Soap Bubble Wiki
Philip Noble Net 1

People can't resist wanting to pop bubbles

Many people seem to have an irresistible impulse to pop bubbles when they are near. If you are bubbling in a public place, you are likely to run into situations where people (especially, but not only, kids) are popping every bubble they can.

This situation can be very irritating, but there are quite a few techniques that you can employ to improve the situation. This article summarizes many helpful suggestions posted on SBF, the Soap Bubble Fanciers Yahoo Group (RIP), over the years. Each of the techniques listed in this article is one whose efficacy I have witnessed. Not every technique will work in every situation. You may have to try a few of them before you find the one that works for any particular situation.

Perhaps, I have been fortunate, but I have never had to abandon a session due to "poppers." Although, I have sometimes needed to try a few different things before the situation improved.

No matter what you do, you need to accept (even better if you can accept and embrace) that people really are compelled to pop the bubbles. This compulsion is, in fact, a positive response to what you are doing and also instinctual to a certain extent. I have seen adults who are loving the bubbles, and who really respect them, reach out to pop a giant bubble that is within reach. I've then seen the crestfallen look that appears on their face after they realize that they had reached out and popped a bubble.

For any of the techniques to work, you need to respect the crowd's impulse. If you are frustrated and irritated at them, you may not succeed in taming their impulse.

I'll fill in with specifics as time permits. In the meantime, check out these posts on SBF (and their related posts--there are quite a few). If you have spotted other good articles on SBF or have a suggestion, please add your tip or reference in the comments and I will incorporate them into this article:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/13179

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/13181

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/13180

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/13486

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/13270

See this thread also: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/14513