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By Joel Vernier
I was napping in my “Comfy Chair” when I drifted back to my freshman year of high school, remembering the time a friend and I each bought a pile of Bazooka Bubble Gum and, on a dare, chewed it all in a single day. I remember our mouths and tongues were pink, and our stomachs were on sugar overload.
High school was full of silly bets—like seeing how many kids we could cram into my big Plymouth Belvedere with the fins on the back. We managed to squeeze in 22, though we could only actually drive with 20. From toddler to teen to adulthood, I’ve always had a fondness for chewing gum.
People have been chewing gum for thousands of years. The oldest evidence is a 9,000-year-old piece of birch bark tar found in Scandinavia, bearing human tooth marks. Native Americans chewed spruce resin.
The modern version we know today was invented in the 1860’s by Thomas Adams, who began selling it commercially after experimenting with chicle. Bazooka tubs were a 19th-century American invention. Chiclets anyone? Coated with a hard sugar shell, it became very popular.
Today, we have up to 50 brands available on store shelves. Brands like Extra, Orbit, Trident & Five Gum are the breakaway leaders. The average amount of gum per American in one year? About 3 hundred pieces weighing 1.8 pounds.
Not everyone chews gum, so for those who do, it would raise the amounts. For those with a lot of discretionary spending, the most expensive gum is MASTIKA GUM Gold Edition! Real 22-carat edible gold flakes, sold in a luxury set of 96 pieces, cost around $280. I wonder what they taste like. I’m sure that they are delicious, but I think I will stick with the Gold Mine gum sold in the bag!
Chewing gum does have some risks, mostly to your teeth. Sugar feeds oral bacteria, promotes plaque buildup, and may affect blood sugar levels. Sugar-free gum is better for your teeth, digestion, and blood sugar levels. If sweetened with Xylitol, keep away from dogs; it is dangerous for them.
In my working career, chewing gum was helpful after lunch when brushing my teeth was not convenient. Today, I chew gum for the same reason, just before a meeting or to tide me over until I can brush my teeth. I do this on average 6 times a day.
Do you choose one stick at a time, or more than one? The average is one piece per chewing session. I admit if it’s stick gum, that’s about right, but if it’s gum pieces, I will take 2 pieces, please. In my case, chewing gum is great before napping! When you wake up, no morning breath!
