# Rubber Band Balls **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612 "2004-12-02T01:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr.Zachary\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Zachary\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Zachary_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/1 "2004-12-02T01:38:01Z")
How are Rubber Band Balls Made? Not the amateur ones–you can find instructions for those on the web. But the ones you buy in stores: are theythe product of third-world orphans working in sweatshops or a clever machine? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/2 "2004-12-02T04:08:56Z")
> [@Dr. Zachary Smith](#): > > How are Rubber Band Balls Made? Not the amateur ones–you can find instructions for those on the web. But the ones you buy in stores: are theythe product of third-world orphans working in sweatshops or a clever machine? What stores are you shopping at? Do you mean like the wound rubber balls inside of golf balls? Where can I get me some of these sweatshop Balls? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/3 "2004-12-02T04:11:30Z")
Go to the office supply section of Wal-mart. In looking for rubber bands, you have 2 choices - a bag of rubber bands, or a pre-formed rubber band ball. OP: no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/4 "2004-12-02T04:14:50Z")
I’m fairly certain that **Dr. Smith** is asking about [these](http://www.officemax.com/max/solutions/product/prodBlock.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&expansionOID=-536879756&prodBlockOID=536942736). They do have Office Max just about every where in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/5 "2004-12-02T04:40:19Z")
Nothing to add to the conversation, I just wanted to mention that I made a rubberband ball that weighs in at over 10lbs. It’s slightly bigger then a volley ball and I estimate it to have over 10,000 rubber bands on it. Ahhh, college was fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/6 "2004-12-02T04:52:08Z")
Semi-tangentially, what’s in the middle of those Office Max rubber band balls? I have one here, but I don’t want to pull it apart 😛 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/7 "2004-12-02T13:49:58Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > Nothing to add to the conversation, I just wanted to mention that I made a rubberband ball that weighs in at over 10lbs. It’s slightly bigger then a volley ball and I estimate it to have over 10,000 rubber bands on it. Ahhh, college was fun. 😃 Feast your eyes on [THIS!](http://www.recordball.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/8 "2004-12-02T14:48:36Z")
Wow, maybe I’ll start working on mine again. It just so happens to be about three feet away from me since I brought it to work a few weeks ago to show some people. (Not that I would peruse the SD at work or anything. :rolleyes: ). The reason I slowed down is because as it get’s bigger progress APPEARS to slow down for two reasons: More surface area means it takes more bands to make a ‘layer’ and as the ball get’s bigger, the rubberbands are stretched further making a layer thinner. So when it was the size of a baseball, 100 bands might add 1/4 inch to the radius, at this size, adding a 1/4 inch to the radius I would guess would take over 1000 bands. Luckily, no matter how big or small it is, 100 rubberbands will always add the same amount of weight which really is just as impressive as it’s size. Tossing it so someone and watching their arms just about tear out of their shoulders is kinda fun (esp when they think it’s only gonna be a pound or two). Two things to add though (or actually agree with from the site) if you’re going to try it on your own. First, it must be solid rubber bands, just a knotted/balled up one in the center. Second, as they said, it’s going to look pretty bad for a while, but as you get more and more on it will round itself out on it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/9 "2004-12-02T16:49:08Z")
What is going on in a persons life that they can spend $25,000 on rubber bands in a 5 year period? ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rubber-band-balls/277612/10 "2004-12-02T18:54:31Z")
All I can find so far at USPTO is this [design](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ptxt&s1='rubber+band+ball'&OS=%22rubber+band+ball%22&RS=%22rubber+band+ball) patent for such a ball.