And not just for lonely bachelors. More noble uses such as car air bags, rescue dinghies and avalanche protectors all spring easily to mind.
Most of us first encountered inflatable devices strapped to our arms as we struggled to complete our first laps across the local pool. Perhaps even the pool itself was inflated. Toys, beach balls, airbeds, furniture and even light fittings have all had the inflatable PVC treatment. Spacehoppers in day-glo orange were staple features of many bouncing childhoods in the '60s and '70s, while a few intrepid inflatables have also won their spurs on the battlefield as decoy tanks.
PVC, of course, has long been a staple of haute couture. But inflating it was another thing altogether until W<'s notable inflatable jacket.
Issey Miyake and John Paul Gaultier have also both catwalked their stuff in inflatable PVC.
In advertising too, PVC has, on occasion, swelled creatively to match the egos of the men in black.
One classic example in Hong Kong was the PT100 Blimp that helped launch the ANZ Bank's Platinum card and became a well loved feature as it sailed majestically across the harbour.