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A32 FEATURE
Friday 25 OctOber 2019
Lovers of slime can gear up and get drenched at NYC pop-up

By LEANNE ITALIE I don't do Play-Doh, be-
Associated Press cause Play-Doh gets stuck.
NEW YORK (AP) — Slime, the The slime doesn't really get
bedazzled, stretchy sensa- stuck on anything."
tion that has spawned its Technically speaking, slime
own social media influenc- is a cross-linked polymer
ers and fans of all ages, is scientifically known as a
taking up residence in New "non-Newtonian fluid." Its
York City. history stretches back to
An immersive, 8,000-square- the 1830s, when polymer
foot (743.22-sq. meter) science originated and Na-
museum dedicated to all thaniel Hayward and Fried-
things slime opens Friday for rich Ludersdorf concluded
a nearly six-month celebra- that adding sulfur to raw,
tion complete with a sticky natural rubber prevented it
barefoot lake walk and DIY from getting sticky.
bar. There's also the oppor- As toys, and in TV and film,
tunity to don goggles and slime has been a part of
a poncho and get doused the cultural landscape for
in the stuff that has a big decades. Silly Putty went
following but a question- to the moon on Apollo 8
able impact when it comes in 1968. The 1962 movie
to disposal and the envi- "Son of Flubber" starred
ronment. This Oct. 21, 2019, photo shows a timeline of the history of slime during a preview of the Sloomoo goopy slime that could fly
The brainchild of Karen Institute in New York. and spawned a toy prod-
Robinovitz, Sara Schiller Associated Press uct called Flubber, but it
and Toni Ko, the so-called community," Robinovitz living off slime." Jackylne scents include banana made people sick and was
Sloomoo Institute is the lat- said. "There's a lot of sensi- brings in between $5,000 cream pie, Froot Loops and yanked from the market,
est in Instagram-friendly bility in the world that social and $10,000 a month from prickly pear. The get-slimed according to a timeline on
pop-ups (hello "Friends" media can isolate people. merchandise and slime- experience is $30 extra. two walls at Sloomoo.
25th anniversary and Mu- What we've seen in the making supplies she sells Hand wipes are liberally Mattel launched a jig-
seum of Ice Cream) to hit slime world is that people online. That doesn't take distributed throughout gly slime as a toy in 1976.
New York and then trav- are coming together." into account her YouTube Sloomoo with the plea that It came in a plastic gar-
el to other locales. Why There are slime conven- ad income and partner- people use them before bage can. Nickelodeon
Sloomoo? There's a thing in tions, online shops and ships. She has nearly a mil- and after touching the has been all in on slime for
the slime community where meet-and-greets with top lion followers on YouTube. huge bowls of slime placed years, since it rebroadcast
you replace the vowels influencers that draw thou- "I consider myself more of along a walking route. a Canadian show, "You
in your name with "oo," so sands of fans at a time. a slime lifestyle personal- The slime will be changed Can't Do that On Televi-
slime = sloomoo. Nichole Jackylne, 23, of ity," Jackylne said. "I don't throughout each day. sion," starting in the 1980s.
The idea, the co-founders Grand Rapids, Michigan, just post slime. I try to keep Michelle Diaz, 36, the moth- The show slimed partici-
said during a pre-opening is a top slimer enlisted by it about my personality, so er of two girls — 16 and 11 pants who answered ques-
tour, is simple: To spread Sloomoo. She's been on I'll film blogs of myself shop- — regularly makes slime at tions with "I don't know." The
slime's powers of rejuvena- YouTube since 2013, tak- ping for slime supplies or just home. Does she mind the network launched its own
tion and relaxation. Skepti- ing on fashion and other out in the public making mess? slimy show, "Double Dare,"
cal? There's a nook with an content before she settled slime content." "I do but it's inevitable in 1986 and has been slim-
EEG machine to actually on slime nearly three years Not exclusively solid or liq- sometimes," she laughed ing celebrity winners of its
show your brain on slime. ago. uid, slime is often made — to as she and her oldest Kids' Choice Awards since
There's also a glow-in-the- "I found out how to make the bane of germophobes daughter, Iyanna, peaked 1987.
dark cove and an ASMR slime on Pinterest and just and neatnik parents — by into Sloomoo's window as In 2014, slime videos from
tunnel for slime's visual and went from there," Jackylne mixing the mineral-based Jackylne stretched and Thailand spread around
auditory qualities, further said as she sat in the mu- cleaning product Borax, twirled her creation. "We the globe and the DIY slime
ballyhooing the restful and seum's front window with a glue and water, along with make it different ways, with phenomenon took off,
spine-tingly autonomous huge tub of pink slime on liquid scents, coloring and stuff out of your cupboard, particularly among young
sensory meridian response her lap, rows of Elmer's glue "toppings" that are all the from flour to Vaseline. But girls.q
that has exploded in no- gallon jugs on shelves be- rage, including tiny toys
talking videos on YouTube. hind her. "I never thought, and plastic-based glitter.
"The social media aspect even for a million years, Some variations are made
of slime has really shown that I would be making a with clay.
The varieties and scents are
endless. Noting glitter and
other potential eco-foes
were deliberately left out of
Sloomoo's slime, Robinovitz
showed off varieties that
pull like weightless clouds
(fake snow is mixed in),
crackle because of plastic
beads inside or shine with a
high gloss and a tough pull.
At the DIY bar, where 8
This Oct. 21, 2019, photo shows Sara Schiller stretching cloud ounces of slime is included This Oct. 21, 2019, photo shows a detail of Sloomoo’s cove dur-
slime during a preview of the Sloomoo Institute in New York. ing a preview of the Sloomoo Institute in New York.
Associated Press in the $38 base ticket price, Associated Press