Toy manufacturing

Silicone rubber is used in toy manufacturing because the final product is, non-toxic, weather resistant, pleasing to touch, easy to dye and can be sterilized at high temperatures.

A combination of history, engineering, accident and entrepreneurship produced one of the most successful toys of the 20th century - Silly Putty®.

Early in World War II, James Wright (GE) was working in General Electric's New Haven, Connecticut labs, under a government contract to create an inexpensive substitute for synthetic rubber. One day in 1943, Wright happened to drop boric acid into silicone oil, and was astonished to find that the resultant goo would stretch and bounce further than rubber, even at extreme temperatures. In addition, the substance would copy any newspaper or comic-book print that it touched.

By 1945, General Electric had shared this "nutty putty" with scientists around the world, only to find that none of them, including those at the US War Production Board, found it more practical than the already existing synthetic rubber.

The putty seemed doomed to remain a local curiosity; but in 1949, an unemployed ad man named Peter Hodgson attended a party at which "nutty putty" was the main entertainment. Seeing its marketing potential as a children's toy, Hodgson borrowed $ 147, bought the production rights from GE, and began producing the goo. He renamed it Silly Putty® and packaged it in plastic eggs because Easter was on the way. Soon, Silly Putty® was a sensational, multi-million-dollar seller.

Ironically, it was only after its success as a toy that practical uses were found for Silly Putty®. It picks up dirt, lint and pet hair, and can stabilize wobbly furniture; but it has also been used in stress-reduction and physical therapy, and in medical and scientific simulations. The crew of Apollo 8 even used it to secure tools in zero-gravity.

Today, close to 6 million eggs, or the equivalent of 90 tons, are sold annually, totalling sales of 300 million eggs - 4,500 - tons since 1945.