This video is sponsored by Cambly.
Why do we like popping bubble warp so much? What is the
air composition inside bubble wrap? Why does bubble wrap always look
deflated on top? Are there different forms of bubble
wrap that might be more effective that others? Which side should you
use bubble wrap? How come there is bubble wrap that does not pop?
Is there a way to make bubble wrap a little more eco-friendly? Welcome to
the bubble wrap after-sales service.
First question.
Why do we love popping bubble wrap so much? Because I mean...
It’s really satisfying.
Probably very annoying for others, but it’s really satisfying.
So, I would confess that on this subject, the literature is pretty slim, I have
found 2 articles from the early 90s.
One that demonstrates that popping bubble wrap makes us feel calmer, less tired
and more energized.
This is the paper that is cited by all the news articles that
I could find on the subject.
But there is another research published 2 years later in the same journal, which finds that
in another context, it creates anxiety.
So, this research doesn't give us many answers, since we only have
2 contradictory findings.
However, if we broaden the field of study (seeing as bubble wrap is kind of a niche
field of study) and we look at the phenomenon of “fidgeting” instead.
Fidgeting translates to moving restlessly or using sensory objects.
For example you have fidget spinners, or even stuff like this made to press their
buttons, tapping on the table, or even flipping your pencil
with your fingers (some people can flip it backwards, I only know how to do it one way),
or anti-stress balls, clicking your pen… All those are examples of fidgeting.
I've never seen bubble wrap officially listed as a form of fidgeting but I
think it can be categorized as such.
And if this is indeed the case, then we have a little more of a lead as to its effects
when we pop bubble wrap.
It could have the effect of calming us down or on the contrary of giving us
energy depending on the context we're in.
It could also help us better manage stress.
Nothing very surprising so far.
But you have to realize that according to this article from 2020, there is no
consensus on the reasons why we would do that kind of thing.
We have a lot of hypotheses though, I'll give you that.
And I'm not going to list them all, I'll only mention one from the same article.
"Fidgeting conforms with a form of self-evidencing, and helps the agent
confirm its own existence in situations where evidence for
its self-model might be waning.”
Only that.
We're barely scratching the surface here because I want to answer a lot of other
questions in this video.
This is a subject that would merit a separate video.
Would you be interested? Psychology topics aren't what I usually do
so what do you think? Next question.
What is the air composition of the bubbles? That's an easier and less
philosophical question.
When making bubble wrap, two plastic sheets are
glued together.
One of them has bubbles but they are glued together.
And the air that is trapped inside is the one found in the manufacturing plant.
If you think it stinks, then it is the smell of the factory...
Are there other forms of bubble wrap? The original patent included different
bubble wrap shapes.
Hexagonal, cylindrical and hemispherical, and on the internet, you can find pretty
much any shape.
Having said that, it would seem that the most widespread shape today is the hemisphere,
according to a particularly in-depth study of what I found in my cupboards
and a poll of you on Instagram.
By the way, speaking of Instagram, don't hesitate to join us on insta.
I often talk about the videos I'm working on.
So if you are interested and you don’t mind being spoiled, you know where
to find me.
As to which of these designs would be the most effective, I don't know.
The patent seems to imply that there are differences in the type of shock absorption
but it doesn't go into enough detail... and in the same sentence they say
that the maximum resistance is the same.
Frankly, I would tend to think that if there is a difference, it is probably
negligible as long as we keep the same volume of trapped air and the same plastic thicknesses
Which way should you use bubble wrap? It is actually one-way: you must put the bubbles
in contact with the object to be protected.
The flat part of the bubble wrap is rigid, it almost won't deform at all.
In any case much less so than the side of air cushion will.
To benefit from the advantages of the cushion of air and its absorption, you have to put
this air cushion in contact with the object to protect.
Why does bubble wrap look shrivelled up?
I'm sure you've already noticed this: if you look at the bubbles,
they don't look full.
They are all wrinkly and shrivelled, they're not full.
This is a consequence of the manufacturing process.
Just like the plastic that's used to make the bubbles is hot when the bubbles
are created, the air that is trapped in the bubble is also hot and therefore dilated
(it takes up a lot of space).
When everything starts to cool down to room temperature, the air takes up less space, it contracts.
With a rough calculation, I gathered that, at room temperature there would be about
40% less air volume than when the bubble was created, just because of this
gas expansion / contraction.
That explains why the bubbles look so empty.
Besides, I think that if I were to put my bubbles back in the oven, the air would expand
and it should smooth out the bubbles.
So we can see, this is just before I'm putting it in the oven, it's very wrinkly,
the bubbles aren't full.
Let's see what happens.
So let's see - ah yeah! The bubbles are not at all... they are full (I'm
scared to really touch it).
They are not wrinkly at all.
Why does some bubble wrap not pop? I don't have an example on hand,
but you have probably seen this bubble wrap that doesn't pop.
It looks like this or this.
It has been around since 2015.
It was not an act of pure evil from the manufacturers to keep us
from popping bubbles, it was a pragmatic and economic choice.
Because in fact, when you transport bubble wrap from the bubble wrap factory
to another factory that would like to protect its objects with bubble wrap, you're mostly
transporting air.
And using trucks to carry air is economically, logistically and ecologically
not very very smart.
That's why the ibubble (that's what it's called) is now shipped
deflated and it is inflated on site at the time of use.
It is estimated that a deflated bubble wrap truck, that is to say with this technology of
bubble wrap, is equivalent to 47 trucks of pre-inflated bubble wrap.
I think it was worth doing this technological transition.
But to have an inflatable bubble wrap on site, the design had to be changed.
We can no longer inflate the bubbles one by one, so the solution was to inflate them
line by line.
That way, if we have a machine to fill the bubbles from one side, we can fill up
the width of that bubble wrap.
So for bubble bursting enthusiasts, that means that instead of popping,
the air in the bubble just moves into the next compartments of the same line.
It will never pop.
I'm sorry, that's how it is...
Could it be greener?
Many of you asked this question about bubble wrap and its ecological impact.
So yes, there is biodegradable bubble wrap, the one I found is green,
no surprise there.
I did not investigate the effectiveness of its biodegradability so I could not
tell you what it's worth.
But it does exist.
Other options mentioned a lot are to use alternatives.
Paper, cardboard, wedging chips, etc... but unfortunately we cannot
say what is THE absolute best solution from a ecological standpointpoint.
I'll refer you to my video on plastic wrapped cucumbers and the livestream follow-up.
It's counterintuitive, but plastic is not necessarily the worst solution, it
must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Sometimes the paper / cardboard will be better, and other times plastic will be better.
I know it's annoying we can't give a clear answer, but if it were
so simple, we would have already solved our climate change issue.
It is complicated.
And if we want a truly universal answer but that probably won't be satisfying:
don't use any packaging.
By consuming locally or reducing the number of your purchases.
But in a pandemic world where we place lots of online orders, I have a feeling that
we're not done needing packaging.
But really if the topic interests you, go see this video, I've put it in the
description because I really have learned a lot making it and I understand a little
bit better the complexity of the issue.
Why are we seeing more air cushions?
So, we're talking about bubble wrap, but personally I haven't received any in a long time.
Rather, these are the kinds of things that I receive in home delivery boxes.
They are air cushions.
And their role is a little different from that of bubble wrap.
The main role is to... fill the boxes.
Since boxes only exist in a few standard sizes, if the object to be sent
is smaller than the box, the empty space must be filled with these air cushions to
keep the object from moving around.
These are called void fillers.
Before concluding, I wanted to show you the bubble wrap paint I had
made in the previous video.
It should have been displayed there.
In the video you saw me hanging it, the nail is still in the wall.
BTW, if you haven't seen the video, we talk about how bubble wrap can be
effective in protecting our objects although we can pop it so easily with our fingers.
Go see it, if you like bubble wrap you'll like it.
Anyway... here's what happened.
I'm really disappointed, I thought I had succeeded in plugging the holes through which
I had injected the paint.
If I find a way to close the holes effectively, I will probably make it again.
But if you have any suggestions, let me know... FYI, I followed the protocol
of the artist who also makes these... at least, what I was able to deduce of his protocol.
I'll put a link about how he works in the description.
If you liked this video, I encourage you to... subscribe, because I would like
to reach 500K.
And to share the video of course — wait no, I've already chosen subscribing.
Fine, so subscribe, that's it.
I ask just one thing from you: subscribe.
There you go.
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