Posted on 10/15/2007 6:36:49 PM PDT by Dubya
DEPTFORD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — After months of frustration, a mother of a soldier in Iraq has found someone to ship about 80,000 cans of Silly String to the troops, who use the foamy substance to detect trip wires on bombs.
"I am so happy right now, I am shaking. I just think it's awesome that it's finally going," said the woman, Marcelle Shriver, as boxes were loaded into a truck Monday afternoon.
The thousands of cans of Silly String are boxed and addressed to individual servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq. But since the string comes in an aerosol can, it is considered a hazardous material, and only certain companies can ship it.
Thom Campbell, one of the founders of Capacity LLC, a New Jersey-based shipping company experienced in hazardous materials, heard about Shriver's problem and decided to help out.
Shriver and Campbell communicated for weeks over the telephone and e-mail but met for the first time Monday when the boxes were picked up. Each praised the other for making the shipment a reality.
"The determination that she's shown over a year ... deserves to be honored," Campbell said. "Mine is not a glamorous industry nor is it the kind of industry you get a lot of opportunities to do something like this."
Shriver had been storing the boxes in this community across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. They will be inspected by the company and then delivered to the United States Postal Service for transport with other letters and packages bound for Iraq.
Shriver's Silly String campaign began late last year after her son, Todd, a soldier in Ramadi slated to leave Iraq in November, asked his parents to send cans of the product.
Soldiers can shoot the substance, which travels about 10 to 12 feet, across a room before entering. If it hangs in the air, that indicates a possible trip wire.
Shriver, 58, got one shipment of 40,000 cans out in January through the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Pennsylvania but officials told Shriver they didn't know when they'd have more flights headed to Iraq and didn't have space to store the boxes. McGuire Air Force Base declined to take the shipment.
Despite her frustrations, Shriver said the Silly String campaign was worth it.
"If this saves one life, I'm happy," Shriver said.
awesome stuff... who would have ever thought that silly strings will save lives...? good stuff...
American ingenuity at its best!!!
God Bless our troops & their families
Silly String is illegal in Southington, Connecticut.
That's an old liberal line.
Probably the only time it's ever been true.
God speed to all involved!
Why?
What a waste of money; I’ve never seen/read one documented article/blog entry confirming soldiers use this stuff the way she thinks they do. I HAVE seen them use it the way it’s meant to be used—squirting each other with it to have fun. Meanwhile, we’ve got troops who need body armor and improved helmets, troops who need winter socks and long underwear—and folks begging for donations and postage to get it to the troops. But this useless (yes, useless) item captures media attention.
How dare they? If it means saving our soldier's lives then they ought to jump right in & help ship the silly string. I also wonder if something so simple can save lives why our govt isn't giving it to our soldiers. I think I am going to call one of my corrupt Congressmen & ask.
Had no idea!
About ten years ago, some youths sprayed a cop with silly string during a parade or something, so the town council outlawed it.
That's just.......silly
Umm...her son, WHO IS IN IRAQ, says they do.
U.S. soldiers use ‘Silly String’ to detect IEDs
Posted by BradtotheBone
On News/Activism 05/18/2007 11:08:06 AM CDT · 18 replies · 1,101+ views
World Tribune ^ | Friday May 18, 2007
WASHINGTON — U.S. soldiers have been using plastic goo, donated by private citizens, to help defeat improvised explosive devices in Iraq. Officials said U.S. combat troops have begun carrying cans of “Silly String” and similar products in counter-insurgency operations in Sunni areas of Iraq. The troops have been spraying suspected homes to detect trip wires around bombs. “If it falls to the ground, no trip wires,” a military official said. “If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.” So far, the U.S. Army has not funded the procurement of Silly...
Silly String helps troops detect trip wires (heheheh this is old news on FR hehehehe)
Posted by SandRat
On News/Activism 02/16/2007 8:06:09 PM CST · 14 replies · 710+ views
KVOA Tucson Channel 4 News ^ | Josh Benson
A party favor has been found to save lives in the Iraq war and now, the Rural Metro Fire Department and Canoa Homes are teaming up to get as many cans of it as possible shipped to the troops. When you think of the gear protecting our troops overseas, you probably wouldn’t think of a can tattooed in hot colors proudly displaying the word goofy. Anne Marie Sweeney/Rural Metro Fire: “An innovative attempt by one of our soldiers over there to figure out a way to save lives.” Goofy, silly...whatever you want to call it...these cans of silly string are...
You need to get out more often:
One for fun, one for work. Two for fun, two for work.
Sorry, I don’t mean to make light of what they do, I haven’t played with silly string in a while.
I’ve never seen a quote attributed to him or a copy of any email allegedly from him. If this were such a big innovation, believe me, it would be all over the blogs from the troops—but it isn’t. I put more credence in the story of a male Marine who received a female care package, in a hurry grabbed a tampon instead of lip balm from the box, and later used it to staunch the bleeding from a bullet wound one of his unit members incurred. So why not ship 80,000 or more tampons and require every soldier to carry one in their emergency kit? Make sure the corpsmen have a choice between regular, super and superplus! If it saves one warrior, it’s worth the cost and the embarrassment.
How dare they? If it means saving our soldier's lives then they ought to jump right in & help ship the silly string. I also wonder if something so simple can save lives why our govt isn't giving it to our soldiers. I just wrote Chris Smith to ask him why .
I feel like testing that out.
After two or three beers.
Maybe 25 years ago, the cop would have smiled and laughed it off.
Today, a cop gets sprayed with silly string, he yells out “FREEZE!” and takes out his service pistol. Sad days we’re living in.
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