Die Familie ist komplett
Heute sind Martins Sohn Raphael und seine Frau Sandra aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen worden.
Oh happy day! 
Quote of the day
If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? Albert Einstein
My desk is fairy cluttered.
A solid liquid?
I’ve just discovered Silly Putty. Sounds and looks like a lot of fun, even for grown-ups. 
And the stuff is celebrating it’s 50th birthday this year. How come I’ve never heard of it before? Is this something every kid in the US knows and plays with?
And – is it available in Germany, too? I might want to buy some to do a few scientific experiments.
Ich suche schon, aber Hinweise, ob/wo man Silly Putty in Deutschland bekommt, nehme ich gerne entgegen!
And happy 17th wedding anniversary to Frauke and Scott!
Hey, it’s Al‘s birthday today! Happy birthday to you! And many happy returns! Keep getting wiser instead of older! ;-)
Alles Gute und viel Glück!
Today’s top story in Germany
Die Regierung will Abgaben auf Computer erheben: zu lesen auf Seite 1.
Report: Germany plans ‘Internet tax’. (Link via array.)
The tax is intended “to ensure that the authors of cultural products available on the Internet are properly rewarded.
Similar levies already exist in Germany on devices whose main function is that of copying, such as scanners, photocopiers and fax machines. Depending on the power of the machine involved, the taxes range from 75-600 marks ($30-$275).”
This might increase the prices for computers about 30%. I wonder if people will then buy their computers abroad – which is quite easy nowadays, thanks to the internet.
Spicy Noodles
André has finished his redesign of Spicy Noodles. On his site, a random photo from our Trip to the USA 1999 is displayed, complete with a link to the appropriate page of the journal on my site.
André says his goal for September is to post something every day.
yes, every american kid has owned or played with silly putty.
in particular, we’ve all gone through the torture of having our mothers dig it out of our hair, after we got some in it ‘by mistake’.
as american and as ’60’s as the frisbee, the whammo superball, the ‘slinky’, the hoola-hoop, etc.
Thanks, Garret. I wonder why I never saw the stuff on our trip to the US. Is it not popular any more?
in particular, we’ve all gone through the torture of having our mothers dig it out of our hair, after we got some in it ‘by mistake’.
Yes, that sounds like a lot of fun. Is it sticky, then? Like chewing gum?
as american and as ’60’s as the frisbee, the whammo superball, the ‘slinky’, the hoola-hoop, etc
I know frisbee, slinky (own one myself!) and the hoola-hoop, but not the whammo superball. The name sounds like some bouncy rubber ball. In that case, it’s known as a Flummi in Germany.
Since we got all the other toys as well, I wonder why nobody had the idea to introduce Silly Putty in Germany. Or maybe everybody knows about it but me?!
i don’t think silly putty is quite as popular as it used to be. what with ‘slime’ and all these other grotesque neon things they’ve come out with, mere silly putty seems a bit dull in comparison.
one of the fun things was to press it against comics, and pull off a ‘reproduction’ that you could then stretch and distort. i used to do it to ‘snoopy’ from peanuts, making his nose miles long. hmmm … come to think of it, i do a lot of this with photoshop these days … (grin).
it is sticky. after doing a lot of comics, it gets a very ugly brown color.
the whammo superball came out in the mid-60’s, the first rubber ball to bounce extra-high (not sure of the physics). the first ones were a very dark blue, and somewhat hard. later, they were able to make them multi-colored and softer. i remember my father yelling at me: “don’t bounce that thing in the house!”
silly putty in germany? i don’t really know. i guess you’d have to go to a toy store and do some research. have fun!
Silly Putty was a favorite birthday gift when we were young.
You can stretch it, mold it, and — get this — peel cartoon images from the funnies section of the newspaper. Great fun with the Sunday paper since the funnies come in color then.
I don’t know why I remember that, since we never got a paper.
Anyway, you’ve got to get yourself some!
You can […] peel cartoon images from the funnies section of the newspaper.
Yes, I read that here. I browsed SillyPutty.com for quite a while and even watched a little movie about how it is made.
Anyway, you’ve got to get yourself some!
I’ll try to find out whether it’s available in Germany. If it is, I’m going to have a lot of fun.
one of the fun things was to press it against comics, and pull off a ‘reproduction’ that you could then stretch and distort. i used to do it to ‘snoopy’ from peanuts, making his nose miles long. hmmm … come to think of it, i do a lot of this with photoshop these days … (grin).
“In jedem Manne steckt ein Kind.”
the whammo superball came out in the mid-60’s, the first rubber ball to bounce extra-high (not sure of the physics).
Yes, that sounds like it’s the same as a Flummi.
silly putty in germany? i don’t really know. i guess you’d have to go to a toy store and do some research. have fun!
I’ll go to the toy store and tell them I need the stuff for an experiment at the university. Strictly scientific! ;-)
I’ve already done a search at Google, but it seems there’s a computer game with the same name, and most hits are about the game. There are also quite a few recipes for homemade Silly Putty, but I don’t think they really work because they basically mix glue and starch and add some color.
You could also roll it up into a ball & bounce it.
I would have thought that by now they would have found that it
caused cancer or something. It was too much fun. (I also remember playing with mercury from a broken thermometer. It was neat the
way the balls of it would combine to form larger balls. Don’t try
that at home!)
You could also roll it up into a ball & bounce it.
I read on their web site that you can hit it with a hammer and it won’t change its shape, but if you press it gently, it will.
I would have thought that by now they would have found that it caused cancer or something. It was too much fun.
So you think there has to be a bad side to everything that’s fun? I hope not!
They’ve been selling the stuff for 50 years. I guess if it were toxic, they’d have found out and informed the public about it. At least I hope they would have done that.
if you can’t find any in germany, send me an address. i’ll look in the local toy store and mail you and andre each an egg of silly putty.
You would do that?
I’ll check a few toy stores here in Bonn this afternoon (I didn’t have time for that in the last couple of days), and if they don’t have any, I’ll let you know.
Thanks in advance!
not a problem. i have to go buy some stuff for my nieces and nephews soon anyway.
besides, i like to play with the etch-a-sketches and ride the scooters …