National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

 Bubble Wrap brand cushioning starts as polyethylene (plastic) resin, in the form of beads about the size of pea gravel. The beads go into an extruder - a long cylinder with a screw inside that runs its entire length. As the screw is turned, heat builds up and the resin melts into a liquid that is squeezed out of the cylinder into two stacked sheets of clear plastic film. One layer of the film is wrapped around a drum with holes punched in it, and suction is applied drawing one web of film into the holes that form the bubbles. The second layer of film is then laminated over the first so that when the two films are joined, they stick together and trap the air in the bubbles. This may sound easy, but polyethylene is a porous material like a sponge. Air can easily leak out through the pores, which tends to limit the cushioning ability of the packaging. Realizing this, Sealed Air started using a Saran coating to seal the air in the bubbles. Eventually, a method of encapsulating an air retention barrier in the polyethylene during the extrusion process was developed. This process is a trade secret of Sealed Air Corporation. The story begins in 1957 in a garage in Hawthorne, NJ with two engineers, Marc Chavannes and Al
Fielding. Marc and Al were trying to make plastic wallpaper with a paper backing. Surprisingly, this product didn’t take off. They realized, however, that their invention could be used as a cushioning packaging material. At that time, only abrasive paper products were used for packaging, and they did not suffice for cushioning heavy or delicate items. Marc and Al raised $9,000 to fund a developmental production line. They incorporated Sealed Air Corporation in 1960, and today, Sealed Air is a leading worldwide manufacturer of numerous protective and specialty packaging materials with annual revenues exceeding 3 billion dollars. “Spirit 95” Radio, the FM radio station in Bloomington, IN that started Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day in 2001, held its first annual Bubblympiad with events such as a Bubble Wrap popping relay, Pop-a-Mole (similar to a well-known carnival game), and sculpture and fashion design contests.