If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. That way, you can have new posts delivered right to you. Or click here to subscribe to The Men's Gift Guide by Email Thanks for visiting!

This is a hard thing for a grown man to admit but. . . I love bubble wrap. Yeah, I know it’s a questionable vice. What can I say, it relaxes me. I love the sound of exploding, manufactured air. What?! I like to pop it. Popping bubble wrap is just one of those things I like to do, okay?! In private, thanks. Like taking pleasure in a particularly good burp. There, I said it.

So, I went to the 2008 International CES gadget conference in Las Vegas last month, you won’t believe what I found. YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT. God, I love Japanese ingenuity. Well. . . I think all those Amigurumi, crocheted ducks and cakes and stuff that my wife likes are just ridiculous but, I have to say they DO think of just about everything. That said, I found the ultimate thing. The most amazing thing! I found a cute little product called the Puchi Puchi. Yes, you heard me– the Puchi Puchi (which is the Japanese word for the sound bubble wrap makes when you pop it, if you didn’t already know)! It’s basically eight bubbles in a square piece of plastic, small enough to fit on your key ring, that when you squeeze it with your thumbs . . . it POPS . . . and makes the sound of bubble wrap! I’m serious– there’s a tiny speaker in there and this little thing sounds just like authentic bubble wrap! And, can you believe it almost feels exactly like popping real bubble wrap? How many times can I say bubble wrap in one post– that’s how excited I am– I might need to take a nap. Okay, okay, calm down. I know you’re excited about this too, folks. Don’t deny it. Get the black one– it’s respectable, and doesn’t look like a toy. Pop on the way to the copier, pop on the way back to your desk. Pop after a particularly tedious staff meeting– no one will notice– it’s just Kathy, mailing something or other. Think about how great it will be to pop while you’re stuck in traffic! Oh man!