Rhino Rubber Band

Rubber or elastomer is the name given to a polymer that can be heavily stretched and will return to its original shape when let go (or snap if you stretch it too far). Natural rubber is produced from the milky-white or yellow sap (latex) of the Pará rubber tree, which used to be found only in the Amazon basin and was notoriously difficult to grow anywhere else. In the 1870s rubber plants were successfully transplanted to South East Asia but they are still found in a fairly narrow climatic band, and latex suppliers are finding it increasingly difficult to meet demand as a result of climate change amongst other things.

When supplies of natural rubber were cut off in World War I, the large-scale commercial production of synthetic rubber made from oil became viable and it replaced natural rubber in many applications. However, most rubber bands, including this green rhino-shaped one, are made from natural rubber because it has far better elasticity – it can put up with far more stretch and strain and still return to its original shape.

Rubber bands are produced by extruding a long tube of rubber into the required shape, curing it with heat, and then slicing along the length of it like a swiss roll to create a lot of little bands.