During
WWII, U.S. military personnel spread the popularity of
chewing gum by trading it and giving it as gifts to people
in Europe, Africa, Asia and around the world.
Cinnamon,
spearmint and peppermint are among the most popular flavors
of chewing gum today.
Chewing
on gum while cutting onions can help a person from producing
tears.
The
color of the first successful bubble gum was pink because
it was the only color the inventor had left. The color
“stuck,” and today bubble gum is still predominantly pink.
The
largest bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter. The
record was set July 19, 1994 by Susan Montgomery Williams
of Fresno, CA.
Blibber-Blubber,
a failed attempt at bubble gum, was invented in 1906 but
was deemed too sticky to sell.
In the pre-Glee Gum days, the ancient Mayans
chewed plain chiclé. That’s the same latex sap from the
sapodilla tree to now give Glee Gum such great chew.
Swallowed gum won’t clog up your intestines,
but it will be with you for a few days. Gum base can’t be
digested so it will pass through your system in one piece.
Singapore has tried to completely forbid gum,
with heavy fines of over $6,000 for possession or use
without a prescription.
Studies have shown that chewing gum actually
helps people concentrate and may improve long-term and
working memory. Chewing gum has also been shown to reduce
muscle tension and increase alertness.
Turkey is the country with the most gum
companies; the United States is second.
Chewing gum burns around 11 calories per
hour.
In 2006 the world-wide chewing gum industry
was estimated to be worth $19 billion in sales, or 1.3
million metric tons of gum.
Chewing gum on an airplane will keep your
ears from popping. Chewing gum makes your salivary glands
produce 250% more saliva than normally, so you swallow more.
This helps balance the pressure in your head.
In the U.S. alone, the total amount of
chewing gum sold in one year would make a stick 3.5 million
miles (5.6 million km) long. That’s long enough to reach the
moon and back seven times or to circle the earth’s equator
150 times.
Chewing gum after meals may help prevent
heartburn.
The largest piece of bubble gum ever was the
size and weight of 10,000 regular pieces and was presented
to baseball player Willie Mays by the Topps Chewing Gum
Company in June 1974.
Back in the 1920’s, prohibition increased gum
sales because people needed to mask the alcohol on their
breath. When prohibition was enacted, Adam’s Clove gum hit
the market with the slogan: “It takes your breath away!”
Chewing gum was illegal in all of Eastern
Europe until Czechoslovakia began manufacturing it in 1957.
Poland and East Germany quickly followed suit, but it was
not until 1976 that the Soviet Union lifted its ban on gum.
Humans are the only animals on earth that
chew gum. If you give a monkey a piece he will chew it for a
couple of minutes, then he will take it out and stick it to
his hair.
