by Jen Long

Latex gloves have an irresistible pull on a lot of people.

Just try passing some around a room and see how long it is before individuals are making jokes with the gloves, inflating and stretching them into humorous shapes. Latex gloves have a life that expands well beyond their medical context and the entertainment industry, the internet included, has not skipped a beat in promoting this.

In the '70s, the popular TV series of M*A*S*M*A*S*H did its bit to popularize the lighter side of a number of medical accoutrements. The characters in the fictitious Korean War field hospital used IV bags as a critical component of their barrack's hootch distiller and latex gloves for balloons to entertain the little urchins that passed through their camp from time to time.

Medical practitioners, of course, had long before used gloves as party novelties and continue to be clever with whatever is around the practice. But there was just some particular added humor to the business whenever Hawkeye or Trapper were involved. For a trip down latex glove memory lane, you can check out , M*A*S*H Season 2, Episode 6 via www.netflix.com.

Aardman Studios in the UK have brought some stellar latex glove moments to the silver screen. Clay animator and Aardman founder Nick Parks with his genius work, The Wrong Trousers, literally put the artist's fingerprint on the show biz history of latex gloves. Along with his acutely developed characters of Wallace and Gromet, Nick introduced the laugh-hungry world to the penguin villain Feathers McGraw in The Wrong Trousers, his first full feature length animated movie.

Getting into his bank robber disguise, Feathers infamously stretches a red latex glove over the top of his head to simulate a cock's comb. The inflated fingers sitting on top of his head wave in the breeze, comically convincing. This film is worth popping up a bag of popcorn and sitting down with the whole family to enjoy. You can preview it at Netflix and make a date.

Pediatricians jokingly refer to a fictitious medical school course called Balloon Making 101, a technique for enhancing their bedside manner with the young and ill at ease patient.
Paramedics also can lay claim to some lighter moments with latex gloves. Their trucks travel along America's roadways or wait in dispatch lots with boxes of gloves on board so it is bound to happen. Stupidvideos.com provides evidence of paramedics wrapping latex gloves over the end of ambulance tail pipes and exploding them when turning on the engine. A career that often requires hours of tedium between bursts of adrenalin must find its creative outlets.

There is obviously a lot of irresistible fun in latex gloves for there to be so many good laughs associated with them.
One thing is for sure: they can help the balloon animal-impaired among us actually succeed in making a recognizable creature. This link gives the novice some starting pointers and the site's owner promises a future instructional DVD. Go to www.balloon hq.com and do a search for "ideas with latex gloves". Get out your magic markers and party on!

With protective gloves and masks taking up more and more retail shelf space in this season of H1N1 and other pandemic fears, there is perhaps a wisdom in finding the lighter side of these objects. Laughter is, after all, an age old medicine and there is plenty of science to support how it boosts our immune systems.

The author, Jen Long lives in South Carolina where she is Director of Web Community Support for an online discount retailer that sells (http://www.glovenation.com) Vinyl, Nitrile and Latex Gloves. She is creating a helpful library for those adapting to wearing gloves:
(http://tinyurl.com/yjzledz) Glove Tips.

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