Hey—we've moved. Visit
The Keyword
for all the latest news and stories from Google
Official Blog
Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture
I'm feeling silly
27. prosinca 2005.
Posted by Clay Bavor, Associate Product Manager
Not long ago, I walked by the desk of software engineer JJ Furman, and saw that he had made an interesting addition to his desk: a large blob of
Silly Putty
, about the size of a grapefruit. Intrigued, I asked how he'd gotten so much of the stuff. The answer? A bulk order directly from the manufacturer! Of course.
I knew then that I wanted some, and it dawned on me that I probably wasn't the only one. So I set out to place a really, really big bulk order. An email went out to cohorts. Their orders came in. Three weeks later, I had an eighth of a ton of Silly Putty delivered to my desk.
Naturally, we were all curious to see what 250 pounds of Silly Putty would look like, so before distributing the stuff, we put it all in a single pile to see. Huge mistake.
The problem was that once together, Silly Putty doesn't like to come apart, and none of us had any idea of how to deal with this effect. We tried everything: very strong people (didn't work), scissors (stabbing worked, slicing didn't), 28-gauge steel wire (broke), 22-gauge steel wire (broke), 16-gauge steel wire (too thick), and twisting and breaking (worked well for "smaller" pieces -- under five pounds, that is.)
Two hours later, with the help of more than a dozen enthusiastic Googlers, everyone was finally able to walk away with a giant piece of Silly Putty.
And then what?
Some people are giving it for holiday gifts. Others are using it to exercise their arms, play basketball (rebounds are tough), and of course, imprint entire newspaper pages.
Any regrets? Absolutely not.
Oznake
Africa
19
Android
58
April 1
4
Asia
39
Europe
46
Latin America
18
accessibility
41
acquisition
26
ads
131
apps
418
books + book search
48
commerce
12
computing history
7
crisis response
33
culture
12
developers
120
diversity
35
doodles
68
education and research
144
entrepreneurs at Google
14
faster web
16
free expression
61
google.org
73
googleplus
50
googlers and culture
202
green
102
maps and earth
194
mobile
124
online safety
19
open source
19
photos
39
policy and issues
139
politics
71
privacy
66
recruiting and hiring
32
scholarships
31
search
505
search quality
24
search trends
118
security
36
small business
31
user experience and usability
41
youtube and video
140
Archive
2016
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2015
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2014
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2013
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2012
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2011
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2010
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2009
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2008
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2007
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2006
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2005
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
ožu
velj
sij
2004
pro
stu
lis
ruj
kol
srp
lip
svi
tra
Feed
Google
on
Follow @google
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow
