The preferred gift of vengeful grandparents everywhere
Written: Feb 06 '03 (Updated Feb 07 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Kids can copy newsprint with it
Cons: Kids can drive their parents nuts with it
The Bottom Line: It's messy, sloppy and your parents will give it to your kids to get back at you.
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| HawgWyld's Full Review: Binney and Smith Original Crayola Silly Putty |
Q: Why does a grandparent get along with his grandchild so well?
A: They share a common enemy.
I hate silly putty. I hope the person who invented this stuff is rotting or will rot in hell. Why? This stuff is pure evil. Both my son's paternal and maternal grandparents love giving out Silly Putty to my kid whenever they get the chance. The Silly Putty-giving grandparent gets off cheap buying this stuff because it only costs around $1.50. My child squeals with delight when he receives Silly Putty. So, everyone's happy, right? My son gets some Silly Putty, the gifting grandparent is a big hero, and everything's just fine.
No. No, it's not fine at all. I hate it when my son gets Silly Putty and usually wind up throwing it in the trash at some point. Silly Putty is the perfect gift for grandparents to give because they get to engage in a bit of harmless vengeance with this stuff.
See, I'm convinced we all pay for our raising, so to speak. I gave my parents some difficult times and, now that I have children, it's time to pay. Silly Putty annoys me like crazy, but it does no real damage. So, my folks can enjoy taking a swipe or two at ol' Hawg when they give my son some of this stuff, yet they don't have to feel guilty because it doesn't really tear up anything. My parents love me but, still, I'm sure they chuckle a bit when they see I'm having trouble with either of my children.
Before I explain what I mean about Silly Putty being a tool of vengeance for grandparents, let me mention a little something about this product. Silly Putty is a non-toxic, plastic-like substance which can be rolled into a bouncy ball or spread out and used to "copy" newsprint. For some reasons, kids seem to get a kick out of pulling out a newspaper, copying a bit of a daily cartoon (Silly Putty picks up the ink used by newspapers like crazy) and giggling while looking at the transfer.
Once the kid gets done giggling at the transfer, he can wad up the ball of Silly Putty, destroy said transfer and start over again with a clean slate. It's like magic!
Silly Putty, of course, comes in a plastic container which is split in two halves and looks like an egg. The egg is easy to open (which is great for kids) and keeps the Silly Putty from drying out and hardening. So, if this flexible goop is kept in its container, it'll last a long time.
Now, let me explain my point about Silly Putty being a perfect gift for vengeful grandparents through a few simple examples.
Example No. 1: My son hides in his room and stomps Silly Putty into the carpet. We are blessed to have carpet with short, compact fibers, so cleaning up the messes kids seem to make on a whim is fairly easy. I'm proud to report that cleaning Silly Putty out of our carpet is merely aggravating and not impossible.
Still, I can hear my mother's voice whenever I'm pulling Silly Putty out of the carpet. "So, you had a lot of fun when you decided your senior year in college would be one, long happy hour, did you?" the voice of mom asks. "Are you having fun now? Are you? Hahahahaha!
Example No. 2: My son decides to smash his Silly Putty into the dog's fur, the cat's fur, his little sister's hair or his own hair. It's more difficult to clean Silly Putty out of fur or hair than carpet, mostly because the child (or beast) tends to squirm and complain when I'm tugging hair (or fur) out while trying to remove the foreign substance.
At such times, I hear the voice of my father. "So, son, that was a great idea you had -- mooching off your mother and me that summer after you graduated from college. You know, lounging around the house. Heading off to the golf course. Waiting around for law school instead of finding a job," sneers dad. "You had a good time, didn't you? Yeah, a real good time. Well, are you still having a good time, punk? Huh?"
Example No. 3: My son decides to mess with old dad by sticking Silly Putty on the coffee table, "gluing" coasters together with it, putting it in my bed or etc. While Silly Putty can easily be removed from furniture or scraped off of a bed, the process still makes me grumble.
Once again, the voice of my dad kicks in and irritates me. "Remember that time when you forged my name on your report card in the fourth grade because you didn't want me to see you got a 'D' in Arkansas History because you were too lazy to do your homework?" dad asks. "You had this coming, son. You just had it coming."
Example No. 4: My son decides to take his Silly Putty, smash it into some deep crevices in a few of his favorite toys, start crying and then bring the whole mess to me to fix. While I can remove Silly Putty from most things, it will just about ruin a Hot Wheel when smashed deep into the wheel wells (and, he's done that one before, believe me). While it's an easy matter to throw out a cheap toy, I always feel compelled to clean up more expensive ones the best I can.
And, of course, I hear my mother speak. "Remember your first year in law school? Remember that time you came home for a friend's wedding and said you'd be home for dinner as soon as the event was over? mom fumes. "I cooked your favorite stuff, but were you home for dinner? No! Where were you? Oh, yeah, that's right. Down on the banks of the Saline River guzzling Budweiser with that trashy redheaded girl, that's where! It's time for a little penance, son!"
So, there you have it. Silly Putty is downright evil. As much as I hate the stuff, I plan to send cases of it to my grandchildren one day.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1.50
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
HawgWyld
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Ethan C. Nobles
Location: Benton, Ark.
Reviews written: 1419
Trusted by: 495 members
About Me:
The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.
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