Silly Putty (originally callednutty putty) is asiliconeplastic "clay", sold as atoy forchildren byBinney & Smith Inc.. It was created as ascientificaccident whenscientists in theUnited States were trying to find asubstitute forrubber duringWorld War II.
Silly Putty is sold as a 0.47oz (13g) piece ofplastic clay inside anegg-shaped plasticcontainer. It is an example of aninorganic plastic (polymer). It has many unusualcharacteristics. When pressed oncomics or othernewspaper pages, the looseinktransfers to the Silly Putty, which is then able to be stretched out. It bounces, showing itsrubberqualities. It breaks when you give it a sharp blow. It can flow like aliquid when it is slowly stretched and will "melt" into apuddle over a long enough period of time, and so shows properties ofnon-newtonian liquids.
