the.com/wristband
A loop that holds either your sweat, your festival memories, or your hospital identity hostage.
means A strip or loop of material worn around the wrist, whether to absorb sweat, prove you paid for entry, display identification, or simply decorate.
from A plain English compound, stitching together "wrist" and "band." "Wrist" descends from Old English "wrist," tied to a root meaning "to turn or twist" — fitting for the joint that rotates the hand, possibly related to "writhe" and "wrest." "Band" is the older sense of a strip or tie used to bind, coming through Old French from a Germanic source related to "bind." Put together, it's literally the band that goes round the twisting joint.
- tennis origin
- Popularized by sweat-mopping players in the 1970s
- festival ID
- Tyvek bands survive showers so you can't sneak in twice
- hospital duty
- Color-coded bands flag allergies and risks
- silicone craze
- Lance Armstrong's yellow band sold 80 million
- fitness tracker
- Now counts steps your wrist never asked for
livestrong yellow wristband — lance armstrong's cancer charity bracelet, sold over 80 million units starting 2004
fitbit flex — wearable fitness tracker wristband acquired by google for $101 million in 2014
apple watch — smartwatch wristband released by apple in 2015, generating $10+ billion annually