Pop! Celebrates 50 years of bubble wrap
May 21 - June 10, 2010
mainspace @ artspace
Bubble Wrap is a pliable, transparent plastic material commonly used for packing fragile items. Regularly-spaced, protruding air-filled hemispheres (“bubbles”) provide cushioning for precious or breakable items. The late Alfred W. Fielding co-invented Bubble Wrap in the late 1950’s. Today, Sealed Air Corporation, the company based in Saddle Brook, NJ, that the co-founded in 1960, is a worldwide manufacturer of packaging materials with annual revenues exceeding $3 billion. The early history of Bubble Wrap demonstrates, for inventory, that keeping an open mind to possible applications is a clear advantage.
The story being in 1957 with Fielding and his partner, a Swiss inventor named Marc Chavannes. They are trying to invent a plastic wallpaper with a paper backing. It fails, but along the way, they realize their invention could be used for packing material - thus, giving birth to what is now know around the world as Bubble Wrap.
Ultimately, you may start out trying to invent one thing, but stumble upon an even better idea!
