At a hundred presses the whole surface takes one large ripple. You do not have to get there — stop whenever you like. The count is kept in this browser, so the next time you open it, it carries on from where you were.

No. They flatten out over about three seconds. The only thing kept is the number of presses.

Does it work with reduced motion turned on?

Yes. If your device is set to reduce motion or reduce transparency, the wobble is replaced by a quieter version. The feel under your finger and the count are unchanged.

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Squishing

munyu

Press it, knead it, watch it come back.

How to play

Press and the surface sinks under your finger. Keep pressing and move to knead it. Let go and it comes back slowly; the dent lasts about three seconds. At a hundred presses the whole thing ripples.

Notes on the feel

The way it returns is a spring, so the harder you press the wider it wobbles on the way back. A dent that vanishes leaves no trace of you; a dent that stays looks like dirt. Three seconds turned out to be the length that makes you press again.

What is this, really?

A mass that sinks when you press it and comes back when you let go turns up in kitchens and workshops all over the world. Bread dough. A ball of udon before it is rolled. Modelling clay, wet plaster, a slime toy from a vending machine. The materials have nothing in common, but the pause between sinking and returning is what gives each of them its character. Too firm and it pushes your finger away; too soft and the mark stays and never fades. Only the ones in between make you want to do it again.

There is no real climax to this one. Nothing breaks, nothing lines up; you press and it comes back. What keeps a hand going, I think, is that the exact spot you touched answers you, and that the mark from the press before is still faintly there. A material that holds a record of you for a few seconds is rarer than it sounds.

How it is done where it comes from

With the real thing, rather than poking with a fingertip, press in with the heel of your hand and then spread your fingers slowly. The sunken surface stretches to follow their shape, and when you lift, it waits a beat before coming back. That beat is different for every material.

Here the return is modelled as a spring, so the harder you press the wider the surface wobbles on the way back, and a mark takes about three seconds to flatten out. A mark that vanishes at once leaves no evidence that you pressed; a mark that never fades starts to look like dirt. Three seconds was chosen as the length that makes a hand reach in again. Press and keep moving and the surface drags like dough under a palm, carrying the existing dents sideways with it. At a hundred presses the whole thing ripples.

Questions people ask

Where is the peak?: At a hundred presses the whole surface takes one large ripple. You do not have to get there — stop whenever you like. The count is kept in this browser, so the next time you open it, it carries on from where you were.
Are the marks saved?: No. They flatten out over about three seconds. The only thing kept is the number of presses.
Does it work with reduced motion turned on?: Yes. If your device is set to reduce motion or reduce transparency, the wobble is replaced by a quieter version. The feel under your finger and the count are unchanged.