double bubble
idiomatic noun-phrase

- overtime paid at twice the normal rate (business)

- the presence of two air-filled bubbles in the abdomen (radiology)

- a fuselage formed from two conjoined hulls (aviation)

- a certain meeting of spherical surfaces, relevant to the double bubble conjecture (mathematics)

A-Way-with-Words / Wictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

In 1906, Frank H. Fleer Corporation introduced the world's first bubble gum product. Sadly, it was soon abandoned because it was too sticky and brittle — and because it was being marketed under the unfortunate name "Blibber-Blubber”.  Blibber-Blubber was also so sticky that it could be removed from skin only with vigorous scrubbing and turpentine.

Not until 1928 did the company come up with a winning formula — and a winning name: “Dubble Bubble”.

Since then, "double bubble" has become associated with different dictionary definitions, the most common meaning “overtime paid at twice the normal rate”.

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BUBBLEOLOGY

In 2009, professional bubble-maker Sam Heath (aka Samsam Bubbleman) set a new world record by creating a soap bubble 20 feet long and 5 feet wide.

Samsam Bubbleman created the largest free-floating soap bubble using a secret formula that he refused to reveal.

"Being a bubbleologist is almost as much about being a wind catcher as it is a bubble maker. You become quite sensitive to changes in direction and you have to move at the right time to keep the bubble together."

Samsam first started his love affair with bubbles in 1989: "It all started with just a single bubble. I was sitting in a field and a bubble just floated past. I took the word away from the object and just looked at it for what it was. I captured my imagination and I just thought what an amazing thing that was.”

He said: "It's like one of those anomalies of nature that just shouldn't exist. Like a bumblebee being too big for its wings."

Over the years, Samsam and his team of 10 bubbleologists have performed bubble shows for the Dubai Royal family. Stars like Paul McCartney and Peter Gabriel have also brought him in for private shows.

He also set a world record in 2007, by encasing 50 elementary school children in a giant soap bubble.

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SYNONYMS

- for round, bubbly things:

air ball, bead, blister, billow, blob, blot, blotch, bubble, drop, droplet, effervescence, efflorescence, fizz, foam, froth, globule, lather, laver, sac, spume, suds, vesicle

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Retail store staff are often paid DOUBLE BUBBLE for weekend shifts, hoping to incentivise staff during peak shopping hours."

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