Popping Bubble Wrap. Pop, pop, pop. It's a calming sound everyone knows and should be hearing a lot on Monday as people around the world celebrate Bubble Wrap’s 50th birthday Monday on Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.
The 2010 Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day marks the 10th annual celebration of the holiday.
Sealed Air, the manufacturer of the Bubble Wrap brand of packaging, is celebrating Bubble Wrap’s golden anniversary in style. For one day, all factory lines in the company’s Saddle River, N.J., location will change from the standard clear to gold.
"We are honored to manufacture a product that not only serves to cushion fragile materials, but also provides the added benefit of helping to de-stress and bring smiles to the faces of people of all ages worldwide,” said William V. Hickey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sealed Air, in a news release.
Few people know, but when bubble wrap was first invented, it was supposed to be a textured wallpaper. As the legend goes, inventors Mark Chavannes and Al Fielding didn’t know what to do with the failed wallpaper until Chavannes was on an airplane over Newark Airport one day.
As the plane descended, he noticed how the clouds seemed to cushion the plane and he realized his wall paper, or Bubble Wrap, would be ideal to cushion fragile items when packaging. And so, Bubble Wrap was born.
From a failed wallpaper, Bubble Wrap has evolved to more than just a profitable business, Sealed Air is a Fortune 500 company, and useful packaging item. Bubble Wrap is a pop culture phenomenon.
Bubble Wrap has more than 2 million fans on Facebook and there are more than 250 Facebook pages dedicated to Bubble Wrap.
Bubble Wrap literally has thousands of uses besides standard packaging. In celebration of Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, and its 50th Anniversary, perhaps you can come up with another one. If nothing else, grab a piece and start popping.
Sources: NPR, www.bubblewrapfun.com, www.bubblewrapturns50today.info,
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