If you dig your foot into the surface and remove some of the clay, you will notice that the underlying surface is a hard rubber-like mat.

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To make a gadget called the Can Pump N' Pour, a circular hard plastic ring with a rubber cover that keeps the fizz in opened soda cans, Davison engineers went through 30 different versions with its own moldmaking machines before getting the shape right.

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Whatever you think of the rubber-faced funnyman, hard-boiled sax-noodling anti-hero is unlikely to be the first image that comes to mind.

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Workers in apparel, rubber, plastics, furniture, primary metals and transportation equipment are especially hard hit by oil price increases.

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And one of the things that I've always said about governors that Washington could learn from is that it's hard to be overly ideological as a governor, because the fact of the matter is, the rubber hits the road with you.

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When the rubber sack makes contact with an object, whether a glass, a pen, or other hard item, a narrow inner tube sucks a small percentage of air out of the sack, making it contract and conform to the shape of the object it touches.

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