Customers all over the world were disappointed to learn recently that the newest bubble wrap, being shipped very soon, will not pop at all. For fun-loving adults and kids alike, popping bubble wrap bubbles has been an enjoyable pastime for decades.

Making prom dresses out of bubble wrap, creating large sculptures using the pop-able packing material, and giving it to small children as a diversion has become a national habit bordering on an obsession.

From wholesale bubble envelopes to large rolls of the plastic material, people pop bubble wrap to hear the satisfying popping noise that it — used to — make when squeezed. Recently, a renowned university made history for the most people popping bubble wrap at once, but those days are soon to be a thing of the past.

Bubble wrap was originally used to crate computer equipment back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but now has found use in almost every industry that has a shipping component. Wholesale bubble envelopes in smaller sizes are used to ship CDs and other breakable objects: what did we ever do without it?

The company that produces bubble wrap cited shipping costs and the need to have a product that could more efficiently conform to non-standard shipping materials, but also told customers that some bubble wrap would still pop, delighting fans across the country who have grown accustomed to popping bubble wrap for stress relief.

Whether shipping lightweight yet easily damaged products like bulk 3 ring binders or even materials that can easily rip, like a spiral bound graph paper notebook, wholesale bubble mailers are used because their small bubbles provide resilient protection for important goods that must be shipped to consumers or stores.

There are some reports, perhaps intended humorously, of customers hoarding bubble wrap due to the fact that it is about to become much more difficult to obtain in its original, pop-able form. While bubble wrap prom dress production may slow down for a while, the manufacturers of bubble wrap are secure that their product holds a permanent place in American “pop” culture.