Have You Heard About Slime?

What are kids up to these days? Making, selling, and playing with slime, it turns out.
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Kids buying up bottles upon bottles of glue for something they’re selling that’s been banned for sale at school maybe sounds like a thing that’d make a parent, um, nervous. Which makes the fact that it’s slime (yes, slime) all the more delightful. And not just slime, but fluffy slime, butter slime, pearl slime, clear slime, slime with sprinkles, slime with sparkles, slime slime slime.

There’s a massive (and highly Instagram-ed) market of slime (yes, still slime) being made and sold around the country. Twelve-year-old Sarah Bowling, a seventh grader at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, is one such young slime entrepreneur. “It’s basically glue that gets hardened a little bit so it stretches and you can play with it—it’s a nice stress reliever, or if you’re bored, something to do,” she says. And she goes on to explain the basics: It’s made with glue and either contact solution (her preference) or borax and hot water, then the extras—shaving cream, food coloring, model magic, etc., depending on the specific slime—are added in.

Photograph by Aaron M. Conway

Bowling only sells to people she knows, mainly around her neighborhood, for $4 to $6 depending on the slime. But many others are in the seller’s market. “People buy it from everyone to see whose is better and stuff,” she says. “People like slime that doesn’t stick to your hands but is also super stretchy, and when you poke it, sometimes it makes a funny noise,” she laughs. “People like that.”


Make your own: fluffy slime
•1 c. (8 oz.) Elmer’s-style school glue
•2 c. shaving cream
•5 Tbsp. contact solution (containing boric acid)
•Food coloring

Mix glue and a few drops of food coloring in a container, blending ingredients thoroughly. Add shaving cream, stir, and then add half of the contact solution. Stir, then knead by hand, adding the remaining contact solution if the slime is still sticky. Store in an airtight container, and slime away!

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