What was the original purpose of bubble wrap?

In 1957, the original inventors of bubble wrap were engineer Al Fielding and Swiss chemist Marc Chavannes intends to make a 3D wallpaper by sealing two shower curtains together in such a way that air bubbles are trapped between them. After the wallpaper idea failed, the men also tried (failed) to market bubble wrap as insulation for greenhouses.

Four years later, Frederick W. Bowers, a marketer for the company that made the product, had the idea of ​​using bubble wrap as the packaging material to protect IBM’s new Model 1401 computer, and it quickly caught on. Today, over $400 million worth of bubble wrap is sold annually.