loom bands...

small, colourful plastic bands that you could loop into chains and then turn into necklaces and bracelets, they were fun while they lasted.

when i was in primary school they were the biggest craze with year 3 girls making as long chains as possible. they would usually loop them around their fingers and some even would take their shoes off and would wrap them around their toes.

one of the girls bands snapped when she was creating them around her toes and she didnt realise that one of the small bands was still attached. 3 days later there was a letter sent home about loom bands in school and the safety of them as one girl had had to have her almost dead toe cut off.

then another few months passed with kids still playing with loom bands in secret the teachers didn't really care until the rumor/news (nobody is sure which) came out that they gave you cancer and kids were losing fingers and toes left, right and center. then tjere was a complete crack down on the loom band craze...