Slime (toy)


Slime was a toy product manufactured by Mattel, sold in a plastic trash can and introduced in February 1976. It consisted of a non-toxic viscous, squishy and oozy green or other color material made primarily from guar gum. Different variations of Slime were released over the years, including Slime containing rubber insects, eyeballs, and worms and Masters of the Universe Slime for Hordak's Slime Pit playset in the 1980s.
The late 1970s also introduced a Slime Monster board game; the object of the game was to avoid having your game piece slimed on by a foot-tall plastic monster that had slime oozing from its mouth. Other toy companies have produced their own slime such as the Ecto-Plazm play gel sold with selected figures in Kenner's Real Ghostbusters toyline. Playmates Toys' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure line also had Retro-Mutagen slime sold in containers and included with playsets.
While the substance was essentially harmless, a drawback was that it was extremely difficult to remove from carpets.

Chemical components

The main components are the polysaccharide guar gum and sodium tetraborate. As an alternative to the polysaccharide, other alcohol-group containing polymers may be used to a similar result. These non-polysaccharide polymer products are more often referred to as flubber.