1. When the toy ball 'Silly putty' or 'bouncing putty' is dropped, it experiences a rapid deformation and bounces back like a rubber ball (a+b). But if left to sit on a surface for several hours, the material will flow out like a liquid (c). Over short durations Silly Putty behaves like a Hookean solid, but over long durations it behaves more like a Newtonian liquid. Viscoelastic materials behave time dependently.
2. If butter is left on a piece of bread, it will barely move. But when sheared by a knife it spreads easily. The viscosity of butter depends strongly on the shear stress.
3. When a rod is rotated in a beaker of a Newtonian fluid like water or oil, inertial forces cause it to move away from the rod. However, if a small amount of high polymer is added to the oil, it will climb up the rod. This effect is caused by the normal stresses that are generated in the fluid by the rotation of the rod.
4. When a siphon is slowly removed from a Newtonian fluid, it breaks very close to the surface. However, some polymeric fluids can be pulled up many centimetres above the free surface. The same effect can be encountered when removing a sticking plaster from the skin.

These examples illustrate the four most important phenomena in rheology.