h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My cousin Nomis and I found that many a boring hour at our Grandpa's hous is enjoiably filled with a sporting variant of the afore mentioned warfare. Two weapons are used, the single samll elastic drawn back over thumb and the launched (range efeetive over three-four metres) or a number of large elastic linked together and launched in a similar way > This second version is called "sidrew" and it's range is different for easch lenght of elastics. But it can still cause considerable pain over a distance of 5-6 meters.

Unfortunately, the art of flicking rubber bands at other people(and teachers) is being lost in schools in favour of a big fat paper ball + paper plane fight. The paper plane fight is most popular in Art lessons, as you can soak little paper balls in paint, then throw at someone you don't like and hopefully the bombs will drop close to target. Also, people have been known to soak the end of planes in paint, clay etc. and send them on kamikaze runs. This is often used to sabotage work or to ruin that really nice shirt so-and-so has been bragging about. Also, kids are developing the skill of quickly and speedily stealing paper from teachers who are stupid enough to keep paper in easy reach of kids.
Paper ball fights are popular in lessons where teachers spend a lot of time writing on the board.
In Art lessons, often people in on the fights will deliberately distract teachers.
The great art of the rubber band fight is now mainly left to a few sniper-specialists, shooting from about 10 yards in heavy cover and still doing heavy damage.

Me and my mates like to fire bits of paper off the balcony in the library we fire them at people doing work on the big desk down at the bottom we have been caught lots of times and kicked out of the library!

i think i count as one of those snipers that was mentioned. I can aim well at 30 or 40 feet, load a rubber band from my wrist and shoot it in under a second with good accuracy, and i'm only 13.

Has no-one discovered the ultimate rubber band technique? This method increases rang velocity and accuracy for any length of band.
Firstly form your hand into the traditional playground pistol shape (make a fist with your fist finger and thumb extended) hook the band over the very end of your little finger, now bring both sides of the band around the back of your thumb and hook the end onto the tip of the extended forefinger. A little practice is required for best accuracy but try aiming low and left from your intended target. Happy sniping

Ah, but is it not harder and slower to load? The downside of the other method is that if you hold the band to low it can scrape the skin off of your arm.

anyway, i know lots of people who think that method is better simply because they don't know how to use the good method.

i am the only person in my class at Bury Grammar School Boys who actually uses a rubber band properly all the others use paper aeroplanes and i have great satisfaction firing paper planes out of the air with a piece of folded paper in a 'v' shape hearing the thwack! and watching the plane crash to the ground with a gaping whole in the wing and they just look in at me as though i am a murderer or something.
i have just made a potatoe mortar using a plastic tube a huge thick rubber band and a new potatoe it fires well over 100 metres in the air but have stopped using it since i fired it in a field and for some reason it flew forwards and i could not see the potatoe but i heard a smach of glass and an alarm.