?

The Silly Putty people ran a contest to collect the most ridiculous uses for their product, and the list makes for delightful (creativity-provoking!) reading.

A few of my favourite suggestions for using Silly Putty —

• I use Silly Putty to cover the microphone on my cell phone and block out unwanted noises on the golf course, so my boss can’t tell where I am. — Mike R., Lansdale, Pa.
• On a recent fishing trip, I ran out of bait and fashioned Silly Putty as a fish lure. Within minutes, I was battling a three pound bass! — Robert L., Philadelphia, Pa.
• I used Silly Putty to take a fingerprint off my truck that was broken into. They caught the culprit and a few weeks later, I got all my stuff and a reward. — Ron F., Library, Pa.(Notice something, here? Those silly (?) suggestions I like the best are all from men — and all of those creative fellows are from Pennsylvania! I wonder what that means…)

Craving some of that wacky retro fun for yourself, now?

If you can’t wait another day to relive your childhood by lifting pictures from the newspaper comics for no apparent reason (that’s what we always did with the stuff!)… just make your own Silly Putty (or a reasonable homemade version of it, anyway).

Easy Crafts 4 Fun shares the recipe — equal amounts of liquid starch and white glue, prettied-up with the food coloring of your choice. (We can do that!) But do take care — just like the original product, homemade Silly Putty won’t come off your carpet very easily…