Pop the corks, er, bubbles: Bubble Wrap, packing material and stress reducer, turns 50
By David Porter, APSunday, January 24, 2010
‘Pop’ icon Bubble Wrap celebrates 50th birthday
SADDLE BROOK, N.J. — People have walked to the altar dressed in it, protected their garden plants with it, even put it on display at highbrow art museums.
Mostly, they like the sound it makes when they pop it, which largely explains the appeal of Bubble Wrap, the stress reducer disguised as package cushioning that maintains an inexplicable hold on pop culture.
The product once envisioned as a new type of wallpaper turns 50 this month.
The manufacturer of Bubble Wrap is Sealed Air, based in Elmwood Park, N.J. Spokesman Ken Aurichio says he thought he’d witnessed every form of Bubble Wrap mania — until he received a wedding invitation last year from an Ohio woman who said she would wear the product on her trip down the aisle.
