Chewing gum has enjoyed a long history. Evidence of gum chewing dates back to prehistoric men and women who chewed on tree resin for enjoyment. Other ancient cultures around the world also are documented gum chewers.
Greek and Middle Eastern cultures routinely chewed resin from the mastic tree to freshen their breath. In Central America, the Mayans enjoyed chewing on chicle sap. This Central American tree resin was the basis for modern chewing gum.
In the United States, Native Americans and settlers first chewed on spruce tree resin and beeswax. In New England, spruce sap was used to make America’s first gum. In 1848, John Curtis used resin to make State of Maine Spruce Gum. He sold two hunks of the gum for a penny. As time went on, spruce gum became less popular and was replaced with a paraffin-based gum.
In the mid 1800s, a photographer named Thomas Adams befriended Mexican leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The men discussed ways to use the chicle sap for profit. Santa Anna sent chicle from Mexico to Adams who mixed it with rubber to make a better tire.
Adams determined his mixture was useless and wanted to throw it out. Then he overheard a young girl asking for gum at a drug store. It dawned on him to turn the mixture into gum. Adams created a pure chicle gum and sold it for a penny.
After success with pure chicle gum, Adams tried to add flavor to it. He created a licorice-flavored gum called Black Jack. It was the first gum to be sold as a stick not in chunks, and was popular with the public. The gum had one drawback; it could not hold flavor.
The flavor issue was not fixed until 1880. A man named William White experimented with flavors after receiving a shipment of chicle. He solved the problem by adding sugar and corn syrup to the mix. The first flavor he used was peppermint and it stayed in the gum during chewing.
In the early 1900s, gum manufacturers relied on word of mouth and repeat customers. William Wrigley Jr., a former soap and baking soda salesman, new to the gum industry, saw other companies holding back on advertising and decided to advertise his gum products. Wrigley became a pioneer in advertising, and his ads were everywhere from billboards to magazines. The popularity of gum surged.
World War II brought modern gum to the world. Soldiers always carried gum on them. Some claim military men used gum to patch holes on equipment. It is uncertain whether these stories are true, but gum became a worldwide sensation due to the soldiers.
In the 1950s, manufacturers introduced sugarless and sugar-free gums allowing more people to enjoy gum. Today, sugarless varieties lead gum sales.
