Image by queenbeeofbeverlyhills on Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
When I was a kid, most of the ribbon we used to wrap presents was curling ribbon. It often looks a bit like corduroy, it’s plastic-y, and comes in many different colors. It’s cheap. Perhaps it was more widely used in the past, because I don’t see it used too often anymore.
We always helped my mom wrap presents that weren’t for us. After we’d help her wrap the presents with paper, we’d move on to the ribbon. There was always ribbon. She’d run the ribbon around the gift, first one way, then the other, making a special 90 degree turn on the bottom of the present. Then on top, she’d tie a knot. She always needed our help with the knot. She’d tie the first half, then our finger would be required. We’d press down on the half knot as hard as our little fingers could manage. She’d then tie the second half, carefully tightening it around the tip of our finger, which we had to keep in place as long as possible, so the ribbon would be taut. The bow would come next, but we always were waiting for the curling.
The curling was always special for me, since it made the ribbons look like my hair. Piles and piles of curls. We’d often add more lengths of ribbon to make the pile of curls larger.
But what makes the ribbon curl? Scientific American took on the subject a few years ago for Valentine’s Day. They determined that it had to do with how different parts of the ribbon stretched as you curled it. And what’s the best way to curl the ribbon? “Be firm but slow” when you run it over the edge of the scissors or other sharp-ish object you use. This is apparently the assessment of the experts. But everyone has their own method. Check out the article for more details.
What have you learned today?
