July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Pop some bubbles in celebration, or just for fun (01/30/06)
As I See It
By By DIANA DOLECKI-
Today is Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day. Personally, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate the stress relieving value of the product. A sheet of Bubble Wrap® is the perfect ending to a typical Monday. What better way to take out your frustrations than to smoosh the air out of a dozen or so helpless bubbles? The pleasing “pop” as the plastic gives way is one of the most satisfying sounds there is.
There are many different ways to render the product useless. There is the controlled squeezing of the bubbles, one after another, working methodically from left to right until every last bubble is lifeless. There is the twist and pop method whereby masses of the bubbles are deflated in quick succession as a sheet of the cushioning product is treated like a chicken getting its neck wrung. Finally there is the throw it on the floor and jump method. This is best reserved for extreme frustration, very large bubbles or children.
They have actually done surveys on the ways people pop Bubble Wrap®. Most people burst one bubble at a time. Bubbles are often randomly chosen or else the product is grasped in both hands and twisted. Stomping or jumping on it was preferred by a measly 12-percent of the respondents to the survey.
It is hard to believe that this product was invented by two guys looking to make a textured wallpaper. Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding were working on this idea in a New Jersey garage. Did you ever notice that most of the great inventions started out in somebody’s garage? It almost makes me wonder what research laboratories are for. Anyway, they figured that they could use it as a cushioning material since they couldn’t find a market for it as wallpaper.
They founded the Sealed Air Corporation in 1960. According to their website, “Sealed Air is a leading global manufacturer of a wide range of food and protective packaging materials and systems with annual revenues exceeding 3.5 billion dollars.” Just think, a product that nobody wanted has evolved into a 3.5 billion dollar business. I bet they’re glad that the wallpaper idea never caught on.
Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day began at a radio station in Bloomington, Indiana in 2001. They celebrated with events such as a popping relay, sculpture and fashion design contests. The thought of a dress made out of plastic doesn’t appeal to me. I am no good at sculpture although the green Bubble Wrap® frog I saw while I was researching this article was kind of cute.
I didn’t know that it even came in colors. I found out that it comes in clear, lime green, purple, blue and red. Various forms of “air cellular cushioning material” are used to make everything from a mat called Hop ‘n Pop that is advertised to “exercise kids’ bodies and imaginations, while stimulating their auditory senses and physical activities,” to Halloween costumes for college students and other adventurous souls.
It may be designed as a packing material that keeps breakables in one piece without the mess of wadded up newspapers but in reality it is nothing more than a toy for adults. Just watch the next time a package arrives bearing the squishy stuff. Grown men and women will grab for it and merrily pop until the last bubble is nothing but a limp vestige of its former self. Have you ever watched a two-year-old child with an empty box? Bubble Wrap® is like that same empty box only for grown-ups.
There are dozens of websites advertising virtual Bubble Wrap®. Somehow I can’t envision getting the same satisfaction from running my mouse over a picture as I could get from the real thing. I can just see the boss walking by and hearing, “Pop, pop, pop.” It would be a dead giveaway that I was playing instead of working.
There are oodles of games involving the material and a whole host of uses that have nothing to do with packing valuables. I doubt if the inventors had imagined the day when a failed attempt at making wallpaper would turn into something that makes adults feel like gleeful children as they destroy the very cushioning that makes the product useful.
So go out and celebrate Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day. Pop some bubbles and put some sunshine into a January day and a smile on your face as those little air pockets deflate in your hands.[[In-content Ad]]
There are many different ways to render the product useless. There is the controlled squeezing of the bubbles, one after another, working methodically from left to right until every last bubble is lifeless. There is the twist and pop method whereby masses of the bubbles are deflated in quick succession as a sheet of the cushioning product is treated like a chicken getting its neck wrung. Finally there is the throw it on the floor and jump method. This is best reserved for extreme frustration, very large bubbles or children.
They have actually done surveys on the ways people pop Bubble Wrap®. Most people burst one bubble at a time. Bubbles are often randomly chosen or else the product is grasped in both hands and twisted. Stomping or jumping on it was preferred by a measly 12-percent of the respondents to the survey.
It is hard to believe that this product was invented by two guys looking to make a textured wallpaper. Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding were working on this idea in a New Jersey garage. Did you ever notice that most of the great inventions started out in somebody’s garage? It almost makes me wonder what research laboratories are for. Anyway, they figured that they could use it as a cushioning material since they couldn’t find a market for it as wallpaper.
They founded the Sealed Air Corporation in 1960. According to their website, “Sealed Air is a leading global manufacturer of a wide range of food and protective packaging materials and systems with annual revenues exceeding 3.5 billion dollars.” Just think, a product that nobody wanted has evolved into a 3.5 billion dollar business. I bet they’re glad that the wallpaper idea never caught on.
Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day began at a radio station in Bloomington, Indiana in 2001. They celebrated with events such as a popping relay, sculpture and fashion design contests. The thought of a dress made out of plastic doesn’t appeal to me. I am no good at sculpture although the green Bubble Wrap® frog I saw while I was researching this article was kind of cute.
I didn’t know that it even came in colors. I found out that it comes in clear, lime green, purple, blue and red. Various forms of “air cellular cushioning material” are used to make everything from a mat called Hop ‘n Pop that is advertised to “exercise kids’ bodies and imaginations, while stimulating their auditory senses and physical activities,” to Halloween costumes for college students and other adventurous souls.
It may be designed as a packing material that keeps breakables in one piece without the mess of wadded up newspapers but in reality it is nothing more than a toy for adults. Just watch the next time a package arrives bearing the squishy stuff. Grown men and women will grab for it and merrily pop until the last bubble is nothing but a limp vestige of its former self. Have you ever watched a two-year-old child with an empty box? Bubble Wrap® is like that same empty box only for grown-ups.
There are dozens of websites advertising virtual Bubble Wrap®. Somehow I can’t envision getting the same satisfaction from running my mouse over a picture as I could get from the real thing. I can just see the boss walking by and hearing, “Pop, pop, pop.” It would be a dead giveaway that I was playing instead of working.
There are oodles of games involving the material and a whole host of uses that have nothing to do with packing valuables. I doubt if the inventors had imagined the day when a failed attempt at making wallpaper would turn into something that makes adults feel like gleeful children as they destroy the very cushioning that makes the product useful.
So go out and celebrate Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day. Pop some bubbles and put some sunshine into a January day and a smile on your face as those little air pockets deflate in your hands.[[In-content Ad]]
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