Silly Bandz are rubber bracelets that usually 160;come in six different styles: zoo animals, sea crea-tures, shapes, pets, dinosaurs and swimsuit, etc.

They come in many colors and bounce back to their original shape after they are taken off.

Finding the bracelets on store shelves can be diffi-cult in US.

Unless they are sold out, the bracelets are found at most Express stores around $4.99 per 24 pack

The shapes styles, which includes bracelets shaped like dollar signs, hearts and stars, has re-cently become the most popular because it is so hard to find, said one of the retailer in US, the zoo style, consisting of animals such as giraffes, el-ephants and squirrels, is consistently in demand.

Kandace Griffin, 17, of Gardendale, split her first pack of ani-mal bracelets with her cousin because she "fell in love with the hippo." Rachel Jackson of Birmingham got her first bracelet from a friend. "I just thought they were cute," she said. These fashionable rubber bands, surprisingly, appeal to both boys and girls, said Mraz and Crawford.

"They take them off and they play games with them and trade them and they see what colors they can get," Crawford said. "They just play with them."

"I have no idea," said Mike McCollum of Learning Express. "It was just some-thing that the kids decided they liked." (extracts from AL.COM--- Silly shaped rubber-band bracelets have snug hold on Birmingham area)