Christmas lights that bubble worked like magic

In a secular sense, bubble lights represent the “true magic of Christmas.” Jackie Hope, a contributor to The Dickinson (S.D.) Press, explained: 

“Know what’s best about Christmas? Well, besides it’s being Jesus’ birthday and all. Bubble lights.”

 

Manufacturers said they attempted to create a Christmas light that was “shaped like a candle with an art deco style base.” Hope laughingly asserted that the bubble lights looked more “like upside-down turkey basters.” 

What was so cool is: “You plug them in, they light up; the juice inside them gets hot and then they start to bubble like crazy. Mini versions of lava lamps. Bubble lights complete me. Or, at least, they complete my Christmas,” Hope said.

 

Invented on a lark in 1938 by Carl Otis in Albany, N.Y., the product had difficulty gaining traction. Otis sent rough prototypes out to 10 companies that were engaged in electrification. Only one responded – NOMA of New York City, once known as the National Outfit Manufacturer’s Association.

 

Timing of the rollout of the novelty product – bubbling Christmas lights – was complicated and delayed by World War II. Commercial production ramped up after the war, and bubble lights were plentiful in 1946. 

“Consumers really plugged into Otis’ idea,” Hope said. Bubble lights flew off retail shelves.

 

“The first time I saw bubble lights was at my Uncle Gordon’s house,” Hope said. “He put them on his windowsill, nestled in Christmas greenery. I was 6, just tall enough so that my chin could rest on the sill, and I would stand for what seemed to be hours, watching those bubbles.” 

“Now, I have my very own bubble lights…three strings,” Hope said. “They have attitude. They prefer to sit upright on the Christmas tree branches. If they are upside down, the bubble juice rushes to their heads, and they refuse to work. Each color begins to bubble at a different time.” 

“Yellow takes off like a shot, and bubbles faster than my…Keurig coffeemaker,” she said. Red is next, then green. 

Hope said that blue is the laziest color – kind of sad, just like the Elvis Presley song “Blue Christmas.” 

There were some concerns about the safety of the bubble juice. “Underneath their joyful appearance, there lurked a hidden hazard,” according to Nicole Reid of the National Capital Poison Center, based in Washinton, D.C. 

“The fluid inside old or new bubble lights most frequently is methylene chloride, which can cause serious poisoning if it is inhaled, swallowed or spilled on the skin,” she said. “In the body, methylene chloride is converted to carbon monoxide. The symptoms are the same as from other sources of carbon monoxide: nausea, vomiting, headache, drowsiness, coma, seizures, heart attack and even death.”

 

Kelli Harvey, senior content editor with Christmas Lights, Etc., of Alpharetta, Ga., said: “Thanks to nostalgia and a little bit of Christmas magic, bubble lights have never really gone away.” There is still demand for bubble lights, because of their “mesmerizing effect.” 

“Modern bubble lights are completely safe as long as they are properly displayed and stored,” Harvey said. “To avoid broken glass and liquid spills, make sure Christmas bubble lights are secured to your tree and unable to be easily knocked down by pets or children.” 

To learn more about bubble lights, refer to “The Golden Glow of Christmas Past.” It’s an organization that was formed in 1980 and is dedicated to the preservation of vintage and antique Christmas ornaments, lights and decorations.

 

If someone you know celebrates Christmas year-round, an annual membership might be the perfect gift this year. Just a suggestion.