In this section you will find out some fun and interesting facts about gum. We will be adding new facts about gum to this section throughout the year.
Fact 01
Chewing gum is one of the oldest candies in the world. For thousands of years, people of all cultures have enjoyed the many benefits of chewing various gums, resins and latex secretions of plants.
Fact 02
Prehistoric men and women chewed on lumps of tree resin for pure enjoyment, making them the first-ever gum chewers in recorded history. In fact, the study of civilization has found that almost every culture chewed some kind of "gum." Ancient Greeks routinely gnawed on tree resin to clean their teeth and freshen their breath, and called their treat "mastiche." Native Americans often chewed on tree sap, and while early settlers combined tree sap and beeswax to soften the chew.
Fact 03
The first commercial chewing gum - State of Maine Spruce Gum - was introduced in 1848 by John B. Curtis.
Fact 04
The natural gum resin called chicle, obtained from the sapodilla tree, had a unique ability to retain flavor and helped to popularize chewing gum.
Fact 05
The first patent for chewing gum was issued in 1869 to William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio (U.S. patent #98,304).
Fact 06
The very first bubble gum was invented by Frank Henry Fleer in 1906. He called it Blibber-Blubber. Fleer's recipe was later perfected by Walter Diemer, who called his product Double Bubble.
Fact 07
In the early 1900s, William Wrigley Jr. was one of the first to promote the sale of branded goods through advertising and used it to make Wrigley's Spearmint gum and Juicy Fruit best sellers that are still around today.
Fact 08
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.
Fact 09
Spearmint, peppermint and cinnamon are among the most popular flavors of chewing gum today.
Fact 10
The first bubble gum cards were issued in the 1930s. The pictures ranged from war heroes to Wild West figures to professional athletes. The Topps Company became famous by offering baseball cards in packages of gum and sponsoring bubble gum blowing contests among ball players.
Fact 11
By 1888, an Adams' chewing gum called Tutti-Frutti became the first to be sold in a vending machine. The machines were located in New York City subway stations.
Fact 12
The color of the first successful bubble gum was pink, because it was the only color the inventor had left, and that remains the predominant color today.
Fact 13
The largest bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter. The record was set July 19, 1994 by Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno, California. (Guinness Book of World Records 1998).
Fact 14
The country with the largest number of chewing gum manufacturers is Turkey, with more then 60 producers.
Fact 15
There are more than 1,000 varieties of gum manufactured and sold in the Untied States.
Fact 16
The longest gum wrapper chain on record was 7,400 feet in length (nearly one and a half miles) and was made by Cathy Ushler of Redmond, Washington between 1969 and 1992.
Fact 17
Sugarless or sugar-free gums first entered the marketplace in the early 1950s.
Fact 18
The British singer Lonnie Donegan achieved some success with his 1959 novelty song entitled Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on The Bedpost Overnight?
Fact 19
Chewing gum consumption varies by geography. In the U.S., people chew an average of 182 stick equivalents per person per year. In the U.K., the figure is 125 - it’s 103 in Germany, 84 in Russia, 20 in China, and 4 in India.
Fact 20
During his playing career, Michael Jordan would regularly chew Doublemint gum during basketball games to help him concentrate.
Fact 21
Chewing gum can improve memory, say UK psychologists. They found that people who chewed throughout tests of both long-term and short-term memory produced significantly better scores than people who did not.
Fact 22
Teachers, who once punished students for chewing gum in the classroom, now using gum as a reward for good behavior, to aid concentration and even to improve test performance.
Fact 23
Dave Grohl, founder and lead singer of the Foo Fighters, chews gum while performing, because he feels it keeps his mouth moist and his vocal chords fresh.