Bubble Wrap Diagnostics

Know your bubble wrap

1. Snappers - these are the good ones - fairly easy to pop, and loud. (fig. 1)
2. Hardcores - these seem to flatten yet don't pop without Herculean effort.
3. Duds - these just flatten with a disappointing  and unfulfilling 'fffssssss' sound.
4. Buddy Bubbles - these reinflate a neighboring 'buddy' bubble when squeezed. See below for a small video demonstration.
5. ABP - Already Been Popped. These come in 2 categories:
   • flat, wilted and obvious ones (fig. 2)
   • deceptively rounded and full-looking ones
6. Edges / Partials - these are the bubbles at the edges which are 1-99% intact, having been cut when the sheet was cut.
7. The space between the bubbles
   
        

Here is a demonstration of *Buddy Bubbles:*

Popping Method and Style

• Single-pop #1 – using thumb and index finger to squeeze individual bubbles.
• Single-pop #2 – using thumb and index finger and a “rolling” motion to squeeze the bubble to the side.
• Single-pop #3 – using any finger or object to smash a bubble against a surface such as a table.
• Multi-pop #1 – using less precision and popping many bubbles at once with fingers.
• Multi-pop #2 – crushing handfuls of bubbles in the fist.
• Multi-pop #3 – rolling and then “wringing” a sheet of Bubble Wrap.
• Multi-pop #4 – smashing (with fist or other object) many bubbles against a surface
• Foot-Method – walking on, trampling, or stomping on the bubbles.
• Creative – any novel means of popping the bubbles, such as rolling in somersaults over them.

Suggestions from our readers

• We enlivened our friends’ parties with bubble wrap on the kitchen floor and a pogo stick. You can only pop the bubbles for as long as you stay on the pogo stick.
  - the Plant family, London, UK

• How could you leave out what I think is the most gratifying way to pop bubble wrap? You put the bubble wrap on a hard surface and use your ELBOW to make concentric circles. The result is akin to machine-gun fire. Please add this method to your list, and try it soon. You’ll see what I mean.
  - Dan in Chattanooga, Tennessee

• Just wanted to tell you that there is another way to pop bubble-wrap. A common way in some Scandinavian countries seem to be to lay the bubble-wrap down on the floor and they brutally run over with your chair. An excellent way to pop-a-lot!
  - Henrik Öquist

• You did not mention my favorite cool and satisfying bubble popping technique: Drop your jaw down low, purse your lips as to form the letter “o.” Now, hold the bubble right at the entrance of your mouth to pop, and create (and feel) a cool resonating sound.
  - Joe Szewczak, Ph.D.

• Personally, I like to roll up a bit of Bubble Wrap and put it behind car tires. When they back out of their space all the bubbles pop at once and make a pretty impressive noise, especially in large garages!
  - Richard

• There’s another method that your site has failed to mention. The French Pop. It’s not what you’re thinking… (sicko) A.K.A. the Italian Pop, this method begins with placing the bubble wrap on the floor, rugs don’t work. You then proceed to remove your shoes and socks and stomp on the bubbles just like the French and Italians do when smashing grapes to make wine! You’ve gotta love this one!
  - Derek Richardson

• Bubble Wrap Gunfight: Place two pieces of “large bubble” bubble-wrap on the floor. Two gunfighters can then draw their finger guns while they dig their heels into the wrap.
  - the Hackenberg family

• If you want to FREAK people out, get a square of bubble wrap that can be rolled up and concealed in your hand. (The BIG bubbles work best) Pretend to pop your neck while crushing the bubbles. It works GREAT! Also works for backs, knees, etc. but the neck gets the biggest reactions.
  - Mike, Louisville, KY

• I recently found a new way of popping bubble wrap, as a derrivetive of Joe Szewczak’s hollow-mouth method… it works best with small bubbles, as you get more bubbles per square inch of wrap. simply roll up a snall sheet, and pop the lot in your mouth… then just chew it on your molars (incisors don’t work…. they seem to miss the bubbles 90% of the time). Using this method, you get a vast, although fairly uncontrollable, variety of sounds, including Joe Szewczak’s resonating sound, aswell as sharp sounds that seem to pop into air pockets between teeth and cheeks. Important things to consdier: first of all, make sure your Bubble Wrap is clean and germ-free, for your health. Secondly, it’s advisable to get a seperate sheet for each person participating, as lots of nasty drool will inevitibly be delivered all over a used sheet.
  - Mo Cassidy, Dublin Ireland

• My personal favorite way of popping bubble wrap is to place a sheet under the rug at my front door, and wait until my dad comes home from work and steps on the rug, making a nice, satisfying noise and always scaring him half to death. =)
  - Katy, Florida

• Makes a great burglar alarm,just tape some to the floor inside a darkened room and wait for the fun to begin !!!!
  - John, Virginia Beach , VA

• Since I am disabled and can’t realy pop a lot of bubbles at once… I just put a huge sheet of that heavenly stuff (bubble wrap, yea?) and start driving my wheel chair in circles on it!!! :) I read someone saying his sounded like a machine gun? well mine sounds even better :) ahhh the sweet sound of bubble wrap fire crackling :) - Eilon & his wheelchair from Israel (both of us) :)

• Being a scuba diver, I felt obligated to tell you about the scuba-style way to pop bubble wrap—underwater of course. It may be a little difficult to regulate your buoyancy at first carrying a big sheet of bubble paper, but it is well worth the effort when you get to see each bubble you pop escape in a mad free ascent to the surface!
  - Graham Shea, California

• In the old days when there was an electric typewriter in the office, I took a sheet of the small bubble wrap and put it through, as you would a sheet of paper. I hit the advance button to continue rolling the sheet. Admittedly, it jammed after awhile and had to be coaxed out, but it was a wonderful waste of time!
  - M, Renton, WA

Bubble Wrap Etiquette

• Don’t pop someone else’s bubble wrap without permission. This could lead to Bad Things Happening to your person..
• Don’t pop bubble wrap in quiet public places (like libraries) unless you want it confiscated.
• Don’t pop bubble wrap in a store if you haven’t paid for it. They get cranky when their rolls of bubble wrap are all limp.
• It is always good form to offer to share your bubble wrap.
• Giving your bubble wrap to children is good for Karma points.
• Chicks dig bubble wrap. Don’t go on a date without it.

We've been noticed...

Here are a few of the places that this site has been mentioned…

Glamour Magazine, (March 2004) listed us as a “good way to relieve stress” on page 131.

Good Morning, America discussed our site in February of 2006.

Internet Tonight on the now-defunct cable channel ZDTV chose us as its “Stupid Net Trick” of the day.

USA Today rated us a “Hot Site” on August 12, 1998, saying “Work off that cyber-tension with some virtual bubble wrap. Not only is there a suitable sound effect, but you don’t have to worry about running out of bubbles — just start over.”

CNN Headline News profiled this site on March 21, 1999.

Metro.co.uk mentioned us in their article of March 20, 2007: “Exactly how you attack those bubbles has always been the subject of debate, says virtual-bubblewrap.com, where you can pop bubbles online. Do you go for the classic, single pop or the multi-pop by crushing handfuls in a fist? Or how about wrapping yourself in the stuff and rolling over and over? “

The Associated Press published the following on March 18, 2007, in an article titled “Online diversions to prevent real work:” _“NEW YORK —
My adventures in goofing off began with Virtual Bubble Wrap, at www.virtual-bubblewrap.com. It’s just like popping the bubbles on the wrap used for packaging, just on your computer. Use your mouse to pop all 196 bubbles. It’s you against the timer. Unfortunately, four attempts failed to land me in the top 50. My hands are simply too slow. So I opted to pop bubbles in patterns instead — namely, a smiley face. Fifteen minutes wasted. Woo-hoo! “_

also, on October 9, 1999, the Betty comic strip mentioned Virtual Bubble Wrap:
(click it for full size)

For longer bits, see these articles:

New York Times News Service
The Delphos Herald
The New York Times
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Reuters (article based on phone interview)
Entertainment Weekly
Access Magazine (interview with Pamela Anderson)

Pop Some Bubble Wrap!

Check out our new Flickr Photostream! You can upload your Bubble-Wrap-related pics from the link in the right column!