Free Republic

Two inventors turned a failed experiment into an irresistibly poppable product that revolutionized the shipping industry. ==================================================================== By David Kindy smithsonian.com January 23, 2019 When a very young Howard Fielding carefully cradled his father’s unusual invention, he had no idea that his next action would make him a trendsetter. In his hands was a plastic sheet with air-filled bumps across it. As he fingered the funny-feeling film, he couldn’t resist the temptation: he started popping the bubbles—just like much of the rest of the world has been doing ever since. And so Fielding, who was about 5 years old at...

Emergency crews responded to a report of a shooting at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania Monday evening, but investigators discovered no gunman, but instead say bubble wrap may be to blame. "The situation appears to be one where a female student in the dorms of Eastern University heard what she thought were shots fired. She diligently called 9-1-1," Jamie Bilella, Vice President Enrollment Management and Marketing Valley Forge Military Academy & College told NBC10. Delaware County officials said officers responded to the school after receiving a call reporting a possible shooting about 6 p.m. Police put the school on...

Bubble Wrap, the packaging material popular with shippers and toddlers alike, is losing its pop. Sealed Air Corp. , the original seller of Bubble Wrap since 1960, is rolling out a revamped version of its signature product. Dubbed iBubble Wrap, the new packaging is sold in flat plastic sheets that the shipper fills with air using a custom-made pump. The inflated bubbles look much like traditional Bubble Wrap, with one key difference: They don’t burst when pressure is applied. Charlotte N.C.-based Sealed Air is betting iBubble Wrap will appeal to space-conscious online retailers who are driving swift growth in the...

(CNN)Stuffed beside the terrible birthday gift your grandma mailed was always the one redemption: Bubble Wrap. That instantly amusing piece of packaging is losing its pop -- literally. Sealed Air, the company that created the material in 1960, introduced a version that will no longer pop, according to the Wall Street Journal. Instead, air will shift in columns of bubbles.

Last weekend I was on a soft foam playground with my little girl, and I reflected on how different things were when I was a kid, shortly after dinosaurs roamed the earth. Playgrounds then were asphalt-covered, jagged-edged death traps for kids, but we didn’t know any differently and our parents weren’t freaked out about it. I vividly remember once hanging upside down from monkey bars and dropping onto concrete directly on my head (now that I think about it, that hit probably explains quite a bit about me). It’s a wonder that my generation survived childhood. What concerns me today...

Today is the 11th Annual Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, according to the folks who make the stuff. Here are their proposed Super Bowl uses for the packing material: · Bubble Wrap Football: The Bubble Wrap football provides hours of in-door pseudo-pigskin passing pleasure while safely protecting your 50" flat screen. · Celebration Mat: A layer of Bubble Wrap under your feet might just make you the most poplar fan at your celebration. · Cold Beer-Soda Cozy: Question: who likes warm beer? Answer: No one. That's why a Bubble Wrap beer/soda cozy is a must have for the big game!

Traditionally a bride wears something old, new, borrowed and blue. But when Rachael Robinson got married it was simply a case of something recycled. For the 30-year-old primary school deputy headteacher wore a dress made of bubble wrap when she tied the knot with Duncan Turner, 32. As well as not costing her anything, anytime she got nervous during the ceremony she could pop a few bubbles to release the tension. The dress used up 13ft of the packing material and was put together last month by pupils and parents at her school for a fashion show featuring recyclable materials.