There can be no simpler pleasure in life than popping your way through a roll of bubble wrap.
In a recent survey of all the little things that make Brits happy, popping bubble wrap came in at no. 32.
So, when the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the creators of the world’s favourite packaging – Sealed Air Corp – were launching a new ‘non-popping’ version, everyone lost their minds.
Could this be the end of bubble wrap as we know it?
The new version is called iBubble and will be shipped flat, instead of in pre-inflated rolls. Businesses will have to buy a £3,500 pump to inflate the wrap on arrival.
iBubble is also laid out in columns of connected air pockets, so when you press on it, the air just gets pushed into neighbouring bubbles, rather than popping.
The bubble backlash was swift and hysterical.