April 5, 2023 – Theme Week Day 3

We’re halfway through our theme week on Accidental Inventions! Today we’re talking about Bubble Wrap, which was inadvertently invented by 2 guys who were attempting to create plastic wallpaper. Unsurprisingly, the plastic wallpaper never took off, but Bubble Wrap sure did! Sales really took off after IBM started using the product to ship their 1401 decimal computer in 1959. By 1969, sales were in excess of $4 million. Today, Bubble Wrap is made in 52 countries, and enough is made each year that it could wrap around the equator 10 times, or make it all the way to the moon and back. Learn more here.