Cartoon courtesy of Confessions of a Writer  

I love you bubble wrap!

50 years ago today bubble wrap burst onto the pop culture scene. A wallpaper wannabee, bubble wrap went on to be so much more than mere surface decoration. From packing material to artistic muse and enveloping such things as fashion, fun and therapeutic activities in between, bubble wrap went on to become an iconic product. There are over 250 Facebook pages devoted to bubble wrap.

But the best thing about bubble wrap, of course, is popping it!

Being destructive was never so much fun. It's like being allowed to jump on the bed, run down the stairs, yell in the house and track mud on the floor — all rolled up in the pleasure-packed finger fun of bursting bubbles!

USA Today reports:

Today marks an essential day in pop-culture history: Bubble Wrap's 50th birthday.

Where would we be without these protective, oddly addictive plastic orbs of sealed air? (Actually, we might be in a healthier environment with more recyclable packaging materials, but we'll overlook this fact for the moment.)

The term "Bubble Wrap" was coined in 1960 by engineers Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding who came up with the stuff in Hawthorne, N.J., "with the intent of creating a trendy new textured wallpaper."

Today has been dubbed Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, so pop a few in their honor. And if you'd like to be green about it, just use some virtual Bubble Wrap.

Links of interest:

Free bubble wrap iPhone app
Compulsion, obsession, possession
Heart-shaped bubble wrap