thoughts on the news of the day: bubble wrap

hmmm…..

            Did you know that today is National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day?  Bubble wrap is a wonderful thing – it insulates and protects your most precious items and it makes a great toy.  Who cannot help but get addicted to the satisfying result of popping the little bubbles on the wrap over and over again.  There are even virtual bubble wrap games you can play on your computer.

            A radio station in Bloomington, Indiana started the national bubble wrap appreciation day (BWAD) in 2001.  Holding the first annual Bubblympiad, they staged events like a bubble wrap popping relay and sculpture and fashion design contests.  Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes invented bubble wrap in 1957.  Their original plan, to invent a plastic wallpaper was a failure, but they discovered that the material was great for packing.  Today bubble wrap comes in many colors and in addition to functioning as the best packing material in the world, you can make toys and clothes and all sorts of things out of it. 

            Bubble wrap cushions the blow, softens the fall and is fun to play with – kinda like a best friend.  Also, bubble wrap doesn’t talk back – a quality we often wish our friends would acquire.

            But bubble wrap isn’t warm and fuzzy, can’t give you a hug and – as I said – doesn’t talk back.  Those are qualities we nearly always demand of our friends.  Maybe the thing to do today is go buy some bubble wrap and have a bubble popping contest with your best friend. You’ll kinda have the best of both worlds!

            hmmm…..