Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

In case you missed it, Monday was the 8th annual Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, as declared by the  product's maker, Sealed Air Corporation.  We've all used this fabulous stuff to protect other products when packing and shipping.  And of course we've all spent time popping the individual bubbles in a sheet of Bubble Wrap.  No explanation necessary.  From the press release:

Bubble Wrap brand has been a household name in America for nearly 50 years. Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding, the two engineers who invented Bubble Wrap in a garage in Hawthorne, New Jersey, founded Sealed Air in 1960. Bubble Wrap was originally intended to be a type of textured wallpaper. However, the inventors quickly realized that the product was in fact a superior cushioning material. Today, Bubble Wrap brand cushioning is manufactured all over the world.  Sealed Air has operations in 51 countries and offers a wide range of food and protective packaging solutions generating global sales in excess of $4 billion a year.

The main focus of festivities was the announcement of the Grand Prize winner of Sealed Air's second annual Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors, co-sponsored by the National Museum of Education.  Competition basics:  students in grades 5 through 8 demonstrated creativity and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of Bubble Wrap brand cushioning.   

Three finalists won a three-day trip to New York City.   The Grand Prize winner received a $10,000 savings bond.  Second and third place winners received $5000 and $3000 respectively in savings bonds.   The teacher/mentor of each finalist received a $500 gift card.

13 year old Hannah Haas of Charlotte, North Carolina takes Grand Prize honors for her 'Sensory Wallpaper' entry, designed to engage and stimulate children with autism through the combination of a textured bubble surface containing large and small bubbles, and a calming, blue wallpaper background.  13 year old Nicolette Mann of Christiansburg, VA takes second with her "Transformable Bubble Wrap Kite", and 11 year old Max Wallack of Natick, MA is the third place winner with his "Carpal Cushion" invention.  Check out their complete stories and pics at BubbleWrap.com's winners page.    

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[WesyNorse]

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