The act of blowing soapy bubbles has essentially remained the same since it was discovered over 400 years ago. Sure, there have been inventions that made way for huge bubbles via plastic hoops and whatnot, but the actual bubble has not changed…until now.
Inventor Tim Kehoe spent $3-million and 15 years of his life in order to create a solid-color bubble that won’t stain when it pops.
Eventually Kehoe and his colleagues found the three different classes of dyes that produce intense, vibrant and uniform colors. Originally, it took three days to produce what would eventually become Zubbles, but now it takes about 30 minutes.
Once a bubble pops, the dye fades in 15 minutes on virtually every material imaginable: concrete, leather, nylon, cotton and paint. Even easily stained material like silk remain unstained 15 minutes after a Zubble touches them.
Right now, consumers can only buy blue and pink bubbles, although Kehoe says that he can create bubbles of any color.
Kehoe won’t say which dyes he specifically uses for the colored bubbles, but in a 2005 patent application Kehoe listed chemicals such as alkyl metal sulfate and polyether.
