PuchiPuchi, Probably the World's Most Addictive Gadget

Popping bubble wrap is one of the most addictive activities ever. There's not a person in this world who hasn't gone at least once through a bubble wrap popping frenzy after receiving a certain electronic product (where this type of wrapping material is generally used). This is probably the reason why the Japanese company Bandai decided to help all the bubble wrap maniacs out there and released the PuchiPuchi, a small device that replicates very accurately the feeling obtained when popping actual bubble wrap.

According to a post by Michael Keferl on the Kilian-Nakamura blog (a part of the C-Scout trend research agency), the PuchiPuchi device is actually manufactured in collaboration with the Puchipuchi company, one of the most important Japanese bubble wrap manufacturers. As for its very peculiar name, Keferl tells us that, in Japanese, the word "puchipuchi" actually describes the sound of a little pop, while also being the name for bubble wrap.

The device is quite petite (44 mm x 41 mm x18 mm, at a weight of around 25 grams), can be carried around on a keychain and sports 4 buttons that mimic the look of bubble-wrap. The 8 buttons are filled with air, which is eliminated when the user presses the button, thus generating the very addictive feeling of popping the bubble. Moreover, in order to make this experience complete, the device also has a speaker that replicates the exact sound heard during the actual bubble wrap popping activity.

The PuchiPuchi comes in white, blue, pink and orange as well as black, and also offers something that some users might find to be quite attractive, namely a special sound ("door chime", "barking dog", "fart", and "sexy voice") generated at each 100 pops. Moreover, one device in 1000 is a "puchi lucky", which means that it has a heart-shaped bubble.

The PuchiPuchi will hit the shelves in late September, at an estimated price of 819 Yen (around 6.6 US dollars), which is a very small price to pay for a device that will satisfy the users' hidden addiction for popping bubbles.

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