All About Silly String Games, Uses and Trivia

"On a 12 hour trip with just my daughter and myself, I packed several cans of silly string. At rest stops, I'd give her a can, and I'd have a can, and we would play "Gotcha!" It was silly, got us both moving around, and in bright spirits. Rules were set in advance:
1. Mom says when & where we play.
2. Spraying only from shoulders down.
3. Stay away from other travelers who may not want to be in the fun.
4. Clean up when done."

Silly String comes in many different colors. Pick as many as you can find for different games like ambush, tic-tac-toe in the grass, to write on walls or grass, to play tag, or to throw a Silly String party. You could even have a New Year's Eve Silly String countdown. While using the Silly String, leave your favorite clothes in the closet. Sometimes these fun strings are difficult to get out of clothing.

Photo Silly String! - courtesy of Other Andrew

Aerosol string is a polymer-based resin.

Originally, silly string was formulated using the chlorofluorocarbon propellant (compressed inert gas that serves to dispense the contents of an aerosol container when the pressure is released) Freon 12, one of a group of compounds believed to damage the Earth's ozone layer.

Within a year of the introduction of Silly String, US consequently banned the use of Freons 11 and 12. Hence, the manufacturers are since using permitted propellants.

Who invented silly string?

* Silly String was first introduced in 1969 by entrepreneur Julius Sämann, the world-renowned inventor of pine-tree-shaped air fresheners for cars.

* Silly String was first patented by Leonard A. Fish and Robert P. Cox in 1972 as a US Patent for a "foamable resinous composition." They were developing an aerosol spray cast for limbs - and invented silly string - which was originally called "Squibbly."

Chemical formula of silly string:

• 11-16% polyisobutyl-methacrylate


• 0.5 to 4% sorbitan trioleate dissolved in a solvent that evaporates in the air and acts as a foaming agent


• small amount of isopropyl alcohol


• plasticizers like dibutyl phthalate

Photo It's raining silly string :) - courtesy of Pug!

Silly String and similar products have long been used by American and British military forces to uncover tripwires for explosive booby traps.

To use it for this purpose, the soldier stands in the doorway and sprays the material over the suspect area. If the string falls to the ground there are no tripwires. However, if there is a tripwire, the string will be suspended in the air without pulling the wire.

As of 2006, silly string is being used by U.S. troops in Iraq for the purpose, described above. Unfortunately, because the material is an aerosol, it cannot be shipped privately to Iraq and it is not provided by official channels. Thus, 80,000 cans unintentionally got stockpiled in New Jersey. In October of 2007, a shipping company with the required credentials was finally found.