Not So Silly String Saves Lives

In such a high-tech era, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives.

Silly String is being shipped to US troops in Iraq where it will be used to detect bomb trip wires.

Spraying the string into a room before entering can indicate the presence of traps by hanging off the near-invisible wires.

Silly String, which is expelled out of an aerosol can, can travel up to three meters.

80,000 cans of Silly String are being exported to the troops in Iraq after the mother of a soldier campaigned to send the potentially lifesaving novelty to troops.

Marcelle Shriver started her campaign late last year and says it was worth all the trouble.

"If this saves one life, I'm happy," she says.

By Ash Islam