Wacky World of Rubber: Adam Savage's book, rubber duck army capture joy of making

Adam Savage is so lucky, and not just because he gets to blow things up.

Every day, he gets to make things. Cool things. Nerdy things. Things that embody his truest passions and give him a sense of fulfillment. He makes things that inspire others.

I hadn't thought much about Savage—of "Mythbusters" and "Savage Builds" fame—until I heard an interview with him in which he discussed his recently released book, "Every Tool's a Hammer."

I couldn't get that interview out of my head. It made me nostalgic for "Mythbusters" episodes, sure, but his insights were rather profound. The book isn't a DIY guide to carpentry or metalwork. It's a deeply honest story about the wisdoms gleaned from doing the things you love, making mistakes and finding success along the way.

I got an audio copy of the book from my library (Savage reads it himself, so the audio copy is fantastic!), and found I had a hard time pausing it. Not only is it perfectly geeky and insightful, I couldn't help but notice the connections to rubber. I mean, he has an entire chapter devoted to glues, adhesives and the differences between the various kinds, as well as their applications, strengths and weaknesses. How spectacularly nerdy is that?!

The book also is a treasure trove of everyday wisdoms. As Savage carefully recounts the projects from which he learned some of his most valuable lessons in friendship, vulnerability and discipline, I kept hearing references to rubber industry materials—silicone, latex and polyurethane foams.

One of those projects was a Coca Cola commercial he helped to create in 1997.

The concept was to make a Rube Goldberg machine that delivered an ice-cold Coke at the push of a button. While most of the machine was comprised of metal parts, there are two very key latex items that really make the machine a success.

The first was a small drum with a latex head that allowed acrylic ice cubes to bounce perfectly into an iconic Coke glass. The other was a latex glove that inflated and deflated in time to pour the soda from the bottle into the glass.

I wasn't in the rubber industry when "Mythbusters" was on air, so I never really gave much thought to the rubber materials used on the show. Looking back, though, I can remember Savage and his co-host Jamie Hyneman using rubber materials in the contraptions they devised to put age-old urban myths to the scientific test.

The good news is that Savage is still doing what he does best: Building things, making people laugh and using rubber materials to do so. One of the best examples, perhaps, is the Rubber Duck Army.

In the YouTube video, Savage designs and builds a contraption that constricts and releases 16 Squawky Talkies—rubberized dog toys shaped like ducks and flamingos—in an effort to emit the most horrendous sounding squeaky toy noise of all time.

"This is, without a doubt," Savage says before pulling the pin and setting off a cacophony of horrid squeaks, "the most absurd one-day build we have ever achieved."

Absurd? Absolutely. But it's also somehow wildly entertaining.

I think it's the pure joy in Savage's reaction to the nearly unbearable sound that emanates from his contraption that makes the video so wonderful.

But that's why we love Adam Savage in the first place, isn't it?

Erin Pustay Beaven is the online content editor for Rubber & Plastics News. She is an appreciator of life's littlest treasures, a reader of great books and supporter of the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Indians. Erin is an advocate for libraries, arts education and PBS. Follow her on Twitter at @EBeavenCrain.