Like
chewing gum, bubble gum has enjoyed a great
history. In the early 1900s, Frank Fleer
experimented with different gum recipes to find bubble gum. The first bubble
gum recipe was too sticky to enjoy and Fleer’s experiment was never
marketed.
However, Walter Diemer introduced a
successful bubble gum recipe in 1928. Diemer experimented with different gum
recipes when a mixture started bubbling. He accidentally discovered the
bubble gum recipe. As a test, he took the gum to a grocery store and sold it
all in one day.
Diemer brought his invention to the Fleer
Company where they marketed it as Dubble Bubble. Diemer taught the
salesmen how to blow bubbles. When customers bought the gum, the salesmen
taught customers to blow bubbles. Dubble Bubble was the only bubble
gum in the market for many years.
At the end of World War II, the Topps
Company started making bubble gum. The manufacturer introduced Bazooka,
named for a musical instrument Bob Burns created in the 1930s. Bazooka
gum became famous for its ‘Bazooka Joe’ comics and baseball cards. In 1953,
Topps added gum to its baseball card packs as incentives for children.
Today, the tradition of blowing bubbles
continues. Family and friends now teach the art of blowing bubbles with
bubble gum.
