Squishing Silly Putty®

One of things that makes Silly Putty so fun is its ability to be squished, stretched and molded. Anyone can flatten a piece of Silly Putty. But did you know that it's virtually impossible to flatten Silly Putty by hitting it with a mallet or slamming it with your palm?

Silly Putty is a dilatant compound, which means it reacts differently to hard, fast pressure than it does to slow, even pressure. When pressure is applied quickly, Silly Putty acts like a solid and holds its shape. When pressure is applied slowly, it acts more like a liquid and can be molded easily. Try this experiment -- and as they say, "amaze your friends!"

Roll a piece of Silly Putty into a ball and place it on a sturdy surface. Offer a friend a rubber mallet, a hammer or other heavy object and ask him or her to try and flatten the Silly Putty by hitting it with the object. After they stop laughing, have them try it. No matter how hard they smack the Silly Putty with the object, it won't flatten.

After they've tried (unsuccessfully), press slowly on the Silly Putty ball with your pinkie -- you'll find it flattens with ease!

| Floating Silly Putty | Making It Bounce | Silly Putty Running |

| Squishing Silly Putty | Stretching and Snapping |