HELP FIGHT TOOTH DECAY

Modern chewing gum that we love today came about from amazing beginnings

The ancient Greeks in 50 A.D. chewed a residue from the Mastic Tree. This early form of chewing gum was said to have medicinal properties.

The rainforests between south eastern Mexico and northern Central America are home to the Mayan peoples. These second Century American Indians chewed chickle a natural resin from the latex of the Sapodilla Tree. They cut the bark in a zigzag pattern so the sap would flow into a container at the base of the tree. This was then dried, and chewed to avoid hunger in their fasting rituals.

The Indians then discovered another natural form of gum-like resin could be obtained by cutting the bark of spruce trees. So they launched the first commercial chewing gum enterprise to the North American settlers by selling and trading with them lumps of Spruce for chewing. This continued in popularity until the 1950s, when another chewing gum was made using paraffin wax as a synthetic base.

In 1869, in Mexico, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had discussions with a New York inventor, Thomas Adams with reference to developing a new form of rubber using chickle. The rubber was unsuccessful, but from the experiments, Adams New York No. 1' the first modern chewing gum was launched. In 1879, a merchant from Kentucky who already sold an early form of lolly, ordered a shipment of the Mexican gum which he then sweetened, thus creating competition in the fledgling chewing gum industry.

In 1880, a popcorn salesman from Ohio had the idea of mixing flavours with corn syrup and then add that to the gum. He had created the first peppermint flavoured chewing gum which he called Yucatan. The popularity of chewing gum continued to grow across America, and by the 1900s, it was manufactured in many different shapes, sizes and flavours. It quickly became a huge business worldwide, but now the natural bases are preferred to the synthetic ones. Chewing gum is sold in a wide variety of flavours, with over 1,000 varieties available.

Chewing gum was introduced to the world in World War Two, by the American soldiers' chewing gum to relieve tension and to exercise their neck and face muscles while on patrol.

In San Luis Obispo, California, there is a wall in a certain street that children in the 1960s began to stick their gum onto. There were many complaints from residents, but that did not stop it. Today, the wall has become a monument to chewing gum, with chewing gum vending machines nearby to encourage sales, while in Singapore, an extremely clean city, it is an offence to chew gum. I only wish that I had some chewing gum shares.

We can thank Mr. Wrigley for the chewing gum craze. Some of the benefits of chewing gum are fresh breath; improved concentration and memory; steady nerves; and helping to fight tooth decay (the sugar-free variety).

Learn more about this author, Patricia Young.
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