Ever wondered how Bubble Wrap came to be?
The story goes that two engineers created a new type of plastic wallpaper in 1957. When the product failed to take off, they realized that they could use the same material to create packaging for delicate or heavy items. They started Sealed Air Corporation in 1960 for only $9,000. Today, Sealed Air is a leading worldwide manufacturer of protective and specialty packaging materials, with annual revenues exceeding 3 billion dollars.
On January 30, 2001, an Indiana radio station started Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. This year, a host of sponsors have launched a Bubble Wrap Photo Contest. The contest is open to all bloggers. Simply tell your story in appreciation of Bubble Wrap in the form of a photo and audio essay. You can win all sorts of neat prizes, including an iPod Nano. For complete rules, go here.
Good luck to you all, and let us know when your entry has been posted to your blog! All entries must be submitted by February 20, 2006.
February 16th, 2006 at 12:51 am
My kids love bubble wrap. We went to a storage facility that also had a post office in it. They saw that you could buy bulk bubble wrap, and wanted me to get some. It was like them being in a candy store, or something.
Insane, if you ask me.
February 16th, 2006 at 1:06 am
while that story is interesting and all i know for a fact that the story behind the styrofoam packing corn thing (probably not its official name) is much more interesting. yet it doesnt get an appreciation day? what a crock!
February 16th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Brico - nobody’s ever gone blissfully giggly over popping the styrofoam peanuts. BubbleWrap = AudioHeaven
Meanwhile, my roommate is an engineer at Sealed Air. What’re the frickin’ odds, Tish.
Well? Well?!
February 17th, 2006 at 1:56 am
ben,
they still need engineers to improve bubblewrap? lol j/k
February 17th, 2006 at 9:29 am
hehe. I ponder the same thing quite often. I could relate the real details of what he does, but let’s all pretend, instead, that he’s a mid-level management type in charge of coming up with new ideas. “Hey, what if the bubbles were square?!” “Wow, Johnson! Way to think outside the box!” “Or inside it, rather!” [general laughter, back-slapping, and running your thumbs up and down your suspenders oh GOD why do people still wear suspenders?!] [and then later they go out for cigars and brandy, and toast another booming year, crushing those lame bastards over in CrumpledUpForeignNewspapers. Ah, packaging magnates. I bet my roommate gets a big fat raise for his idea, or at least a ham]