Rubber band Rubber band A rubber band (also known as an elastic band, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845, by Stephen Perry. Most rubber bands are manufactured out of natural rubber or, especially at larger sizes, elastomer, and are sold in a variety of sizes. Rubber bands are made by extruding the rubber into a long tube to provide its general shape, putting the tubes on mandrels, curing the rubber with heat, and then slicing it
Royal Mail rubber band public's patience"—is fairly typical. It notes a campaign by the London Borough of Lewisham's mayor, who complains that an estimated 5,000 bands are dropped in his borough each month; details the response to a November 2005 BBC Radio Essex programme in which listeners were asked to send in found rubber bands; allegedly 10,000 were received; and makes a range of more or less whimsical suggestions for the re-use of such bands—as rubber balls, "chopsticks for butterfingers", and rubber band tanks. Lewisham's campaign was picked up by a number of other news outlets, such as the BBC. The story resurfaces from