1 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Savor. I'm any Ries and I'm 2 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Lauren vocal Dam and today we're talking about chewing gum. 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: Chewing gum, which I'm technically not supposed to have. Oh 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: that's what you've got, one of those one of those 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: artificial teeth in their right. I do, I do, and 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: when it's a whole story. But the last thing that 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: these two Russian dentists told me before I left their 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: office was never again apples, carrots, ice or chewing gum. Wow. 9 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: But I do still chew it sometimes, and I feel 10 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: like I'm living on the wild side and I do. 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: It's it's like a risky actually that has fun historical ties, 12 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: does it? Well, I mean sort of. I mean like 13 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: it's sort of a rebellious anyway. Yeah, we will get 14 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: to that. We will get to that. When I was 15 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: a kid, I did love those. I don't know if 16 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: you remember these. They were flow pops, yeah, lollypops, and 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: they had gum in the middle. Yeah. I always thought 18 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: like they were marketed so effectively that I was like, 19 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: this is going to be great. But I actually strongly 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: dislike both hard candy and the flavor of bubblegum. So 21 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: it was never a good plan. I don't know. Yeah, 22 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: I think I liked maybe the grape ones. I don't know. 23 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: I can't remember green Apple that was. That was my 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: favor anyway. Chewing gum what is it? Is it? Food? Well? 25 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: Chewing gum is a non food, partially digestible edible that 26 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: we consume using our eating parts. Um clear as much. 27 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: It's a chewy substance, usually flavored and sweetened and sometimes colored, 28 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: that is intended to be masticated without swallowing and spit 29 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: out upon end of use. That sounds very appetizing. Mastic 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: add without swallowing. Yes, I wish that it's said that 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: like onstructions on gum swallow Oh man, I would write 32 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: the best instructions for all food items. Ever. All y'all 33 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: get in touch with me. Yes, this is a service 34 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: I can provide. Um. Yes, okay, so so yes, you 35 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: know what chewing gum is. You chew it, you don't 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: eat it. I mean, part of it is digestible, part 37 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: of it is not. Modern chewing gums use an array 38 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: of compounds to do those flavoring and coloring parts, ranging 39 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: from naturally derived chemicals too artificially drived chemicals, the sweeteners 40 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: may or may not be caloric. The chewy ingredient or 41 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: ingredients maybe natural polymers derived from rubbery tree sap, but 42 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: more commonly these days are synthetic plastics or rubbers. These 43 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: formulas are proprietary and kept under wraps a but formulations 44 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: of but to dyne, styrene, rubber, polyethylene, and polyvinyl acetate 45 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: pop up a lot. I just wrote those, and then 46 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: I was like, well, I'm not changing it because it's 47 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: funny and so yes, if you, you know, are familiar 48 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: with any of those words, those are petroleum products. Commercial 49 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: chewing gum is technically a petroleum product. The more you know. 50 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: The reason that chewing gum is a solid before you 51 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: start chewing it is that your body heat softens it 52 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: to a temperature which is malleable. When you chew it, 53 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: the polymers link up, which creates the stretchiness that you 54 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: observe if you say, get a piece half stuck to 55 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: the bottom of your shoe, or if you blow a 56 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: bubble with it get in your hair. What a nightmare 57 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: that happened to me once in middle school. I had 58 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: to go home and get a whole chunk cut out 59 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: of my head. It was bad times. Yeah, happened to 60 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: me too, and somehow got it like right in my banks. Yeah, 61 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: someone like tossed a piece from a moving car. I 62 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: was so mad about it. All the indignance of the 63 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: seventh grader can muster, which is a lot for you, 64 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: and yes it is thank you. If you're wondering how 65 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: chewing gum is made, well, Uh, different gums have different properties, 66 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: as you have probably noticed, like bubble blowing bubble gum 67 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: is kind of different from like trident gum or something 68 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: like that. Uh. Manufacturers play with a lot of different 69 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: components to get it right for whatever quality. Right. Maybe 70 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: you've got elastomers in there to create stretch, plastic sizers 71 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 1: to soften the texture, fillers to bulk the gum up 72 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: without needing to add sugar, and resins to help bind 73 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,559 Speaker 1: everything together. Whatever the ingredients, the basic process for making 74 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: a stick of gum goes like this. You create that 75 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: gum base and then heat it in drums or kettles 76 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: built with blades that cut in your sweeteners, flavorings, and softeners. 77 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: When the stuff this gum is a smooth and consistent 78 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 1: you roll it up thick onto belts and then cool 79 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: it down. Then machines need it for hours, hours at 80 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: a time to help link up some of those linky polymers. 81 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: When it's the right amount of a last stick, you 82 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: slice it into measured chunks, roll it to the correct thickness, 83 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: dust it with a non stick powder like powdered sugar cornstarch, 84 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: and then that sheet will be stamped into not quite 85 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: individual pieces. As a sheet, they're sent to dry out 86 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: a little bit before they are broken off individually and packaged. Now, 87 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: if you're making coated gums like gumballs or chicklets, you 88 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: use two parallel dyes pressing together through a column of 89 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: gum to stamp out the shapes and then let those 90 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: individual pieces dry out and roll them through a tumbler 91 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: or kettle to coat them. They might be given a 92 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: shiny wax coating. There you there you go. Let's let's 93 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: talk some numbers. In the chewing gum market is expected 94 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 1: to generate thirty two point six three billion dollars, and 95 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: three point nine five billion of that is from the 96 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: U S which is the third largest market. The largest 97 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: market is the Asia Pacific region, followed up by Western Europe. 98 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: Only three percent of gum sales are gumballs. But the 99 00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: most popular flavor, not of gumballs I've gone in general, 100 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: is meant ah lass my ment. Probably that's a double whammy. 101 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: Have meant I can't have gum, but I did used 102 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: to participate. I was big into these food challenges when 103 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: I was a kid, and there were these gum ones 104 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: that we would do, and one was if you chew 105 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: enough mint like spearment gum, it starts to burn and 106 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: we would see how many pieces you could get before 107 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: the pain it came too intense. Was the I'm not 108 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: sure if that deserves the congratulations or not, but probably not. 109 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: But when you're a kid, yeah, yeah, that's major props. 110 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: I was king of the lunch room. Did did you ever? 111 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: Did you ever blow bubbles? Yeah? I was a big 112 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: bubble blower. Um. I would choose like those entire packs 113 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: of Bubblicious. The there's a record diameter for bubble blowing 114 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: without use of one's hands. I love that it specifies. Um. 115 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: This was set in two thousand and four and it 116 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: went to one Chad Fell of the United States. I'd 117 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: also like to nominate Chad Fell for best Name. That's 118 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: a really good name. Yeah, anything that's a verb like okay, no. 119 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: But the bubble that he blew was twenty a k 120 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: A fifty point eight centimeters in diameter, and to do it, 121 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: he used three pieces of double bubble. Three pieces. That's impressive. 122 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: If you are looking to blow a really good bubble. 123 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: Science says that you need to chew that gum until 124 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: you have exhausted the sugar and probably the flavoring from 125 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: it because those molecules can can get in the way 126 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: of the of the linky stretchy properties of the gum base, 127 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: causing bubbles to collapse before they reach their a full 128 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: bubble potential. Oh you don't want that, No, no, no, 129 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: we could be speaking to the next bubble record holder. 130 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: Oh man, if you dethrone Chad fell, Chad will have 131 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: fallen and the prophecy will come true. Please let us 132 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: know if that happening. Absolutely, if you're giving a big 133 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: speech at the end, I'd like to thank Savor for 134 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: making me think I could do it and giving me 135 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: all the science I needed to succeed. It's kind of 136 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: kind of brings me to a question I had when 137 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: we were doing this research, is why do people choo 138 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: gum to break records. I thought probably like bad breath, um, stress, boredom, 139 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: and to fight off hunger is something I've seen and 140 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: also more grimly, as a way to trigg our selves 141 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: that we're eating, which is a problem when you were 142 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,679 Speaker 1: talking about eating disorders. And there is a study that 143 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: shows that maybe it improves memory making little memory is 144 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: a tricky one, but we have a bunch about that. 145 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: We'll get to it towards the tail end of this episode. 146 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: I try to chew gum after meals because it makes 147 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: me feel better about like my breath and possible bacteria 148 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: build up, so okay, like cleaner, yeah, yeah, instead of 149 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: brushing my teeth like a grown adult human person. Well 150 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:08,199 Speaker 1: not everyone around the world, our fans of gum uh is. 151 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: I was telling Lauren before we started recording this. I 152 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: had so much fun doing the research for this, and 153 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,199 Speaker 1: it was definitely the topic that when I got drunk 154 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: at Thanksgiving, I was telling everyone all of these gum 155 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: facts and it's really interesting because you don't really eat 156 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: it and it's not water soluble, right, the gum base, 157 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: the flavorings and other stuff are, but yeah, the gun 158 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: is not. No, it's not even biodegradable. No, which means 159 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: much the frustration of schools everywhere hardened gum that they 160 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: stick under desk and all and it's really difficult to remove, 161 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: like really difficult, like a steam jet and scraper difficult. 162 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: If you've ever stepped in gum or gotten it in 163 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: your hair, then you know this. And one of London's 164 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: busiest streets had a order of a million blobs of 165 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: hardened gum on its asphalt in two thousand and In Rome, 166 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: somewhere around fifteen thousand pieces of gum a day are 167 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: irresponsibly disposed of in public spaces, and removing each piece 168 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: cost the city about one euro. Yeah. It costs city 169 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: councils around the globe a million dollars or more to 170 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,359 Speaker 1: clean up gum up to three point five billion wads 171 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,199 Speaker 1: of gum. Yeah, And because of this, that's why Singapore 172 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: band chewing gum in night. There are some exceptions now, 173 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: but largely it's still not allowed behind cigarettes. Chewing gum 174 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: is the second most common type of litter, and some 175 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: people are looking for ways to recycle chewing gum waste 176 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: into plastic like gum tech. Cities get serious about this. 177 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: There was a gum summit for action in Liverpool and 178 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,080 Speaker 1: a postcard that the involved cities signed that they sent 179 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: to Rigley's head orders with the message I wish you 180 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: weren't here all cow. Yeah, it's one of those things 181 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: where I see gum all the time and I just 182 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: never thought about the scourge that it is. Oh, I'm 183 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 1: so annoyed every time I see a piece of gum 184 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: litter somewhere, I'm like, what human has done this? And why? Well, 185 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: you've got the gum in your hair. Yeah, you have 186 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: like an origin story for your your gum villain um. 187 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 1: There is an artist in London that paints hardened gum. 188 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: He's been arrested by police for this. I think that 189 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: that's adding that's value value. I mean, if it's going 190 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: to be there, it might as well be artistic. It 191 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: might as well be And there's also a theory that 192 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: was too dense for me to look into, but there 193 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: is a theory that you can like kind of guess 194 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: you could map out streets based on where gum is, 195 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,320 Speaker 1: like where more gum is. It could give you an 196 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: idea of what used to be there at what that 197 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: place is. Like a lot of bars have a lot 198 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: of gum out front, it because junk people are like, 199 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: I gotta get my beer. You don't want the gum 200 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: to mess with the flavor. Anyway, This is what my 201 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: family got to enjoy during Thanksgiving. I do love that 202 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: gum has this this vibe to it, like a devil 203 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: may care or a rudeness or or boredom um. And 204 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: one example I thought of is um to appear American 205 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 1: in the Godzilla movie with a soundtrack by one p 206 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: did he These French dudes chew gum to convince they're 207 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: trying to sneak onto an American army base, and they 208 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: chew gum to pretend that they're American, and it totally works. 209 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: The guards, You're like, oh, yeah, yeah, you totally look American. 210 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: I mean, it's a movie. But still that vibe exists. 211 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: Cultural standpoint, Yeah, the perception exists. Godzilla nine, cultural standpoint 212 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: one of the most important. I have watched that movie 213 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: not once but twice this year, and I don't know, 214 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: I've never watched it. Probably better off. I enjoyed it 215 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: though when I was young, I had a crush on 216 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 1: Matthew Brodwick, so but that didn't hurt. But I did 217 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: like it a lot. For a while. Hankers Area, isn't it? 218 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: I was going to say, isn't someone that I liked? 219 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: It was? Hankers Area Area is great. Yeah, well, maybe 220 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: we'll add it to our ever growing list of movies 221 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: to watch. We really need to work on those. But 222 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,839 Speaker 1: what we also need to work on is getting into 223 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: the history. But first we're going to get into a 224 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: quick break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. 225 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: Thank you sponsored. Alright, So humans have been chewing on 226 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: gum in some from our another four nine thousand years 227 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: be okay? Yeah? Maybe. Some sources suggest that that's about 228 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: how long ago Northern Europeans were chewing on birch black tar, 229 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: possibly for pleasure, possibly medicinally as a treatment for tooth paints, 230 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: possibly for both. Hard to say. It's a long time ago. 231 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: Our old pile plenty. The elder described mastic a k 232 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: a masticated, a plant based substance that the ancient Greeks 233 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: chewed on. And then if we jump ahead to the 234 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: year two and the ancient Mayan people, they chewed on 235 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: chick la derived from Sapodia trees to combat thirst and 236 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: or hunger. Yeah, Sappadia trees. The botanical name mantled Kara's 237 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: apoda are native to Central America. They're a tall evergreen 238 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: tree that bear fruit that look a little bit like 239 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: a like a brown plum, which I've read taste like pears, 240 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: and the sap that the trees used to convey nutrients 241 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: and provide immune defense within their bark is this white 242 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: gummy stuff called chick la. And the ancient Mayans weren't 243 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: the only ones who we were hip to this either. 244 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: The Aztecs chewed on chickli too, enough so that there 245 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: were rules about the proper time and place to do so. 246 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: Single women and kids were permitted to chew chickli in public, 247 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 1: but all other parties had to keep their chickli chewing private, 248 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: typically for teeth cleaning and breath freshening. Women who chewed 249 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: gum in public were viewed as harlot's what Yeah, while 250 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: men who chewed gum in public were seen as effeminates. Yeah, 251 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: that's quite an association. It really is. It really is. 252 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: If we move forward through time and further north, the 253 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: Native Americans chewed on a spruce tree resin, and when 254 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: the European colonists arrived, they adopted that habit too. In 255 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: the forties we get the first commercial spruce tree gum 256 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: thanks to John Curtis, who had the idea to boil 257 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: the resin first cut the result into strips and coatly 258 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: strips in corn starts to keep them from sticking together. 259 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 1: That sounds pretty chewing gummy to me. It seems Curtis 260 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: had decided to forge ahead on this chewing gum path 261 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: because in the eighteen fifties he set up shop in Portland, Maine, 262 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: with the world's first chewing gum factory. Spruce res in 263 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: gum doesn't taste great and quickly goes brittle, so his 264 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: chewing gum venture and the chewing gum ventures of those 265 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: that followed closely after him, did not pan out, so 266 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: he pivoted to paraffin wax, wax being another popular throughout 267 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: the ages, stuff like bees wax has been used as 268 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: a type of chewing product. The type of chewing products 269 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: like it which brings us to Thomas Adams. Adams was 270 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: an inventor out of New York who, through some unknown circumstances, 271 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: met up with exiled Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. 272 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: And yes, that is the one from the Alamo, who 273 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: introduced Adams to chickle. But Santa Anna was an interest 274 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: in pioneering a commercial chewing gum. He wanted to use 275 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: the chickle as a rubber substitute. He thought that the 276 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: money he got from such a product would allow him 277 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: to retake power in Mexico. After some failed experiments, Santa 278 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 1: Ana walked away from the project, though he did eventually 279 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: regain power in Mexico. But Adams thought, hey, you know, 280 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: this chickle a thing might not be a good substitute 281 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 1: for a rubber, but I wonder if he could lead 282 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: to a better chewing gum. I like how he's kind 283 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: of British recollection you're doing here. He got more British 284 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 1: as he as he thought about it. He was sort 285 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: of transatlantic. That's okay. Yeah, history is a little murky 286 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: on the dates here, but the five the eighteen eighties, 287 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: Adams figured out that boiling and hand rolling produced a 288 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: successful chewing gum and started his own company to sell 289 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: his product nationwide. His company produced up to five tons 290 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: a day at its peak, and the main ingredient in 291 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,719 Speaker 1: this gum was chickle, and it would remain the main 292 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: ingredient until the mid nineteen hundreds, when synthetic ingredients became 293 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: more widely available or were created in the first place. Yes, 294 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: working plastics that also helped. Uh. And then we got 295 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: to talk about a big name in the gum world, 296 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: William Wrigley Jr. That Wrigley, Yes, that Wriggly. Wriggley got 297 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: his start selling soap in his hometown of Philadelphia, soap soap. Also, 298 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: he was expelled from school when he was eleven for 299 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: throwing a pie at a nameplate. I just want to 300 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 1: include that. But anyway, and he made the move to Chicago, 301 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: and as a way to persuade stores to stock his wares, 302 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: he would offer a bonus item like baking powder for 303 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: each order made. And it turns out folks will like 304 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:54,919 Speaker 1: forget the soap given more than that baking powder priorities, right, 305 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: So he started selling the baking powder instead, and for 306 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: the free incentive to baking powder's place, he offered chewing 307 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: gum and possibly baking powder was never involved in any 308 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: of this soap. Straight to chewing gum. Chewing gum was 309 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,800 Speaker 1: the incentive with the soap, But I like, I like 310 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: to hope that baking powder was involved. That's nice and 311 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: apparently this gum, this incentive of gum was a pretty 312 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: big hit too, ine he introduced two new flavors, Juicy 313 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: Fruit and Briggley's Spearmint. By this time, there was a 314 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: lot of chewing gum competition in the market, and Wrigley 315 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: decided to spend a lot of money on marketing to 316 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: differentiate himself from the pack I can do it to Lauren. 317 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: This included promotions like sending free gum to millions of 318 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: Americans in nineteen fifteen, or free pack of gum to 319 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: children on their second birthday. Second birthday, I know do 320 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: baby's chew gum? I thought that was frowned upon. Maybe 321 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 1: the idea was they send it to the two year old, 322 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 1: but the parents. I'm wearing my disapproval face. She is 323 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: anyway um he Wrigley doubted it's dubious medicinal properties to 324 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: and he attached it to sex and celebrity m HM. 325 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: And these ad campaigns were very successful, and the success 326 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: of them and of the gum made Wrigley super rich. 327 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,959 Speaker 1: When he died in nineteen thirty two, he was one 328 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 1: of the wealthiest people in the United States. These are 329 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: gum facts that I had no clue about oh me either. 330 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: Fascinating Wrigley gum was included in the rations of American 331 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 1: soldiers during World War One and two, as it was 332 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: believed chewing gum staved off hunger, thirst, and stress. And 333 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: for a minute, let's go back to that example from 334 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: Godzilla Movies starring Matthew Broddwick. Um com was one of 335 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: the things. People who were having contact with Americans for 336 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: the first time associated with America too. This is the 337 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: first time they might be seeing an American and they 338 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: were chewing gum, and they made that connection in their brains. 339 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:13,400 Speaker 1: And also the association with sex did start, and well 340 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: it started kind of earlier, but it was really reinforced 341 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 1: during this time, I guess, because soldiers like sex and 342 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: they like gum. Yeah, therefore, so therefore that's what Americans like. 343 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 1: So therefore, yeah, stereotypes for stereotypes. Yep. Okay, So let's 344 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: talk about Frank Fleer, who went a different route to 345 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,120 Speaker 1: stand out in a crowded field of gum competitors. Fleer's 346 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: Chewing gum company had been up and running since, but 347 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: Fleer was on the hunt for something new. He wanted 348 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,960 Speaker 1: to blow up in the gum world, and yes we're 349 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: talking about bubble gum. I'm sorry. For years he experimented 350 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: looking for a gum that could be blown up bubble like. 351 00:21:55,200 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: His experiments yielded libber Blubber. What a fantastic name in 352 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,640 Speaker 1: nineteen o six, but he wasn't quite there yet. Blubber 353 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 1: Blubber was too sticky. I was wondering why I had 354 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: never heard of this amazing I mean, that is her blobber. 355 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: It's too good a name to anyway. It's fine, that's 356 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: very Willy Wonka. One of Flear's employees, Walter Dimer, arrived 357 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: at the first successful commercial bubble gum. They called it 358 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: double Bubble. There is a pun there with mellow Yellow 359 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: that song. Yeah, anyway, we'll work on it. We will. 360 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: That's gonna be our first priority after we're dead recording 361 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 1: this episode. If we step back a bit. In New York, 362 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,479 Speaker 1: pharmacist Franklin Canning came out with a chewing gum focused 363 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: on dental hygiene. Didnteen. Chicklts, which is a candy coated gum, 364 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: debuted a year later. Adams company that we were talking 365 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,639 Speaker 1: about earlier, would purchase Chickolts very soon after their release, 366 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: and if we're talking about candy coated gum. The origin 367 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 1: store of gumballs remains a mystery, but a popular legend 368 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: is that a grocer out of New York, frustrated with 369 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 1: low chewing gum sales, wadded up the gum and rolled 370 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: it in sugar and yeah, gumball. Yeah, I guess so 371 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: maybe maybe the average American chewed one hundred and five 372 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,639 Speaker 1: sticks of gum a year in the nineteen twenties. Uh, 373 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: that's a lot, and it meant a lot of demand 374 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: for chickle. And this meant that the Latin American communities 375 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 1: that provided the chickle were at the mercy of market fluctuations. 376 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: It impacted their entire economies. This led to what some 377 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: historians called the second collapse of the Mayan civilization, a 378 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: collapse that continues to reverberate in that region. By the 379 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, a quarter of Mexico's Soapa Dia trees had 380 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: been wiped out, and scientists were making grim predictions that 381 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: the tree would be gone entirely within four decades. So 382 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: gum manufacturers searched for a replacement for chickle, and they 383 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: found it in cheaper, anthetic things like wax and petroleum. 384 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 1: The US stopped importing chickle from Mexico entirely by the 385 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, and in the more recent years there has 386 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: been a push to bring back chickli. For example, a 387 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: company boasting the world's first biodegradable gum chicks launched in 388 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, or Glee Gum out of Rhode Island, Rigley's, 389 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: in a weird, full circle kind of way, is trying 390 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: to come up with a biodegradable gum as well, So 391 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: I guess keep an eye out for that. I I liked, 392 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: I liked what I saw from these places. I can't 393 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: really chew gum, but yeah, we're checking out for sure. 394 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: It is. It is, and it's it's nice that that 395 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 1: kind of research is being done. And that's not actually 396 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: the only research being done in the technology of gum world, No, 397 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: not at all. Gum materials technology spreads far and wide, 398 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: and we'll get into that as soon as we take 399 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: one more quick break for a word from our answer 400 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you, sponsors, Yes, thank you. And 401 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: this brings us to a section I like to call 402 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: big Gum Questions, where I just wrote out a bunch 403 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: of questions and asked Lauren to answer them. I found 404 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: answers to most a lot of gum questions. You did that. 405 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: It was a lengthy list. Um, but okay, okay. Gum 406 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: materials research so about the sticky problem of gum sticking 407 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: to everything that it touches. Researchers are working on it 408 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,639 Speaker 1: along the lines of that biodegradable gum that Rikly is 409 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,159 Speaker 1: looking into. Another way to go about the problem is 410 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: to look at why gum sticks to things in the 411 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: first place. There's a team that's trying to incorporate a 412 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 1: polymer that has a hydrophilic end into gum, that is, 413 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 1: a water loving end into gum. That end of the 414 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 1: polymer links up with water molecules like in your saliva. Thus, 415 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 1: as you chew this gum, those polymers migrate to the surface, 416 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: sticky side in, sticking to all of the stickier polymers 417 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,640 Speaker 1: and water side out, forming a thin layer of water 418 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: molecules on the outside of your water gum. If you 419 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: should spit this gum out on the concrete you monster, 420 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:26,199 Speaker 1: it could easily be picked up because of that watery coating. However, 421 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,400 Speaker 1: if you have too much of that polymer in there, 422 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,120 Speaker 1: the gum will be too soft to chew or will 423 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:32,120 Speaker 1: fall apart in your mouth. If you have too little, 424 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: it'll still stick to surfaces. So researchers are still working 425 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: on it. Yes, um and that company I mentioned at 426 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: the top, gum Tech, I think, uh, they it's really cool. 427 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: They the they have these like collection ben for gum 428 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: and they look like the double bubble, the Pink Delicious, 429 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: the Bubble Sious, those containers and come in there and 430 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: you can buy shoes that were made in part out 431 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: of recycled gum. It's so great. Yeah, yeah, So lots 432 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: of research being done about that. The next question, if 433 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 1: you swallow chewing gum, does it stay in your stomach 434 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: for seven years? No? Definitely not good. When I's a kid, 435 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: I remember that dread that moment of especially if you're 436 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: like six, that's a very concerning thoughts longer than you've 437 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: been alive. That's right. I'm just gonna have to wait 438 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: it out. It's like a little buddy in my stomach. No, no, no, 439 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: you're your Your digestive system is much more effective than that. Okay, 440 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,919 Speaker 1: So that the flavorings, sweeteners, and softeners in gum are 441 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: all easily digested by your body, so those certainly aren't 442 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: going to stick around for any amount of time. Really, 443 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 1: And although it is true that the chewy part of 444 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: gum cannot be broken down by your stomach or even 445 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,119 Speaker 1: by the microbes in your guts, it's not so sticky 446 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: that's gonna like get stuck in there. You're you're just 447 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: gonna poop it out. Mm hmm, Well there you go. 448 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: Never fear to all those people, Oh no, thinking about 449 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: that gum you swallowed six and a half years ago. 450 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: They're okay. There are case reports of swallowed gum causing 451 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: problems getting stuck in people's guts, mostly though in children 452 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: under the age of five who were given gum as 453 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: a reward for various behaviors and who swallowed several pieces 454 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: of gum every day for a lengthy period of time. 455 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: Do not swallow several pieces of gum every day, especially 456 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: if you are under the age of five. Savor advice 457 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: of the episode. Advice favored advice of the episode. Yeah, okay, 458 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: here's another question. It's important, very important to me because 459 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: I've had many dates ruined by this. Does chewing gum 460 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: help your breath a little? Uh saliva? Production? Does prevent 461 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: bacterial growth, and the act of chewing might help break 462 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: up some of the loose plaque on your teeth and 463 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: all those bacteria that are forming that plaque and that 464 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: are floating around in there are the things that poop 465 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: the bad sense, that make your breast smell. Okay. It 466 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: can also help neutralize any any sense of of food 467 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: that are lingering in your mouth or anything that's coming 468 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: up from your stomach. Bodies are so gross. I'm sorry, 469 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: it's not I'm just just the facts, ma'am, just the facts, 470 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: all right. Well, how long lasting is the flavor? Oh, 471 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 1: that's a that that is a question that varies from 472 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 1: gum to gum vastly, as I'm sure most of you 473 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 1: have noticed. But all right. The reason that gums lose 474 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: their flavor over time, if you've if you've never really 475 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: put your brain to it before, is that there is 476 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: a limited amount of a flavor and sweetener incorporated into 477 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: the gum base, because if you added too much, it 478 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't be chewy, it would be dissolving. And that's not 479 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: what you're looking for in your gum product. As we 480 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: talked about in our Willie Want episode. Though, folks are 481 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: are working on super long lasting and even flavor changing 482 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:09,719 Speaker 1: gums using micro encapsulation technology, stuff that breaks down slowly 483 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: releasing or reacting to create more flavor compounds. Come science. Yeah. 484 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: I Actually the reason I asked that question was because 485 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: apparently that is what most people who chew gum are 486 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: concerned with, is how long will the flavor last? And 487 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: that's what a lot of the gum companies we're talking about. 488 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: They're trying to improve how long their favor last. And 489 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: then when I thought about it, I realized that most 490 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: gums do say like long lasting on the front. Yeah, 491 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: it's a major marketing point, it is. Indeed, what about 492 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: this one? Does gum really fight off hunger? I've heard 493 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: that it possibly just makes you hungrier. Okay, if you 494 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 1: are a human who snacks when they're bored instead of 495 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: when they're hungry, which I'm super guilty of, swapping out 496 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: a snack, especially something sugary like cookie or a candy 497 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 1: bar with a piece of low calorie gum can help 498 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: you not eat as much. I'm not gonna say it's 499 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: gonna make you less hungry. I mean, if you're hungry 500 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: and you're chewing gum instead of eating that's not that's 501 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 1: clearly not going to do anything. But yeah, like if 502 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: you're if you're eating just at a boredom, like you 503 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: want to choose something and then you chew gum, you're 504 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: only getting maybe like five to ten calories instead of 505 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: maybe like a hundred. Uh. It's a small difference, but 506 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: if you are looking to help control your body weight, 507 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: then that can be a factor. It's it's more like 508 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 1: a single piece in a tool belt than an actual 509 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:39,760 Speaker 1: weight loss plan though, because I mean, you know, a 510 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 1: you shouldn't eat too many things with artificial sweeteners in 511 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: large amounts. They can have a laxative effect or cause 512 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 1: other gastric distress, and chewing gum can lead to swallowing air, 513 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: which will make you feel bloated, which isn't going to 514 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: help the situation particularly and going back to the hunger thing, 515 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: effects can definitely vary when you're trying to use artificially 516 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 1: sweetened products in order to stave off hunger. But because basically, 517 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: your your body doesn't appreciate being tricked. What the sweet 518 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: flavor of artificially sweetened products can make your body gear 519 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: up for digestion, and then when you don't give it 520 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: anything to digest. It signals you to eat more later. 521 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: M hm hm. Yeah, So I guess if you like 522 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: chewing gum and maybe you just want to choose something. Yeah, well, okay, 523 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: And here's an interesting part that ties into this. Chewing 524 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: gum has been shown to improve your alertness, attention, and mood. 525 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 1: Hi researchers are not sure what's going on here. All 526 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,479 Speaker 1: kinds of things have been suggested, from sugar or flavored 527 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: gum giving you a pleasure or reward boost to the 528 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: act of chewing, sort of priming your body for further action. 529 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: The most the most compelling hypothesis I've seen is that 530 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 1: chewing a positively flavored gum, which is the most signed 531 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,480 Speaker 1: big thing I've ever read of my life. Um. The 532 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,400 Speaker 1: act of chewing that gum excites you, causing a release 533 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: of the stress chemical cortisol. Remember that excitement isn't necessarily 534 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: a positive thing, it's just a whoo hey, stuff is happening. Um. 535 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 1: It triggers a release of cordsol, which your body reacts 536 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: to by boosting your your immediate access to to glucoast 537 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 1: to energy to help you deal with whatever it is 538 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: that's stressing you out. So embarking on this minorly exciting 539 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: thing of chewing gum, You're doing some action. You're getting 540 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: a little bit of cordsol, you're getting a little bit 541 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: of Glucoast release. It can help people concentrate well and 542 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: react faster than they would under normal circumstances, and maybe 543 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 1: that distracts you from hunger. I have to say, for me, 544 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: chewing gum is majorly exciting, and I am convinced one 545 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,760 Speaker 1: day I will be at a fancy function and I'm 546 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 1: gonna be a devil, make itre shoot this come and 547 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: my tooth is gonna come right out, and that's it. 548 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,840 Speaker 1: I won't recover from that. My social status will be 549 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,760 Speaker 1: forever forever. And we all know that my social status 550 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: is right up there right now. I'm sure. I'm sure 551 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,680 Speaker 1: everyone at the party would understand. It would honestly be 552 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: like a fun party trick as long as you didn't 553 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,840 Speaker 1: like hurt yourself with the tooth. So I meant to 554 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,279 Speaker 1: do it. That's always the way, okay, Yeah, yeah, Like 555 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: like Chuck, like check over on stuff you should know 556 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: has the fun tooth party trick he does minus and 557 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 1: as cool as that, My my fake tooth is not 558 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 1: as cool as he's like. That's a conversation to be 559 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,439 Speaker 1: at off, Mike. But here's another question I had about gum. 560 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: What fruit is the flavor and juicy fruit? And for 561 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 1: that matter, what the hell is tooty fruity? Okay, the 562 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: fruit and juicy fruit. I don't think it was ever 563 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 1: meant to be a particular fruit. Oh no, A rapper 564 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: from and to be fair, to have been around a 565 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:10,800 Speaker 1: long time before that, but a rapper from a gum wrapper, 566 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: not like a hip hop performer okay, called it a 567 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: fascinating artificial flavor. M I would agree. And two dy Fruity, 568 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 1: as far as I can tell, is like the term 569 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:29,440 Speaker 1: itself as an English bastardization of the Italian tuta la 570 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,640 Speaker 1: fruita meaning all the fruits. And I think it started 571 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:36,480 Speaker 1: popping up in Britain as two d e Fruity in 572 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,279 Speaker 1: the eighteen thirties as a candy flavor or an ice 573 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: cream flavor. It was the very first gum to be 574 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: sold in vending machines and I think eight eight in 575 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 1: New York City. Both tooty Fruity and juicy fruit do 576 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 1: contain flavoring agents that include, oh, what's that O G 577 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: banana um the original Smichael, Yeah, that that O G 578 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,960 Speaker 1: banana and also apple or pear kind of vibes. I 579 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: think juicy fruit also a citrus element m M, A 580 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:07,319 Speaker 1: fruit salad kind of thing, an ambrosia, yes, oh Woul, 581 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:09,879 Speaker 1: juicy fruit was my go to gum for a while, 582 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: and then big red ticket over and then probably like mint. 583 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 1: I never got into cinnamon gum I was. I was like, 584 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:25,320 Speaker 1: how wow hurts. I liked the verni And my final question, 585 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 1: do you really get double the pleasure from double mint gum? 586 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: That is a subjective question that science cannot answer alas 587 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 1: not today. Well, thank you very much for indulging all 588 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:45,520 Speaker 1: of my big gun questions. Yeah, yeah, anytime. Fascinating stuff 589 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:54,319 Speaker 1: fascinating and it brings us to listener more. Yeah, all right, 590 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,360 Speaker 1: Lista wrote, I am a Connecticut resident who recently listened 591 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,839 Speaker 1: to your episode on Nutmeg. I was hoping you would 592 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,319 Speaker 1: shout out the nutmeg state and was happy to even 593 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:06,799 Speaker 1: have some loosens tied up with how Connecticut got its name. 594 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,239 Speaker 1: Funny story. When I was in third grade, we did 595 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 1: a history unit and learned about how people used to 596 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,799 Speaker 1: sell wooden nutmegs in place of the real stuff. Only 597 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,120 Speaker 1: being eight years old and having no context of what 598 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,480 Speaker 1: nutmeg was or how it might be sold when the 599 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: name was established, I had only seen nutmegs sold in 600 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: the grocery store in little plastic spice jars. I was 601 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: always confused as to why the people didn't just open 602 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 1: up the jar and smell that it was sawdust. I 603 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,360 Speaker 1: never really looked into it as an adult, and listening 604 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,719 Speaker 1: to this episode was interesting and helped me make sense 605 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 1: of this childhood mystery. I would have thought the same thing. 606 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: I think my parents did have whole nutmegs that we 607 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:46,560 Speaker 1: would use on nut on eggnog and stuff like that. 608 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:49,560 Speaker 1: So yeah, from a very young age. But I grew 609 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: up with a chef, so stuff and things. I'm not 610 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:55,880 Speaker 1: sure I even knew what nutmeg looked like until this 611 00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:00,080 Speaker 1: very year when we went when we are, Yeah, you 612 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,279 Speaker 1: got a drinking with fresh nutmeg on top, and I 613 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:07,160 Speaker 1: was like, oh, heck that's what it is. Oh they're lovely. 614 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,719 Speaker 1: It's completely worthwhile, too, too great fresh nutmeg. Um. If 615 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,640 Speaker 1: you have such things available to you, yeah, go do it. 616 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 1: Karen wrote one about the Brunch episode. I was visiting 617 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:20,800 Speaker 1: my cousin in New York City for his placement. He 618 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,960 Speaker 1: decided to go for a brunch spot. That's pretty good. 619 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,880 Speaker 1: Little did we know that it was a drag brunch. 620 00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 1: The moment I saw those pink balloons and the mood lighting, 621 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:32,000 Speaker 1: I knew something was up. I was blown away and 622 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: loved it. If you do have the chance, check if 623 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:39,720 Speaker 1: there's a drag brunch near you. Side note also recommend 624 00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:41,960 Speaker 1: to the sort of thing. Oh I love Drag Show 625 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,840 Speaker 1: two about peanut butter. Annie. Have you heard of the 626 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,920 Speaker 1: beaver tail. It's a delicacy in Canada where a flattened 627 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,319 Speaker 1: roll of deep fried dough is slathered with peanut butter 628 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,960 Speaker 1: and Reese's pieces. You can add other toppings, including cookies 629 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 1: and cream, the original cinnamon, sugar, and an apple pie variety. 630 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,719 Speaker 1: They're absolutely origins. I just want to say I'm leaving 631 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,960 Speaker 1: for Canada right after this. I will try to be 632 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:11,040 Speaker 1: back in office tomorrow, but it'll be tight. Well, you 633 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,800 Speaker 1: get off the plane one beaver tail, please, goodbye plane. 634 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,000 Speaker 1: I wish you luck on your journey. Thank you. That 635 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,360 Speaker 1: sounds amazing. Yeah, it sounds like you're mostly in Canada 636 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:28,200 Speaker 1: for like transit purposes. We clearly need to go oh, no, 637 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 1: need to twist my arm. I am ready so much 638 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,719 Speaker 1: good food any day now, I'm I'm up. Okay, let's 639 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: maybe wait. I don't like a couple of days. I 640 00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:43,840 Speaker 1: need to do laundry. Okay, okay, okay, okay, alright, tonight tonight, tonight, 641 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 1: okay on a plane and mere hours We've got to 642 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:49,440 Speaker 1: go to the airport. But in the meantime, thanks to 643 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: both of them for writing to us. You two can 644 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,480 Speaker 1: write to us. Our email is hello at savor pod 645 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,319 Speaker 1: dot com. We're also on social media. You can find 646 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:01,719 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at savor pod. We 647 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: do hope to hear from you. Thank you as always 648 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:09,840 Speaker 1: to our amazing super producer Dylan Fagan, who sometimes grows 649 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,359 Speaker 1: shorter before very eyes look behind the curtainsy all. Every 650 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 1: time I say thank you to Dylan Fagin, I look 651 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:18,279 Speaker 1: at him outside of the window and he does something spectacular, um, 652 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:21,480 Speaker 1: and so I try to describe it to you. Anyway, 653 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:23,480 Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots 654 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:24,759 Speaker 1: more good things are coming your way.