Many of you will probably have grown tired of run-of-the-mill hobbies and diversions such as helicopter testpiloting, extreme gardening, cross-stitch with attitude, haberdashery, philosophy, foreign languages etc. If this is the case, then you might wish to embrace the stimulating, challenging and rewarding pursuit of constructing your own
boing
boing
boing
Here is a picture of mine as of 8th January, 1999. I have sandwiched it between a penguin and a Ferrari to give you some idea of scale. It consists of 354 (approximately) rubber bands, and has taken less than two years to grow to this size. Who knows how big it might get in the future? Not only is it a delight in itself, it is also extremely environmentally friendly, since all of the bands have been recycled from postal deliveries. I'm proud to be doing my bit for the planet.
With patience and dedication, you too could be the proud owner of a magnificent specimen like this.
As you can see, the ball has grown a bit and is now larger than a penguin. In the interests of accuracy, and in keeping with the spirit of the Single European Currency, I will henceforth use a new unit of measurement called the 'spb' or Standard Postal Band, which is equivalent to 0.61g, allowing comparisons to be made regardless of the actual types of bands used. On this basis the ball is currently 626spb.
Now weighing in at a magnificent 450g (738 spb), the cube law becomes apparent - you need 8 times as many bands to double the diameter or something.
Weight currently 610g (one pound five and a half ounces in old money), which coincidentally makes it bang on 1000 spb. Some sort of celebration called for methinks. Millerubberbandium?
Now a massive 1055g, 13cm diameter (1729 spb) - spbs only go round once and my thumb is suffering RSI - this is the Xmas 2000 update as promised. Hope you're impressed!
1175g / 1926spb. No image for this one, the ball didn't look very different from the previous update, but I weighed it to provide up-to-date information for the launch of my new WAP site (point your WAP browser to http://www.veg.nildram.co.uk/bfwap.wml ), the sole purpose of which is to allow you to keep up with the RBB dimensions while on the move (who said WAP was nothing but over-hyped rubbish, eh?).
Doesn't look much different, but now actually 1350g, 2213spb, 15cm diameter. No editorial, the facts speak for themselves. Remember to WAP in from time to time.
1540g / 2525spb. Diameter approx 15.5 cm. No image - looks much the same as the photo above.
1655g / 2713spb. Diameter approx 15.7 cm. No image for same reason as above. There's some not-yet-quite-compelling evidence starting to emerge to suggest that it is possible to see a sawtooth-like variation in the density due to the fact that SPBs have to go round the ball in integer numbers of turns. My gut feling is that the density should hit local peaks as the diameter increases just before the point where the number of turns drops from three to two, and two to one (one to zero is a problem). Try it on a spreadsheet and see what you think. There's another even more speculative inference which could be drawn by extreme extrapolation from the data so far, which is that as the diameter tends towards infinity, the density tends towards zero. Hmmmm. 2+2=5? Very Hitchhiker's Guide.
1820g / 2984spb. Diameter approx 16.2 cm. Still not worth another picture - I don't think the difference will be obvious - cube rule etc etc. Still interested in establishing a sawtooth density pattern, but some of the bands the postie has been using recently have been large in comparison to the SPB, so it will probably cloud the issue somewhat. Anyway, thanks to Martin, whose timely email reminded me that I've been neglecting to keep the page regularly updated. I spent a couple of happy hours last night bringing the ball up to date. Been having probs with some of my email accounts for the last couple of months (though it took me a couple of months to realise, since the spam was arriving as usual) so apologies if you sent me something about RBBs and I failed to get back to you - probably it got lost in the void without giving you a bounce message. Please retransmit. Seems to be ok now. I'll try to update more frequently.
Time for another photo. Notice that the equator is now almost at the beak. 2096g, 3436spb, 17.0cm diameter. Managed to create and burst a new variant of RBB-related blister on my hand adding the latest batch of bands. If this was work I'd be complaining bitterly. The alloys are looking nice and shiny.
2338g / 3833spb. Diameter approx 17.5cm. Nothing major to report. Managed this update without apparent injury. Not worth a new pic.
2674g / 4384spb. Diameter approx 18.5cm. Hands a bit sore today after the update - SPBs are starting to get a little tight even on single revolution of the ball, and the weight is starting to pose a bit of a handling problem - the ball makes a fair old bang on the floor when it slips from the grip. No new pic - time is a bit short due to the social pressures of the day. Maybe next time.
Finally - another picture. 2874g, 4711spb, 19.0cm diameter. Two things of note. Firstly, my supply of postman-delivered rubber bands seems to have choked dramatically. 200g in nearly 16 months is a pretty poor show by past performance. I put this down to budget constraints and a drive to increase profitability through not handing out so many rubber bands. Secondly, to great initial consternation, the postal service appears to have switched from the traditional brown to a rather red type of band. Presumably they have conducted a full risk assessment, market research and so on, and have not entered into this lightly. On the plus side, my early impression is that the red bands seem to be slightly tougher and of more uniform consistency than the brown ones, but I reserve judgement. Up to this year, I have resisted using anything other than brown ones, but it seems that if I am to continue this great project, I must yield to this unexpected and unwanted pressure. So there you go. The ball goes on.
The redness is taking over. Now 2936g, 4813spb, 19.3cm diameter. As you can see, the supply of bands is still poor, but consistently red. Almost goes well with the car. All the best for 2006.
Progress is dismal - only 134 spbs since last update. Now 3018g, 4947spb, 19.5cm diameter. The underlying layer of brown is almost hidden, but not yet worth another picture. I guess breaking the 3kg barrier is something to be proud of.
I don't think there is a direct connection between the pathetic progress of the ball and the gloomy world economic situation - progress with the ball is just slow regardless. The gain in the last year is 76g, bringing it to 3094g, 5072spb. The diameter is 19.8cm. There is a real risk of damage or injury if the ball is left on a table or similar - it is very good at finding the gentlest of slopes and setting off downhill. My Health and Safety advice to anyone with a rubber band ball this size or larger would be to store it out of the way on the floor.
They still seem to be fighting over expenses in Westminster, and progress with the Rubber Band Ball is equally pathetic. The gain in the last year is 88g, bringing it to 3182g, 5216spb in old money. The diameter is essentially unchanged - as far as I can tell with the measuring equipment and methods available - at 19.8cm.
Another year of famine - only 42g added in the last 12 months. The new stats are 3224g, 5285spb and diameter still 19.8cm. Sorry.
44g this year - 1.3% growth - considerably below the rate of inflation. Stats 3268g, 5357spb, diameter effectively unchanged at 19.8cm.
2012 has featured some significant events - the London Olympic Games, the end of the Mayan Calendar epoch, and - most importantly from the point of view of this page - the move from red bands back to brown. You can see the effect in the updated photo. I can offer no official explanation. Here are the new stats. 3333g, 5464spb, 19.9cm diameter.
60g this year - not the worst, certainly not the best. Three red bands, and the rest were brown. Stats 3393g, 5562spb, diameter 20.0cm as near as I can measure.
