By Michael Pyo ’22

There has been an epidemic among children around the world, slime. Also previously known as “putty,” slime has taken most of the world by storm. Slime is a solid, and stretchy substance that is basically made with glue and an activator. Kids and adults have gotten involved in this satisfying trend where they make, sell, and record slime. Many “slimers” have called slime ASMR, (Autonomous sensory meridian response), meaning it is physically satisfying to play with the gooey-substance. The trend started over the summer of 2016 over in Thailand, where teenagers started to post videos of slime tutorials on Instagram and Youtube. Since then, new slime sub-categories have set in, such as, iceberg slime, clear slime, and jiggly slime. Many adults have reminisced on their “Nickelodeon Gak” and “Creepy Crawlers.”

Today, the famous slime accounts ranging from 100k to 1million followers, have made thousands and thousands of dollars of profit selling this goo. Young slimepenuers have learned to create their own company, and go through a process of making their product, to shipping it out. Many people believe young slimers should wait until they’re older to sell, but when a kid has a dream, they are persistent. I have observed the larger accounts, and they are almost all “adult slimers.” For example, @TheSlimeHive, (406k followers) and @MuggleSlimes, (185k followers) are middle-aged mothers with kids! Some slimers have even quit their jobs because their slime company gave them a steady income. I too am a young slimer, who has a 30k follower count. (My account is to be hidden because of conflict of interest.) I interviewed my fellow slime friend, @mintyslimey, (504k followers). A perk I feel as a slimer, is that I get to make a lot of friends. I text them, exchanging ideas, and sending each other slime, and it is a lot of fun.

Me: How old are you and what’s your name?

MintySlimey: I am 16 years old, and my name is Emily.

(I’ll be referring to MintySlimey as Emily)

Me: Do you think selling slime is good for kids to learn about entrepreneurship?

Emily: I think it is! I personally don’t plan on pursuing a business related career, but it has taught me so much about advertisment, finance and general social skills.

Me: How do you think slime “helps” people?

Emily: I think slime isn’t just a toy, it’s such a good stress and anxiety reliever. Even just watching videos and listening to the sounds is so soothing.