 The Mayan Indians of
Central America chewed a natural gum called chicle that they derived
from trees. American Indians chewed a natural gumlike resin that
came from the bark of spruce trees, and they introduced this spruce
gum to North American settlers.
In 1869, New York resident Thomas Adams was hired by a Mexican
exile named Antonio to develop a new form of rubber that contained
chicle, since chicle was plentiful back in Mexico. Antonio thought
that Adams could make synthetic rubber tires out of the new
material. Adams tried to use it to make things like toys, masks,
rain boots and bicycle tires; even though he failed in every
attempt, he still became a huge success.
One day he decided to chew a piece of the chicle, and then he
added flavoring to it. In the process, he created the modern chewing
gum. Soon after, he began selling pieces of his gum for a penny
each, and then he patented the machine that made it.
There are a few other pieces of "gum trivia" that are worth
mentioning:
-
The very first
patent issued for chewing gum went to a dentist named William
Semple in 1869, the same year that Adams created his chewing
gum. Maybe Semple was the original fifth dentist -- you know,
the one who didn't recommend Trident to his patients?!?
-
The first bubble
gum was created by Frank Fleer in 1906. If that names sounds
familiar, it's because his company makes the Fleer trading
cards.
-
A Fleer employee named Walter Diemer
made bubble gum pink because pink was the only color that he had
left.
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 And if you just can't get enough of this gum trivia, here's one
more:
- The largest bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter,
according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
And what ever happened to Thomas Adams' boss, the Mexican exile
named Antonio?
Before he moved to New York, Antonio served as a general in the
Mexican army. He was also a former president of Mexico, but there
was something else for which he is remembered. You know him by his
first name, but history knows him by his last name -- Santa Anna, as
in Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. He was the general who led the
attack on the Alamo!
Thomas Adams' company went on to merge with the nation's six
other largest chewing gum makers, building a monopoly in the
process. Today the company is known as Cadbury Adams, which is a
division of Cadbury Schweppes.
What happened to Adams' chicle gum? Did he give his brand of gum
a name back then?
It turns out that he did name it. The name of Thomas Adams' gum,
which he began making way back in 1869, is Chiclets.
They should mention this kind of stuff in the history books.
[By
PAUL NIEMANN]
Paul Niemann may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2007
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columns)
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