How Chewing Gum is Made and the Surprising History That Led to the Birth of Gumball Machines Bubble Gum and More.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 fuadsyazwan | 2008-06-24 20:19:32 |  108,039 Views |
History of chewing gum
I don’t think about chewing gum that much. I don’t think most people do. I have a strong preference for a particular brand (as I write this there are about half a dozen crumpled Orbit Bubblemint wrappers strewn across my desk) but I’ve never really thought about what’s in it. Why would I? Chewing gum is one of the most mindless things we do as humans. I’d venture to say that most of us don’t care what’s in it or how it’s made.
But should we? It’s a question I started asking myself recently as I drove from my home in Brooklyn to visit friends in upstate New York. Just past Yonkers I found myself chewing the same piece of gum I’d popped into my mouth an hour earlier even though it was well past its prime. As the minty flavor faded I realized that what had once been a sweet stretchy treat was beginning to resemble Silly Putty: sadly gray and unmistakably synthetic. “What the hell is this?” I wondered as I wrapped it up and stowed it in that car-door pocket that seemed designed specifically for discarded gum wrappers sticky pennies and rotten banana peels.
I decided to investigate it.
