Serious Use for Silly String

Marcelle Shriver sprays Silly String from a can as she stands next to some of the more than 1,000 cans stored in the garage of her Stratford, N.J., home, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006. American troops use it to detect trip wires around bombs, as Shriver learned from her son, a soldier serving in Iraq .

STRATFORD, N.J. -- In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.

American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Now, 1,000 cans of the neon-colored plastic goop are packed into Shriver's one-car garage in this town outside Philadelphia, ready to be shipped to the Middle East thanks to two churches and a pilot who heard about the drive.

"If I turn on the TV and see a soldier with a can of this on his vest, that would make this all worth it," said Shriver, 57, an office manager.

Read the rest at the LA Times