How long has mankind been known to chew gum?
406552
The ancient Greeks chewed mastiche - a chewing gum made from the resin of the mastic tree. \nThe ancient Mayans chewed chicle which is the sap from the sapodilla tree. \nNorth American Indians chewed the sap from spruce trees and passed the habit along to the settlers. \nEarly American settlers made a chewing gum from spruce sap and beeswax. \nIn 1848, John B. Curtis made and sold the first commercial chewing gum called the State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum. \nIn 1850, Curtis started selling flavored paraffin gums becoming more popular than spruce gums. \nOn December 28 1869, William Finley Semple became the first person to patent a chewing gum - U.S patent #98,304. \nIn 1869, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna introduced Thomas Adams to chicle. \nIn 1871, Thomas Adams patented a machine for the manufacture of gum. \nIn 1880, John Colgan invented a way to make chewing gum taste better for a longer period of time while being chewed. \nBy 1888, an Adams' chewing gum called Tutti-Frutti became the first chew to be sold in a vending machine. The machines were located in a New York City subway station. \nIn 1899, Dentyne gum was created by New York druggist Franklin V. Canning. \nIn 1906, Frank Fleer invented the first bubble gum called Blibber-Blubber gum. However, the bubble blowing chew was never sold. \nIn 1914, Wrigley Doublemint brand was created. William Wrigley, Jr. and Henry Fleer were responsible for adding the popular mint and fruit extracts to a chicle chewing gum. \nIn 1928, an employee of the Frank H. Fleer Company, Walter Diemer invented the successful pink colored Double Bubble, bubble gum. The very first bubble gum was invented by Frank Henry Fleer in 1906. He called it Blibber-Blubber. Fleer's recipe was later perfected by Walter Diemer, who called his product Double Bubble. \nThomas Adams \nHow Thomas Adams first tried to change chicle into automobile tires, before inventing a chewing gum that tasted good.
498674
Yes because you are transferring bodily fluids - their saliva from chewing the gum goes into your mouth which stays in your body's system for about five years. All the bacteria from that person's saliva goes into your body.
155171
since the beginning of mankind, people have been hitting round objects with a stick and running.  who could ever pinpoint an exact date when u think about it that way?
826796
Usually when people chew on things it's because they are nervous or stressed out. The way to stop is to just be aware that you are doing it and tell yourself no. Just put the thing down. It might be hard but hey, it only takes 21 days to totally stop a habit.
403298
WTF singapore banned chewing gum! thats awesoem bcuz now u can use the stuff like crack and get a TON of money off of it without feeling guilty for the people bcuz it doesnt contain any narcotics!!
680418
Haven't you seen, Dr.Know. He did a study proving that gum chewing increases brain fuction and concentration.\n\nAmerican's aren't stupid, just young.
1150750
Finally, someone who agrees. Chewing on a slimy peice of rubber is a disgusting habit, to me it's grosser than chewing tobacco or smoking or any of the other habits commonly considered "gross". The problem, though, is that there are no negative effects of chewing gum so it's not frowned upon like less disgusting (and more harmfull) habits.
338657
gum is totally indigestible by your body and will indeed lie in your colon for years it may if there are large amounts cause a blockage and cause problems over the years best to put it in the bin when the flavours gone!
130521
Do you mean in the US or in the world?\n\nIt was first smoked by the Mayan Indians and they were around from 300 to 900 AD.  Tobacco is indigenous to North America.  It was then adopted by Europeans.
131103
All I know about this matter is that my aunt chewed nicotine gum for 10 years (bad idea) and she developed throat cancer...whether it was from the gum or smoking for ever I don't know, but it is quite addicting. Another case is my grandma chewed the gum as well, and after 2 years she had stomach problems and gum irritation. From these examples, I would guess that it's not a good idea to use the stuff for too long. They both were successful at quitting smoking though.
628367
Chewing does burn calories, but at a slow rate. If you chewed at 100 chews per minute for every waking moment, you'd lose 5kg/year. As long as it's sugar free you won't gain weight & the saliva it's making you produce is good for your teeth.
166932
There don't seem to be a noteable person who discovered rubber in history. Visit this website to read more http://inventors.about.com/cs/inventorsalphabet/a/rubber_2.htm\n\nIt was something like Fire! Who knows who created fire! By cavemen.\n\nHere is an excerpt from an article: \nANCIENT RUBBER \n\n\nUntil recently modern thinkers believed rubber originated in 19th century Europe. According to a Tech Talk article published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday, July 14, 1999, Professor Dorothy Hosler, Assistant Professor Sandra Burkett and an undergraduate named Michael Tarkanian learned that the Mayan people in ancient Mesoamerica made and used rubber as long ago as 1600 BCE. \n\n\nThe ancient Mayan people used latex to make rubber balls, hollow human figures, and as bindings used to secure axe heads to their handles and other functions. Latex is the sap of various plants, most notably the rubber tree. When it is exposed to the air it hardens into a springy mass. The Mayans learned to mix the rubber sap with the juice from morning glory vines so that it became more durable and elastic, and didn't get quite as brittle. Both the rubber tree and the morning glory were important plants to the Mayan people- the latter being a hallucinogen as well as a healing herb. They two plants tended to grow close together. Combining their juices, a black substance about the texture of a gum-type pencil eraser was formed. \n\n\nThe rubber balls were about the size of a beach ball and weighed over 15 pounds (7 kilograms). These were used in an important ritual game called Tlachtlic. The game was a cross between football and basketball, but had religious significance as recorded in the Popul Vuh, a Mayan religious document. Spanish invaders in the sixteenth century reported that the game also involved gambling for various possessions including land and slaves. It is believed that the game ended in a human sacrifice at least some of the time. Versions of the game were played in the middle American region ranging from southern Arizona to northern South America. Native peoples in the region still make rubber in the same way. \n\nRead more here: http://lala.essortment.com/historyofrubbe_rcml.htm
965182
can i lick the gum? just guessing.
650950
Grinding your teeth is a form of stress. Gum sheilds could help prevent it, but otherwise dont worry about it.
458105
In 1855, Charles Goodyear designed and built the first vulcanized rubber soccer balls (footballs).  \nMade of vulcanized rubber panels glued at the seams ( almost like the basketball balls we know today).
548009
The earliest evidence of procaryotic bacteria are from about 3.8 billion years ago in stromatolites from cherts in Western Australia (the Warrawoona group). Unicellular eucaryotes can be dated from about 1.6 to 1.8 billion years ago.
717203
gum remains chewy, so your mind thinks it needs to keep chewing.  Food gets soft and your mind knows it's time to swallow.