HAPPY BIRTHDAY – AT 5:41 P.M. ET:  Thought you'd like to know, from AP:

SADDLE BROOK, N.J. — People have walked to the altar dressed in it, protected their garden plants with it, even put it on display at highbrow art museums.

Mostly, they like the sound it makes when they pop it, which largely explains the appeal of Bubble Wrap, the stress reducer disguised as package cushioning that maintains an inexplicable hold on pop culture.

The product once envisioned as a new type of wallpaper turns 50 this month.

COMMENT:  I don't know what kind of a gift you give to Bubble Wrap.  Maybe something it could wrap and protect.

In my house we're taking a yard of the stuff and popping each bubble.  It's a ritual.

January 24, 2010