On a world wide scale, 2010 featured many memorable events that shaped history. Devastating earthquakes struck Haiti, Chile, and China. An oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana causing the Gulf of Mexico to become polluted with oil. On the Chinese calendar, 2010 was the year of the rabbit.

While all those things impacted us, one of a much lighter nature did as well.  At VHS, 2010 was the year of Silly Bandz.

In 2010 it seemed as if every student at VHS was wearing at least two or three of the rubber-band-like bracelets that came in all kinds of designs including animals and instruments. Students were constantly trading and buying new packs of Silly Bandz. It seemed as though the trend would last forever. But then, seemingly just as fast as Silly Bandz infiltrate the wrists of many VHS students, their popularity dwindled and they ultimately disappeared.

Though a phenomenon here, Silly Bandz were not invented in America. The first version of Silly Bandz was invented in Japan in 2002 by designers Yumiko Ohashi and Masonar Haneda. Their product, called “Animal Rubber Bands,” were just like ordinary rubber bands but cut into various animal shapes in an attempt to encourage people to reuse them and not just throw them away. The rubber bands were an instant hit overseas and won the award for best design at a 2003 Japanese convention.

In 2006 in a convention in China, a man named Robert Croak discovered the Animal Rubber Bands and decided to bring them to America. However, Croak’s vision for them was much different that Ohashi’s and Haneda’s. Croak made his version of the bands thicker and bigger so they would last longer and be more efficient. He also changed the name to Silly Bandz and began to market them to children as a fashion accessory.

In no time, Croak’s Silly Bandz had become best sellers all across the United States and here at VHS. Most students claimed that they heard about Silly Bandz from younger children or from girls and many started to wear them to school to fit in with the new trend. Many students would buy a pack for five dollars and then trade with other students to acquire the ones they wanted. At the height of the craze, many students owned between five to ten Silly Bandz.

Right around this time, stories began to appear on the news about schools banning Silly Bandz because they were thought to distract students in the classroom. However VHS students got off lucky. At least five states have schools in them that banned Silly Bandz because of the distractions that they posed.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Silly Bandz  craze is how they disappeared in the blink of an eye. One week, nearly every student had Silly Bandz on their wrists while the next, students had reverted back to watches or jewelry. Senior Evan Yee believes they died out because they were a “fad” just like Livestrong bracelets. Senior Brandon Jimenez feels that people realized that they were wearing “fancy rubber bands” and that they were for “little kids.”

Silly Bandz definitely made their mark upon the 2010 school year. They were just one of things that were able to temporarily grab people’s attentions. Even though Silly Bandz are gone from VHS, a lot of students have admitted to still having their collection stored away someone in their rooms. Who knows, maybe one day they will make a comeback.