Why Was Bubble Wrap Made for Walls?

The first sheet of Bubble Wrap was not intended to protect anything. Its inventors hoped people would use it to decorate their homes.

In 1957, engineer Alfred Fielding and Swiss chemist Marc Chavannes sealed two plastic shower curtains together, trapping pockets of air between them. They imagined the result as a modern textured wallpaper. The raised bubbles offered a suitably futuristic look for an era fascinated by new plastics and unconventional interior design.

Homeowners were not interested.

Fielding and Chavannes did not discard the material, however. They founded the Sealed Air Corporation and searched for another market. One possibility was greenhouse insulation, since the trapped air could slow the movement of heat. That idea also failed to produce the business they needed.

The breakthrough came when marketer Frederick Bowers learned that IBM was preparing to ship its new 1401 computer. These machines were expensive and delicate, and traditional packing materials could leave dust behind. Bowers demonstrated that the air filled plastic could cushion the equipment cleanly. IBM began using it for shipments, giving the unsuccessful wallpaper its first major customer.

The bubbles proved useful because each sealed pocket acts as a tiny cushion, spreading an impact across many cells rather than allowing it to reach the object directly. A pattern that people rejected on their living room walls became so effective at absorbing shocks that it changed how fragile objects travel.

Bubble Wrap found its place in the world only after everyone agreed that it did not belong on a wall.