--- description: The geometrical shapes make the bands easy to find in a drawer and easy to pick up title: These Tiny Cubes Are Actually Rubber Bands image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Tiny Cubes Are Actually Rubber Bands by [Kenny Ong / Lost at E Minor](/author/lost-at-e-minor-zolton-zavos/) ## Kenny Ong / Lost at E Minor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 5:54 PM CUT by [Kenny Ong / Lost at E Minor](/author/lost-at-e-minor-zolton-zavos/) ## Kenny Ong / Lost at E Minor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 5:54 PM CUT  _This_ [_article_](http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/10/20/believe-tiny-cubes-actually-rubber-bands/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Lost at E Minor_](http://www.lostateminor.com/ "undefined")_._ Some items around the house have remained pretty much the same, serving us the same function over and over again. Take the humble rubber band, for instance. They have been around since the 1600s and were patented in England way back in 1845\. And they have always been circular. But not anymore. Tokyo and Milan-based design firm Nendo have designed a quirky cube of a rubber band. Oki Sato, the lead designer, said, “The geometrical shapes make the bands easy to find in a drawer and easy to pick up.” But there’s a price to pay for such style in something so utilitarian. A pack of three is sold for 1080 yen (US $10). (via [Spoon & Tamago](http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2014/10/14/a-cubic-rubber-band-that-youll-never-want-to-throw-away/#more-29883 "undefined"))  Cubic rubber band Courtesy of nendo  Cubic rubber bands Courtesy of nendo  Cubic rubber bands Courtesy of nendo  Cubic rubber bands Courtesy of nendo ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3562018/rubber-band-cubes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3562018/rubber-band-cubes/"},"headline":"These Tiny Cubes Are Actually Rubber Bands","datePublished":"2014-11-06T17:54:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:08.981Z","description":"The geometrical shapes make the bands easy to find in a drawer and easy to pick up","url":"https://time.com/3562018/rubber-band-cubes/","keywords":["Innovation","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kenny Ong / Lost at E Minor"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3562018/rubber-band-cubes/","name":"These Tiny Cubes Are Actually Rubber Bands"}}]}] ```