History Lesson: Rubber Bands

When the first rubber bands were introduced, they did not have the drab, brown/beige color they have now. Originally, all rubber bands were green, and were actually known as stretch cords. Regardless of their size or elasticity, stretch cords from both major manufacturers were all green, although their shades varied lightly. The wheels of change were set in motion when, at the turn of the last century, sleight-of-hand magic became the dominant form of parlor entertainment.

Stretch cords were a key part of disappearing tricks involving small objects (the object would "snap" into the sleeve), so green stretch cords were unacceptable. Only Zolar the Clandestine, whose gimmick was to say he was "The Martian Magician" and therefore painted his skin green, could get away with utilizing stock cords. The rest of the magicians, whose skin was either painted another color or none at all, had their assistants start dipping stretch cords in skin-tone paint the night before a show. Crowds across the country were baffled!

Needless to say, Zolar eventually died penniless.

Finally, after decades of pre-night dipping (as the practice came to be called), one entrepreneur saw his road to fame and fortune. The young Jeremiah Ruber, an up-and-coming executive at the Stage Night Paint Co., orchestrated a historic merger. Ruber merged Stage Night with the monopolistic survivor of the stretch cord market wars. Both companies combined their products and started producing flesh-tone stretch cords in different shades. A new product, of course, needed a new name.

In honor of Jerry Ruber, the stretch cord was renamed the "rubber band." Also under consideration was "rubber cord," but a handwritten note discarded by Ruber explains why that name was abandoned: Rubber chord, despite the spelling variation, is a musical term referring to the notes produced on wind-instruments when played by asthmatics or those with a stutter. Ruber, a long time stuttering asthmatic, did not want his legacy to include references to his respiratory difficulties.

Today, thanks to modern technology first heralded by J. Ruber, magicians of all races can walk into an office supply store and purchase the props they need to make a living: rubber bands.