Many of us know what bubble wrap is and how great of a material it is when compared to other kinds of shipping supplies. I am a firm believer that bubble wrap is one of if not the best kind of material. We have spoken about bubble wrap and its unique features it has that allow for it to be considered one of the best materials. I was surprised to hear that this amazing material being bubble wrap was an accident. Believe it or not, it’s the truth. In this short article, we are going to look at how this accident changed the shipping industry for the better and produced one of the best shipping materials.
One day two English men who worked in a wallpaper manufacturing factory were interested in making a new kind of wallpaper. They wanted to make a wallpaper that intrigued the young adults growing up and moving into their own homes. They took two shower curtains and laid them on top of each other. They then placed these sheets in a heat press and began the process of making the wallpaper. When the process was finished, and they lifted the press to see the end result, they were quite devastated. What laid in front of them was a plastic sheet that had many, many air pockets in it, the shape of bubbles. They took that sheet and threw it away and kept trying to make their new wallpaper and forget about the bubbled sheet.
A man came along who was in the shipping industry and saw this sheet, and he got very excited. He barged into the factory and asked the two men what that plastic sheet was as it would be perfect for shipping items and keeping them protected. They confessed that it was nothing more than a failed experiment at making a new kind of wallpaper. The shipping man said nonsense and told them how he believed it could be the next greatest kind for shipping material. The men scoffed at him and said that if he wanted it so bad then, he could take it with him. He did just that and sold some to a partner of his. From there, the desire to have bubble wrap exploded, and the two English men got busy mankind some as it brought in great business and money for them.
Today the use of bubble wrap is all around us. So many different shipping companies use it. As the technology evolved, so did bubble wrap and its manufacturing. Less negative space and more bubbles were added to improve its protective abilities. Better materials were used to allow bubble wrap to be very durable and reusable. Eventually, we as humans found out a way to make bubble wrap with recycled materials, thus reducing the carbon footprint that is produced.
The discovery of bubble wrap was an accident, but the need for it is astounding in today’s shipping industry. As I have mentioned before, I believe bubble wrap to be one of the best shipping supplies when it comes to packing the items in and keeping them safe. I loved bubble wrap when I was a child. Playing with it was a lot of fun as a kid. I am a firm believer that bubble wrap is the best kind of shipping material, and the fact that it was an accident is amazing.
