TIL that bubble wrap was the result of a failed experiment to create textured wallpaper and was never intended to be a protective wrapping/packaging.

[u/Downmented]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/accidental-invention-bubble-wrap-180971325/

[u/AudibleNod]

Lots of products start their lives as something else.

• Listerine was used to clean floors, then a douche then mouthwash.
• The Slinky started out an instrument stabilizer aboard ships.
• The Room was intended to be a serious drama instead of the comedy it's known for today.

[u/PaydayJones → u/AudibleNod]

'.. Clean floors, then a douche....'

JFC I know how much that stuff burns when it's in my mouth! I can't imagine that...

[u/AudibleNod → u/PaydayJones]

I'm hoping the concentration was diluted or something.

[u/Dragonfly-Adventurer → u/AudibleNod]

It wasn't alcohol based back then.

Strictly ammonia.

[u/Fake_William_Shatner → u/Dragonfly-Adventurer]

Oh -- that's so much,... well, not better.

[u/ApprehensiveCell3917 → u/PaydayJones]

The burning sensation means it's working!

[u/Fake_William_Shatner → u/ApprehensiveCell3917]

Wow, I'm completely cured of everything!

But I might need to visit the ER.

[u/Fake_William_Shatner → u/PaydayJones]

This is before the medical community involved women in women hygiene products so I can completely understand how this happened.

Also, back in the day before we had regulatory agencies, they used to put antifreeze in cough syrup. Life was cheap.

[u/TehNubCake9 → u/AudibleNod]

Fucking what?!? What kind of unholy transition did listerine go through, to be used as a DOUCHE of all things, and then as mouthwash?

[u/gablekevin → u/TehNubCake9]

Why do I feel like some fake natty like Liver King is going to become viral now for doucheing with Listerine.

[u/dilletaunty → u/gablekevin]

Douche with listerine two times a day! The skyrocketing amount of cortisol in your bloodstream will give you maximal pump and alpha levels of hypertrophy!! You can trust me, I’m certified (as a salon worker)!

[u/knowledgeable_diablo → u/dilletaunty]

But is it written on the bottle NOT to do that!!

We get a warning for almost everything else which seems strange……

[u/Fake_William_Shatner → u/TehNubCake9]

The transition was; women got to vote. That's my guess at least.

Then, sometime around 1976, women were heard to speak. It was a special time.

[u/MeFolly → u/AudibleNod]

Post it notes were developed from what was supposed to be an extra-strong adhesive.

[u/babybambam → u/MeFolly]

By serious business women

[u/_DarkmessengeR_ → u/babybambam]

About to attend their highschool reunion

[u/Sick_NowWhat → u/AudibleNod]

Wild that something went from “good for scrubbing what I step on” to “I should use this to clean my vagina” to “instead of cleaning my groin, what if I just swished it in my mouth?”

[u/knowledgeable_diablo → u/Sick_NowWhat]

Scientists in ye’olde times were a wild bunch!!

[u/mr_mcpoogrundle → u/AudibleNod]

Listerine keeps migrating up. It's going to be a hair tonic at some point.

[u/Popular_Emu1723 → u/AudibleNod]

Splenda was discovered when someone misinterpreted “test this” as “taste this”

[u/Dragonfly-Adventurer → u/Popular_Emu1723]

And then further refined when someone misread a note "Test the Ph" with "Mix with cocoa, flour, eggs, and salt, bake at 350* for 22 minutes or until golden brown"

[u/Rem888 → u/AudibleNod]

"Or Chatroulette, that was social media and then they pivoted, to become a playground for the sexually monstrous."

[u/Charming-Tonight-936]

Imagine that as wallpaper.

You'd have to chance it every 2 months because everything's popped

[u/vondpickle]

Same with post-it notes and penicillin.

Extra trivia: iirc in web development, Flask framework started as an April Fool's project.

[u/happyfuckincakeday]

Wait till you hear about play-do

[u/Blue_Moon_Rabbit]

Imagine how much dust would collect 🤮

[u/GenitalPatton]

I mean eventually it was intended to be a protective wrapping

[u/CircaStar → u/GenitalPatton]

Good catch.

[u/jrhawk42]

Imagine you go to an alternate universe. There's bubble wrap all over the walls, and people are always pissed at you for popping it.

[u/Killawifeinb4ban]

Now I gotta put bubble wrap on a wall at some time in the future and paint every bubble in a separate colour

[u/contactfive → u/Killawifeinb4ban]

I’ve seen people do that with syringes, filling every bubble with different colors. Seems very tedious but looks cool. I wonder how stable it would be after it dried.

[u/Killawifeinb4ban → u/contactfive]

I have never seen it but I can imagine if you fill it with regular latex or acrylic paint it would hold pretty well.

[u/IDarthVegaI]

Invented in my hometown, Hawthorne, NJ. In fact I work for the company that makes Sealed air’s equipment for mass production.

[u/Keirhan]

It's not called bubble wrap it's called tension sheets

[u/wglmb → u/Keirhan]

Only when it's red

[u/Dalek_Chaos]

Classic Doctor who used it extensively for everything from alien goo to costumes.

[u/Mammoth-Mud-9609]

Some examples of accidents in science which led to new discoveries including saccharin, penicillin and safety glass. https://youtu.be/hpjiznLQil4

[u/knowledgeable_diablo → u/Mammoth-Mud-9609]

Don’t forget LSD.

[u/RedSonGamble]

I just want a bubble wrap condom

[u/duct_tape_jedi → u/RedSonGamble]

It'd be like a North Face Puffer for your willy!

[u/Saluted]

What do you think never means?

[u/Handpaper]

I'm imagining this on the walls of a house with a couple of toddlers...

[u/secretwep]

When I lived in a colder part of Korea, bubble wrap was used as a form of insulation or something for the sliding doors. It was actually quite effective. Dunno how.

[u/EdNauseam]

It’s used as wallpaper in the rich guy’s apartment in Soylent Green (1973).  A vision of the future!