Rubber-band ball expands

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Steve Milton keeps springing back and springing back to rubber bands.

Through concentration and perseverance, he has created a 3,300-pound ball of rubber bands. His creation measures almost 5 feet tall and takes up half his two-car garage.

Though it’s not official, the 26-year-old Eugene man believes he has broken the record for the heaviest such ball, eclipsing John Bain’s mark of 3,120 pounds.

Milton has posted updates of his ball’s growing girth on his MySpace page. He’s also uploaded videos of the ball crushing things, such as when he used a forklift to drop the ball on an old van.

Milton started building the ball last November. He bought rubber bands at retail stores and then started purchasing in bulk from the Pennsylvania-based Dykema Rubber Band Company.

Milton, who wants to stretch the ball at least another 1,000 pounds, said the work isn’t all that safe. He wears gloves to avoid burning his hands from friction and learned to move when a band breaks.

“If they snap, they come off pretty fast,” he said. “They’ve given me welts before.”