# Blue Ball

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 11, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544 "2001-01-11T16:56:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/1 "2001-01-11T16:56:32Z")

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I have some therapeutic blue putty that I am supposed to use for my carpal tunnel, but mostly I just play with it. I just realized that if I roll it into a ball (it is about the size of a baseball) and slam it on the floor, it bounces almost to the ceiling.

Now **THAT** is just cool!!!

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**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/2 "2001-01-11T19:20:11Z")

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Somehow, that’s just not what I imagined the OP would be about, after reading the topic and seeing who posted it.

I feel so…so let down. So blue-balled! 😃

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**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/3 "2001-01-11T19:47:25Z")

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I thought you were gonna talk about the town of Blue Ball, though it’s really just a suburb now of Middletown, Ohio.

So named because there was a stop on the old stagecoach route at a tavern that had a large blue ball hanging on a pole outside the building. It was a common practice to hang a readily identifiable symbol for the people who could not read.

So you would tell a person to get off at the blue ball or the red lion, another small crossroad on the stagecoach stop and the next stop after blue ball.

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**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/4 "2001-01-11T20:58:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> and seeing who posted it.

Okay, just what are you implying, Jooooooooooooooooe? 😃

_We are now leaving Dick Tease, Minnesota. Next stop Blue Ball, Ohio!_

It does have a ring to it.

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**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/5 "2001-01-12T01:16:52Z")

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So it’s kinda like silly putty? I love odd bouncy squichy stuff like that.

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**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-ball/49544/6 "2001-01-12T02:17:36Z")

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My grandma has some of that stuff, but hers is bright day-glo orange. She finally had to hide it from me because I played with it so much!!

Hyper. . . it’s not really like Silly Putty, per se . . . it’s not like any other substance I’ve ever seen. Deliciously squishy, stretchy, but lighter and softer than Silly Putty. It’s such fun to poke your fingers into it and make air bubbles. It makes a great sound when you crack them.