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Explained: why we think bubble wrap is so great

There’s some science in them there hills.

116/366 anokarina anokarina

ONE OF THE most satisfying little things in life is popping some bubble wrap - and it’s universally acknowledged around the world as such.

But why is it so addictive? Why do we always need to have just one more pop? Well, some actual scientific research has gone in to finding out why we love it so much.

As the Science of Us reports, US psychology professor Kathleen M. Dillon studied the effects on a sample audience and found:

…those who got to pop two sheets of Bubble Wrap felt at once calmer and more awake after they were done than before they’d started; they also reported higher levels of calmness and alertness than a group that was not granted popping privileges.

So, it’s scientifically more relaxing to pop bubble wrap, fair enough. But it goes even further than that, as the study went on to explain.

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In actual fact, the satisfaction of popping bubble wrap could be linked to our evolutionary instincts:

it has to do with a very natural, human response to stress: freezing in your tracks. In real danger, this might be helpful, because it gives you a moment to decide what to action to take — better to fight back or flee? A similar thing might happen when people are nervous or stressed, and so it could be that little nervous motions like finger tapping or foot jiggling — or Bubble Wrap popping! — are ways of releasing that muscle tension, which helps reduce the feeling of stress.

So now.

When it was reported last week that the makers of bubble wrap were inventing a version that wouldn’t pop – the whole bubble popping world went into crisis.

bubblewrap

So now you know why it’s addictive – you can cherish it to its fullest extent (while you still can).

#savethebubblewrap

Written by David Elkin and originally published on DailyEdge.ie

DE Syndication

Read: Here’s why you stick one leg out of the covers when you’re sleeping

Read: People are getting sunburned on purpose for ‘sunburn tattoos’

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7 Comments
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    Mute Darach Malone
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    Jul 9th 2015, 9:48 PM

    last week they were talking about this on today FM. a girl text in the show to say that she tapes bubble wrap to her steering wheel for her journey to and from work. then she pops the bubbles while sitting in traffic :-)

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    Mute little jim
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    Jul 9th 2015, 7:44 PM

    So it’s like ejaculation, you dirty feckers..

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    Mute John Staunton
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    Jul 9th 2015, 9:01 PM

    I was always disappointed as a kid when we got something in the post and they used Styrofoam instead of bubble wrap. bubble wrap and cardboard boxes, great fun.

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    Mute yeboyyah
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    Jul 9th 2015, 8:07 PM

    Snap and crackle i suspect!!! -Niamhs

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    Mute Niamhs
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    Jul 9th 2015, 7:53 PM

    What do you mean new bubble wrap won’t pop? What will it do instead?

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    Mute Hope Down
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    Jul 10th 2015, 12:01 AM

    When you try to pop a bubble it will transfer the air into the adjacent bubble!

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    Mute A B
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    Jul 10th 2015, 8:16 AM

    Explode

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