The 11-Year Quest to Create Disappearing Colored Bubbles

Anatomy of a Bubble

Bubbles, the plain kind, have been around for as long as there have been water and surfactants, a material found mainly in soaps that interacts with water to reduce surface tension. This allows the fluid to spread across a bubble wand without breaking. Introduce air, and the thin film pushes outward until it eventually detaches, forming a bubble. People have been onto this for at least 400 years; 17th-century Flemish paintings show children blowing bubbles with clay pipes.

In the world of toys, where the average shelf life of a product is less than 18 months, bubbles are a juggernaut.
A Chicago company called Chemtoy began selling bubble solution in the 1940s, and the fad never wore off. According to one industry estimate, retailers sell around 200 million bottles annually-perhaps more than any other toy.

Despite their enduring appeal, bubbles haven't been improved much in 60 years, the only significant exception being in 2002, when SpinMaster in Toronto introduced Catch-A-Bubble, clear bubbles that lasted as long as five minutes. Time magazine called it one of the year's top inventions, and seven million bottles sold the first year.

The market for lasting bubbles is the same as the market for clear bubbles: elementary-school kids. If an inventor could somehow add color, though, suddenly adults might have reason to start blowing again. Picture bubbles in NFL team colors, or bubbles that match charity ribbons. The potential market would grow to include every man, woman and child. So why don't they exist?