Silly Fads

Last weekend, I got a much-needed education on what are the must-have fads for an 8-year-old. My niece, Kate, schooled me in the ways of the newest fad.

Would you believe the latest fad that is spreading through elementary schools like a wildfire is wearing rubber bands? Not exactly the ordinary brownish bands that can be found in any office desk drawer or junk drawer.

“Aunt Amber, they’re called Silly Bandz. They are so cute and when you stretch them, they return to their shape,” Kate said as she demonstrated it to me.

“Oh, of course that makes perfect sense,” I said.

Kate went on the explain to me in great detail that what makes them a must-have item is that they come in all different bright colors and shapes like dogs, boats, dinosaurs, elephants, dog bones, even swimming trunks. Just about any item that you could think of there is a Silly Bandz of it.

Actually, these Silly Bandz remind me a lot of the Jelly bracelet fad and the plastic charms that my sisters and I collected in the 80s.

“Kate, How many Silly Bandz do you own?” I asked.

“Oh I don’t know ... about 100 to 300.” Kate said with a big smile on her face.

“How much do they cost?”

“Oh, they are somewhat cheap. Around $3, plus you get at least 10 in every pack,” Kate said.

“I see. So what do you do with all your Silly Bandz? You can’t wear them all at the same time. Your arms aren’t long enough.” I said.

“Well I take them to school, and trade them with my friends for ones that I don’t have yet. We can’t do it during class but lunch time and recess we can trade.” Kate explained.

“So it’s like the New York Stock Exchange at recess,” I said.

“What, Aunt Amber? Anyway do you know what Squinkies are?” Kate asked me.

“No, I don’t know what Squinkies are, I’m afraid to ask. Plus, I think that’s for another lesson.” I told her.

Later that day, I wanted to see what were the top most wanted Silly Bandz were. Thanks to Google, I found out that there are seven rare Silly Bandz packs. They are swim suit or underwear pack, the outer space pack, Christmas pack, fantasy shapes pack, basic shapes pack, Rock Bandz pack and the rainforest pack. I also found out that some schools around the United States have banned Silly Bandz altogether, stating that they are a distraction to the students.

Later that night, Professor Kate informed student Amber that Squinkies are little figurines made out of plastic and come as different animals and characters that you put on top of your pencils. They are not erasers. They go on top of the eraser.