I don’t see folks chewing gum. It used to be quite the rage. A country song was even written about it, “Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor (on the Bedpost Overnight?”) People would stash their gum when they planned on chewing it again later.
They disposed of it in various places. You might step on some while walking along a sidewalk. Diners tucked their cuds under restaurant tables. To eat popcorn, movie-goers deposited theirs below theater seats.
Teachers banned gum from classrooms. If she caught a student with a stick in their mouth, it immediately meant a trip to the wastebasket.
When I was growing up, bubble gum was quite popular. Some professional, baseball players replaced their “plug” of chewing tobacco with bubble gum.
When Ken and I were dating, men’s shirts had two chest pockets. He carried a package of Doublemint in one and a pack of Pall Malls in the other.
Chewing gum can be traced back to civilization worldwide, but the modernization and commercialization of this product mainly took place in the United States. In the 1800s, the New England settlers picked up the practice from the First Americans who chewed resin made from the sap of spruce trees.
Modern chewing gum was first developed in the 1860s when chicle was brought from Mexico to New York to be used as a rubber substitute. It did not succeed as a replacement for rubber but Thomas Adams cut it into strips and marketed it as chewing gum. American GIs serving in WWII extended its popularity worldwide.
In the U.S., chewing gum experienced a decline in popularity in the early 21st century as it lost its association with counterculture and teenage rebelliousness.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were less concerned about bad breath and there were fewer impulse purchases at the checkout counter. Sales fell about 30 percent.
Did you ever chew gum?