Happy 50th, Bubble Wrap

Iconic packing material-slash-plaything celebrates a half-century
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 24, 2010 3:00 PM CST
Happy 50th, Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap and its occasional companion, string.   (?Siona Watson)

A beloved product originally intended as a funky wallcovering celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the popping not of champagne corks but of bubbles—the bubbles in Bubble Wrap. Bubble Wrap (yes, it's a trademark) brings in more than $4 billion a year for its New Jersey-based manufacturer and has about that many fans.

From the woman who wore a Bubble Wrap wedding dress to the creator of virtual popping applications for the web and the iPhone, fans are numerous and dedicated. "It seems like every day there's something new," an exec with Sealed Air, which makes Bubble Wrap, tells the AP. Says an artist and prominent online fan: "It's something that everybody enjoys." Pop a few bubbles yourself by clicking here. (More bubble wrap stories.)

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