Gel Wristpads-What ARE They Made Of?

JediLuke asks: "We were sitting in the office and tore apart a Fellows Gel Wrist Pad, and inside was this mysterious material that healed itself when you shove a pencil through it. It also has properties similar to those sticky hands from our childhoods...what the hell is this stuff?!" Interesting stuff. We have a few of these in my office, too and they are GREAT. Come to think of it, I've been wondering about these, too.

Gel Wristpads-What ARE They Made Of?

[booch]

Um, gel?

Yes, I think maybe they're made of some kind of gel.

Some info on /what/ it is...

[SgtPepper]

Well 3M [3m.com] discribes it as: " Gel composite with oil barrier film" [3m.com]

Whatever that means, a little more digging you can find out that 3M uses the same gel in their Health care products a little more digging and you find that it's a plain old "Polyurethane Gel" and yes it is used in breast implants as one person noted before ;) Then using the nifty ol ChemFinder [camsoft.com] We find it is known as C3H8N2O with a chemical mass of 88.109 and CAS RN of 9009-54-5.

So there ya go that's what's in those things ;)

Silicons just like Pamela's

[Belgarion]

My guess is that the stuff is the same silicon gel that is used to increase a woman's eh... selfasteems.

They probably made it a bit tougher. But honestly, next to your girlfriend real-uns, what would feel better on your wrists?

Ok, I'm off washing my hands now. Washing my mouth doesn't make sense when I'm typing.

Icky poo.

[Seth Scali]

Probably one of the best references for stuff like the "sticky hands" toys would be "The Official Icky Poo Book", from the Klutz Press. You can find it at http://www.klutz.com/product_details.cfm?productID =1116 for $11 (check Barnes and Noble, they only link to Amazon). Not only does it have a great story about the invention of the Icky Poo (very serendipitous, maybe a bit of an Urban Legend), but it includes actual Icky Poos!

Even better than Nerf stuff, IMO.


----
I have come to a conclusion about life... I am more
mentally stable than any of these activists or

Life!

[CentrX]

The gel is life itself, found on a far distant planet. And it's watching you...right...now...

Chris Hagar

Hog fat!

[randombit]

Of course!

Actually, my brother had this little ball and after a few months the cloth covering it got ripped and pretty much the same stuff was inside that. I'm not real sure what exactly it is though - not plastic, not exactly rubber... ?

well this reminds me of a story

[andrewmuck]

And I think that it has some value in explaining just what is in those wrist pads.



On a ride home on the train the CEO of a large rubber and plastics company took the only remaining seat next to a someone that was obviously homeless. Because he was (in his opinion) an important person he tried to ignore this grotty person. After a while though he found it impossible as the man was studying very intently something between his fingers and mumbling "it looks like plastic but feels like rubber". Because he was the CEO of a rubber and plastics company he could not resist asking him what it was. "here, feel it" the man offerd "It looks like plastic but feels like rubber, I can't tell what it is". The CEO pushed and prodded, sniffed it but could not identify what it was made of.
"Where did you find it?", Asked the CEO.
"Thats the strangest thing.", Said the man,


"It was up my nose!"


So in summing up its probably a very viscous gell.

cya,Andrew...

Taste it

[cybermage]

Anyone else reminded of that old cheech and chong skit. Can't find a link, but it ended with:

Cheech: Taste it.
Chong: What?!
Cheech: Taste it! ... well?
Chong: Tastes like dog s--t.
Cheech: Good thing we didn't step in it.

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