ELI5: How do aquarium air bubblers add oxygen to water if bubbles pop at the surface?

Aquarium bubblers do not add oxygen by popping; instead, they act like an underwater elevator that pushes water to the top so it can breathe fresh air from your room.

Here is how it works in everyday life:

• The elevator ride: As the tiny bubbles float up from the bottom of the tank, they drag "stale" water from the floor up with them. When the bubbles finally reach the top and pop, they create little splashes and ripples.
• Opening the window: Water absorbs oxygen through its surface, right where the water touches the air in your room. If the water stays completely still, only the very top skin gets fresh air, like a blanket covering the tank. But when the bubbles create waves, they stir the surface, folding fresh oxygen into the water.
• The tea analogy: Imagine you make a cup of hot tea and put milk in it. If you just let it sit, the milk stays at the bottom. But when you use a spoon to stir it, the milk mixes through the entire cup. The rising bubbles act just like that spoon.