From interestingfacts.com -
“The pioneering duo hoped their creation — which trapped air between two shower curtains run through a heat-sealing machine — would serve as a textured wallpaper marketed to a younger generation with ‘modern taste’. The initial idea was a flop, however, and Fielding and Chavannes soon pivoted to promoting Bubble Wrap, then called Air Cap, as a greenhouse insulator (another idea whose bubble would quickly burst).
“It took another invention of the time — IBM’s 1401 model computer — to seal Bubble Wrap’s fate as a packing material. Under the company name Sealed Air, Fielding and Chavannes approached IBM about using the air-filled plastic in shipping containers, replacing traditional box-fillers like newspaper, straw, and horsehair. After passing the test of transporting delicate electronics, Sealed Air became a shipping industry standard....”