Every once in a while my curiosity gets the better of me and I’m busy putting Google through its paces while I’m researching something.
Honestly, most of the time I’m looking something up that has relevance to a story or information I’ve received that feels somewhat incomplete.
Or worse – something so laden with technical language that it gives me flashbacks of trying to learn algebra or pre-calculus.
And let’s be real here, if I was any good at either of those math classes I probably wouldn’t be writing this column or working at a newspaper at all.
Something about mixing numbers and letters in formulas was never a thing that I could retain no matter how hard I tried.
But, I’m fortunate that I was able to grasp tightly to English, History and other artistic studies while getting a fairly decent grasp of science to carry me through college.
Still, I’m reminded that I don’t know as much as I’d like about the world we live in and apply that accordingly when it comes to writing about a new topic or breaking down some industry or legal jargon as best I can for our readers.
Still, my latest dive into the Internet for knowledge was brought on by mom’s latest drive for spring cleaning.
I’m sure you’ve seen advertisements for vacuum storage bags that help compress blankets, pillows and bulky seasonal clothing into their flattest forms while protecting them from bugs, moisture and other possible methods of erosion.
While I’m not sure how well they do against the kind of moisture we have in Matagorda County, I’m more than ready to test them with a variety of items before hurricane season hits.
But, while I was using the vacuum to suck the life – er, AIR – out of a small portion of my plushy collection, I also wondered exactly how long storage bags like these had been in existence.
I mean, I had a vague idea in mind, but while I was watching that bag get thinner and thinner, I really wanted to know the truth and to see if my hunch was even vaguely correct.
Naturally, that’s where Google came in clutch!
Though I did bypass the AI nonsense to get to a slew of more trustworthy websites for information, I was able to find that vacuum packaging roughly came about thanks to WWII.
Well, at least for food anyway!
Vacuum storage bags really hit the residential market in the early 2000s and have been making the rounds ever since.
To be fair, I spent a lot of time vacuum packing not just plush toys, but also my wintry seasonal weather clothes while my sister helped shrink mom’s assorted Christmas and holiday throw pillows.
Unfortunately, we ran out of those bags and have since ordered more from Amazon to finish up vacuum packing as much as possible.
After all, the goal is to save space in closets and managing to store more in a single plastic tote instead of three or more.
Sadly, my research rabbit hole also exposed me to several industrial types of vacuum bag machines and I’m in awe of the ones used to compress and seal whole mattresses and couch cushions.
I just don’t think there’s a way that I can convince mom that we need something that massive to tackle the linen closet!
