Build Your Own Bubble Fort

Build a Bubblefort! Boy oh boy are we ever spoiled these days. When the temperature outside soars we just crank up the air. Air-conditioning has become so ubiquitous that you can go from home to work and back again without ever breaking a sweat. As the cost of fuel and electricity continue to escalate, we’re eventually going to find ourselves forced to cut back on how we cool our homes and places of business and I think that I know the answer: The Bubble Fort.

Let’s build one now!

You’ll need:

  • a sheet
  • a stack of heavy books
  • a box fan

Spread the sheet on the floor. Set the fan (which should be turned off) on the floor along the short edge of the sheet, aimed to blow in the direction of the sheet. Pull the sheet up so that it drapes over the box fan. Place heavy books on the corners of the sheet spilling off the sides of the fan. Move the corners of the sheet that are farthest from the fan two feet toward the fan then place books on those corners. Place books along the edges of the sheet.

Turn on the fan. The sheet should blow up like a balloon.

You now have a Bubble Fort. Get a good book and climb inside. Depending on the kind of fan you use it may be a little loud inside, use hearing protection as needed (consult OSHA if you’re not sure what’s safe). Why not try putting a cooler full of ice in front of the fan?

Imagine the reduced expense of cooling our homes if we had bubble forts in every room. Why cool ALL the air when you just need it cooled directly around YOU? For you industrious types out there, I suggest stitching clear polyethylene panels into your sheet so that you can see outside of your bubble forts (how else are you going to watch your big screen televisions?).

I can see offices building bubble forts for their secretarial pools, restaurants making bubble fort dining areas… heck, I have no doubt that somebody is going to figure out how to do it for their cars… if only there were a way to get a lot of air INTO the car through an opening bigger than an air-conditioning vent.

However you use YOUR bubble fort, use it safely and in good cheer. Feel free to send in photos of your bubble fort and we’ll start a thread in the messageboard with your photos.

DISCLAIMER: While I have provided you with a diagram (above) I do not claim ownership of the idea of the bubble fort or liabilities associated forthwith. The bubble fort is a cooling-only construct, substituting a space heater for the box fan would be a silly way to burn down your house, you moronic goob. It is my belief that I learned to build bubble forts from instructions provided by the World Book Encyclopedia’s Child Craft series but have been too lazy to substantiate that belief.

2 Comments on “Build Your Own Bubble Fort”

  1. I grew up using this exact design since we didn’t have AC. To sleep in a fan bubble sheet tent, you’ll need to bring a blanket in with you. Like Lilly said, it gets cold!

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