Talk:Silly Putty

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This isn't quite silly putty.

Those aren't today's ingredients. [1]. I vote merge. Any manufacturer is going to have different coloring agents, finely tune their own mix -- it's still the same compound and should share the same page. Alvis 01:21, 31 December 2005 (UTC)


Contents

[edit] I'll help clean up!

I came here to look up silly putty for some facts. I'll help put correct grammar in this article.

--Airplaneman (talk) 02:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Potty Putty

Was marketed in the UK in the 1960s/70s. "Potty" as in crazy, loopy, nutty - although in the US a product under that name is available here, where the connotation is clearly different. Not sure who the toy company was, or the names in other European countries, Rich Farmbrough 23:18, 2005 Jun 21 (UTC)

It's not accurate to say "It is known as Potty Putty in the UK" as many people in the UK know the product as Silly Putty. Maybe a Potty Putty existed once but it's more commonly known by the US name.

[edit] Image?

Anybody care to add an image? Thanks.

been meaning to get to that, it needs one. I'll try and get one this week, anyone else? -Ravedave 02:13, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
I added an image but my camera is acting up so it really only looks good as a thumbnail.--Lzygenius 08:58, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
Better than nothing. I couldn't find the egg mine came in. I might have to pick a new egg up... - Ravedave 14:29, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
Do you want a picture of Silly Putty the brand or silly putty the material, i.e. not the brand name version? I've got about two pounds of the material in my closet that I can easily photograph for you. Nautile 22:38, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Silly Putty and clay

Can Silly Putty be fired in a kiln? What about clay mixed with silly putty? oneismany 18:38, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

More than likely it would start fire, its made up of plastic type materials. -Ravedave 19:25, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
As I understand it, the Silly Putty polymer is not flammable, but it would certainly melt. —Andux␅ 07:56, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Interesting. If it got hot enough, would it sublimate, or would it melt completely and then evaporate? Could the color (theoretically) withstand extreme heat? What is the coloring composed of anyway? (Oozing Silly Putty makes some interesting colors and shapes and I wonder if it could leave some impression on clay.) Oneismany 19:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge discussion

Silly Putty is a brand name. Is there a generic name that can be used instead? That way the Thinking Putty page can be merged here as well. quadratic 02:31, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes, both products are based on Dow Corning's 3179 Dilatant compound. - TSF Mar 16 2006


How can it have the same ingredients and have totally separate physical properties? Don't you think it would shatter like Thinking Putty when hit with a hammer if it was the same compound?

I don't know if it does or not, but different ratios give different physical properties. - JustinWick 05:40, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
The original author of this suggestion would have us have one article for all viscoelastic polymers methinks.
Silly Putty does shatter when hit with a hammer, doesn't it? Anyway, I tend to agree that the history and technical details of viscoelastic polymers should have one article. A separate article for "Silly Putty" would cover the specifics (marketing, pop culture) of Silly Putty. --Dystopos 16:43, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Silly Putty does indeed shatter when struck. Thinking Putty and Silly Putty are the exact same base substance, obtained from the same source (Dow Corning's 3179 Dilatant compound). The "coral" putty sold at puttyworld.com is IDENTICAL to Silly Putty. The other putties differ in that they use a white base, and have additives which colorize them and give them a slightly different texture/feel.
White and coral putty is the same compound, and the Thinking Putty is based on the white. Colorants may make the putty softer and less susceptible to the shear/shatter property, but the base is the same.
(Just a nitpick on the above comment: Thinking Putty also comes in coral, which I'm assuming is the base coral compound. I believe the statement about Thinking Putty being based on the white compound is true for all other colors.
This page has had a 'merge' tag on it far too long, with almost no discussion. I'm going to be WP:BOLD and suggest that after July 5, 2006 (about a week from now) if there are no serious objections, that any relavant info from Thinking Putty be moved here and Thinking Putty turned into a redirect here. I think we've established that they are essentially the same product (with the core ingredient of both being Dow Corning's 3179 Dilatant compound, and the only differences being coloring and marketing. Any objections? Let's discuss... --Rehcsif 22:02, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
Merge complete --Rehcsif 17:44, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] homemade silly putty

Where did that come from? What is the source on this? I suspect this could be original research or perhaps from a non notable source. I will wait a bit before removing it for this to be backed up. Thanks. HighInBC 00:34, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

if you mix glue with borax then you can make silly putty. Look online for the procudure and ratios

[edit] Origin references

Do we have references for the Origins section? This seems wrong to me: "He was looking for a substitute for artificial rubber." Shouldn't he have been looking for a substitute for *natural* rubber? But wait.. were *both* Wright and Warrick looking for synthetic rubber? It seems that Warrick developed the compound on purpose in search of a synthetic rubber, while Wright just had an accident with two substances sitting around in his lab.

I agree the section seems strange. Synthetic rubber was apparently already produced in the US before the war so I presume he was looking for an improved version either more easily producable or more like natural rubber Nil Einne 13:08, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List of Different Versions

I think there should be a list of different versions of Silly Putty (Space Sludge, Color-Changing, Bright Color, etc), describing their colors, textures and elasticity. Darin Wagner 16:28, 29 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Pragmatic question: Cleaning

Hi, I have a more pragmatic and highly practically relevant question ,) How do you remove the compund from e.h. a carpet? ;) Thanks Oliver Gassner 13:46, 16 March 2008 (UTC-1)