Al Fielding and Marc Chavannes were experimenting with sheets of plastic in their garage in Hawthorne, New Jersey. They wanted to puff air between the sheets, creating bubble-like pillows to make a pretty covering for wallpaper. But no one seemed interested in their idea, so they decided to use it as insulation in greenhouses to keep the plants warm. But that idea wasn’t successful either. 

Finally, in 1957 the two men realized that their invention could be used to protect breakable objects when they were shipped through the mail. These bubble-like pillows would absorb the bumps and bounces as the package went from truck to train to plane, and Great-grandma’s teapot could be delivered to Cousin Emily in one piece. Bubble Wrap® was born!