Gum

For my 40^thbirthday, my sister Katey sent me a box full of forty snacks from the 1980s. Things like ranch Doritos, fruit roll-ups, Jello-pudding, Kool-aid cooler, and microwave popcorn. (Although we then had to discuss if we even had a microwave in the 1980s to pop the popcorn…) One of the highlights for Emry was Zebra stripe gum.

Emry has been asking to have gum for a while. I told her when she was five, we would try it. But with several packages of it right in front of her…I relented and said she could try one stick. I told her she needed to chew it only, not swallow it, and spit it into the trash when finished. I didn’t pay a lot of attention, being more aware of Ethan trying to drink his first Kool-aid cooler. I only knew the gum was not in her mouth and she had not been into the kitchen to throw it away. When I asked if she had swallowed it, she gave me a bewildered look as if to say, “Of course. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” So, we had another discussion on notswallowing gum, which led to all kinds of questions on her side. Which led me to wonder what the point of gum is anyhow.

My conclusion was it’s just a habit. A better one, perhaps, than smoking, chewing tobacco, or even vaping; but a habit all the same. After all, while it may lead to cavities, it’s probably not going to kill you. But it serves no practical purpose, outside of giving one fresh breath. No wonder it seemed to make little sense to Emry.

I looked it up. Of course, chewing something similar to gum has been around for centuries. Because humans love having repetitive habits. The first commercial chewing gum was sold in 1848, but no one patented anything similar until 1869. Ironically, it was a dentist who is honored for the first patent to manufacture and sell chewing gum. But since the main ingredients of his included charcoal and chalk, I doubt it was giving anyone cavities.

Sugar and corn syrup in gum came around later as inventors tried to find ways to make gum hold its flavor. Other ingredients had producers advertising it as a “digestive aid” or “after dinner treat”.  It grew in popularity when people like Wrigley sold their gum with packages of baking powder, cigarettes, and baseball cards. Now gum comes in hundreds of flavors and is used for medical purposes, to color teeth, and to break habits like smoking. But in the end…it still doesn’t serve much of a purpose. And now that Emry has tried it once, she hasn’t asked to again. Apparently the actual experience of gum left her very unimpressed.