【精英翻譯】的部落格

The Proud History of Bubble Wrap

嗶嗶啵啵樂無窮！

精英翻譯社轉自https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0062/352244/web/

From packaging to popping, bubble wrap does it all.

從包裝材料到拿來捏爆，泡泡紙一手包辦。

Bubble wrap is a packing material made from sheets of plastic that are filled with air bubbles. The air bubbles protect fragile items during shipping, making bubble wrap and similar products popular for transporting everything from dishes to electronics. But it had a very unusual start.

泡泡紙是一種由充滿氣泡的塑膠紙所做成的包裝材料。這些氣泡可以在運輸途中保護易碎物品，使得泡泡紙和類似產品大受歡迎，舉凡是用來運送盤子到電子產品等等都是。但泡泡紙有個很不尋常的由來。

Bubble wrap was invented in 1957 by two engineers who first tried to sell it as a stylish variety of wallpaper. After that didn’t work out, they tried to market their invention as insulation for homes and greenhouses. This also failed.

泡泡紙是於 1957 年由兩個工程師所發明，他們一開始打算把它當作一種新潮壁紙來販售。這樣的做法失敗後，他們試圖將其發明物行銷成居家及溫室專用的絕緣材料。但這也沒能成功。

The invention only took off thanks to computer giant IBM. When IBM started shipping computers—which were very expensive and very fragile—they needed something to protect the equipment. Bubble wrap was a much better alternative to anything else on the market, so IBM started packing its computers in the material. More companies soon followed suit, and bubble wrap became the packing material of choice for decades.

多虧了電腦巨擘 IBM，泡泡紙這項發明才一飛衝天。IBM 開始運送電腦時，由於電腦既昂貴又很容易損壞，因此他們需要能保護電腦設備的東西。比起市面上任何其他產品，泡泡紙都是更好的替代選項，所以 IBM 開始用泡泡紙來包裝他們的電腦。越來越多公司很快也紛紛跟進，泡泡紙便成為數十年來眾人首選的包裝材料。