Pre-Ramble: Quick – before it’s over, we must recognize today, the last Monday in January, as the festive holiday that it is – Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.

Actually, not only is it Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, but it is also the 50th Anniversary of the invention of the “sealed air cellular material” known by fans everywhere as “bubble wrap.”  

The Bubble Wrap® brand continues to provide the assurance of quality and performance in bubble cushioning that we have come to depend on.  According to the cushy product’s website,

Bubble Wrap® was invented in 1960 by Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, using their patented air-trapping technology. The clear, bubbled wrap was originally intended to be used as textured wallpaper, however the two inventors quickly realized it was actually a superior cushioning material and went on to found Sealed Air Corporation, now a global, Fortune 500 company that offers a wide range of packaging solutions and has annual sales in excess of $4 billion.  Sealed Air is widely recognized for its strong commitment to innovation and continues to be an industry leader in research and development.

Bubble-app … Bubble wrap continues to enjoy a healthy popularity, serving as a buffer for shipping fragile items and most recently as a hand-held game on the Apple iPhone (shown right). Players see how many virtual, life-size ”bubbles” they can pop (including super-realistic sound effects) at the touch of a thumb in a given amount of time. (I’m thinking that a companion game would be the amount of time it takes a parent to seize the game-phone mid-bubble and throw it from a moving vehicle.)

The Take-Away: I couldn’t neglect to recognize this kind of important annual celebration and demi-centennial milestone that you have come to expect from me … Woot!

Post-Note: For the science lovers in the crowd, Sealed Air Corporation is sponsoring the Bubble Wrap® Competition for Young Inventors to encourage students in grades 5–8 to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of Bubble Wrap® cushioning.  Three finalists will win a three-day trip to New York City and the Grand Prize Winner will be announced at the Bubble Wrap™ Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 22, 2010.  The deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010. See the Sealed Air website for details.

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