7 Reasons to Love Bubble Wrap
1. Association. Almost everything that you buy from ebay comes with free bubble wrap, and the sight of bubble wrap is mentally associated with the arrival of a new bike part or a jewellery tree or a silver letter opener or a miniature sewing machine or an owl statuette or a giant pen or a Back To The Future novelty clock (yes, our loft is heaving). The sight of bubble wrap means the arrival of stuff. And stuff is good. Especially red stuff.
2. Christmas. I once gave a large, fragile, Christmas present that was covered with a substantial quantity of bubble wrap. Within ten minutes, the gift had been discarded, and the recipient was clothed from head to toe in the bubble wrap, spinning, and shrieking with delight. She was 32. I believe she still has the bubble wrap.
3. It’s Better Than The Alternative (1). Bubble wrap is a far better packing material than polystyrene chips, which are perhaps the most pervasive thing known to man. I don’t know how, but when you remove an item from a box containing polystyrene chips, the quantity of chips in the box remains exactly the same. That’s in the unlikely event that the chips stay in the box, as they usually spill all over the floor and, even though you think you’ve got them all, they subsequently turn up on the floors of every room in the house. Oh, and in the cat. He loves them.
4. It’s Better Than The Alternative (2). When an ebay purchase arrives insulated in bubble wrap it says very little about the sender (other than they chose the correct insulation). When an ebay purchase arrives wrapped in newspaper, it says something quite different. Now I must admit, I’ve had an enjoyable time reading scraps of newspaper from around the world that came with ebay purchases, but I’ve also purchased items that have come wrapped in the Daily Mail. To this day, I still can’t look at our cow-patterned butter dish without thinking, “Fascists sent us that”. Fortunately I don’t go into the loft very often.
5. It’s inspirational. Joey Green and Tim Nyberg got inspired in a bar and wrote the first draft of The Bubble Wrap Book on 827 cocktail napkins. That’s the way to write. That sounds like a crazed, rambling, semi-coherent lost weekend of writing. I’m writing this alone in a room with no napkins, no bubble wrap and no cocktails. I’m wearing lounging pants. I’m doing it wrong. If only I had some bubble wrap. Or a cocktail.
6. Inevitably. Okay, you knew this was coming. You can pop it, which is probably the most satisfying, compelling and pointless activity that a lone person can be involved in (multiple people can have pillow fights). It’s not possible to be near bubble wrap without the thought, “pop it…pop it…pop it…POP IT!!!!!!!” echoing insistently through your mind. The compulsion to pop it is irresistible.
7. It’s ubiquitous. Bubble wrap gets everywhere. And thanks to the very clever OpalCat, it’s here and we can prove reason six. Enjoy! Manic mode is amazing, by the way.
<!– http://www.virtual-bubblewrap.com –>
I’m never going to get any work done now! Pop pop pop :O)
MMMM, Bubble Wrap. Drives my dog absolutely nuts when I pop that stuff. And that little bubble wrap game is cool, Thanks!
well, there are also 7 reasons to hate that…
I got stuck on the lounging pants. I can’t work out whether these are undercrackers or tracky bottoms.
@KittyQ I didn’t really feel that your comment required a reply, I just wanted and excuse to visit this page again and play some more.
@Chris You’re welcome.
@medical domains Write them and send them to us!
@Ceci
Like pyjama bottoms, but with no matching top. And made by Calvin Klein. Though probably not personally.
Lol THAT’s what the background image on this site reminded me off.
And thanx for that little game cus I really had to relieve some stress by popping some bubbles now.
interesting concept. productivity just went down at the office!
I’m probably going to buy something from ebay just to get the bubble wrap now.
I love this post! Right after seeing the picture of the bubble wrap, my memories of my “bubble wrap popping times” came to my mind. I enjoyed each of those moments and its very true that its something that a person, even alone, can do and really enjoy! Hope to be able to buy something these days that comes with a bubble wrap. ^.^
Nice thought!!! I also love popping the bubble wrap until to its last bubble and I’m fond doing it. It is true that it can give enjoyment even to those lone people. cheers!!
How I love this post. I readily remembered my childhood days when I was also popping each and every bubble wrap we can have out of the things we bought. I used to have fights with my other siblings only because of this bubble wrap. Phew! Those were the silly days. I missed those memories. 🙂
Made me think of my crazy days when I was little. I always loved it when we had new appliances or gadgets at home because those always came with a lot of bubble wraps! I don’t know why but I also loved the smell of it. I’m not sure if others would notice the smell of the bubble wrap but it stayed in my system for quite a long time. But those were the old days. I can hardly remember it now. Thanks a lot for sharing and making me reminisce some tidbits of my childhood life. 🙂
Those were the days. It always feels good to reminisce the past, especially those crazy moments we went through when we were still young. It makes me a little shy to admit but I also loved to pop bubble wraps when I was young. Thanks a lot for making me remember my childhood days with this post. 🙂