The interesting history of Bubble Wrap

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The interesting history of Bubble Wrap

Warm-up

Do you know what Bubble Wrap is?

Vocabulary Match

relieve •• sticking
traditional •• keeping warm
convince •• use
adopt •• usual
sealing •• persuade
insulation •• reduce

Vocabulary Answers

relievereduce
traditionalusual
convincepersuade
adoptuse
sealingsticking
insulationkeeping warm

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

Bubble Wrap is a famous packaging material with an interesting history. In 1957, two engineers, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, tried to make a new type of wallpaper by ________ two shower curtains together. This created bubbles of air between the curtains. The wallpaper idea did not work, and neither did their next idea to use it for greenhouse ________.

In 1960, they found that Bubble Wrap was great for packaging. IBM was one of the first major companies to ________ Bubble Wrap. They used it for protecting computers during shipping. It was much better than ________ packaging materials like newspaper and sawdust.

Fielding and Chavannes started a company called Sealed Air Corporation to sell Bubble Wrap. At first, it was hard to ________ businesses, but soon it became very popular. People even use Bubble Wrap to ________ stress by popping it.

Bubble Wrap is a famous packaging material with an interesting history. In 1957, two engineers, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, tried to make a new type of wallpaper by sealing two shower curtains together. This created bubbles of air between the curtains. The wallpaper idea did not work, and neither did their next idea to use it for greenhouse insulation.

In 1960, they found that Bubble Wrap was great for packaging. IBM was one of the first major companies to adopt Bubble Wrap. They used it for protecting computers during shipping. It was much better than traditional packaging materials like newspaper and sawdust.

Fielding and Chavannes started a company called Sealed Air Corporation to sell Bubble Wrap. At first, it was hard to convince businesses, but soon it became very popular. People even use Bubble Wrap to relieve stress by popping it.

Quiz

  1. What did Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes try to make in 1957?
  2. What was their second idea for Bubble Wrap?
  3. What did IBM use Bubble Wrap for?
  4. What do people use Bubble Wrap for besides packaging?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. They tried to make a new type of wallpaper.
  2. Their next idea to use it for greenhouse insulation.
  3. IBM used Bubble Wrap for protecting computers.
  4. People use it to relieve stress by popping it.

True or False

  1. In 1957, two decorators tried to make a new type of wallpaper. T F
  2. Using Bubble Wrap for greenhouse insulation didn't work. T F
  3. People relieve stress by wrapping themselves in Bubble Wrap. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. False

Conversation

A:Alfred, our wallpaper idea didn't work.
B:I know, Marc. What should we try next?
A:How about using it for greenhouse insulation?
B:I tried. That didn't work either. We need a new plan.
A:Let's try using it for packaging.
B:Great idea! Let's see if IBM likes it.

Discussion

  1. Do you like to pop Bubble Wrap? Why or why not?
  2. What other uses can you think of for Bubble Wrap?
  3. What do you have in the kitchen that could relieve stress?
  4. If you were a genius engineer, what would you invent?

Further Reading

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

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