The Biggest Baddest Bubble

How many of us as a kid tried to blow the biggest baddest bubble only to have sticky goop covering our faces, sometimes becoming entangled in our hair, the end result being to cut it out? It is definitely a natural phenomenon from the earliest age of the bubble gum chewer. 

Of course, to achieve that biggest baddest bubble one had to chew, let's see, three, five, um-m-m? maybe as many as 12 pieces of gum. Just the thought of it now makes my jaws ache! But, as a child, there was no pain when the gain was the biggest baddest bubble with which came bragging rights. 


Embrace the Past...

Gum chewing goes way back to the ancient Greeks who chewed mastiche, a chewing gum made from the resin of the mastic tree and the ancient Mayans who chewed chicle, which is the sap from the sapodilla tree. As for America, it originated with the North American Indians who chewed the sap from spruce trees and passed the habit along to the colonial settlers. The settlers in turn created a gum from a combination of the sap and beeswax.

It wasn't until the 19th century that chewing gum became commercial with the State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum thanks to the ingenuity of John B. Curtis. Flavored paraffin gums followed next and became more popular that the spruce gums. Using the paraffin made the gum softer, thereby lasting longer, that is in taste. In other words, the gum tasted better for a longer period of time while being chewed. Because of chewing gum's popularity the invention of machines for mass production became inevitable.

While chewing gum resulted in popping of small bubbles inside the mouth, it was not conducive to actual bubble blowing. Here is a tidbit of trivia on the beginning of bubble gum as we know it:

In 1928, an employee of the Frank H. Fleer Company, WalterDiemer 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.

Of course, that is just the 'skinny' of gum evolution. There is, however, one other needing honorable mention that should definitely bring back the memories. Do you remember Bazooka Joe comics?

Bazooka Bubble gum is the classic bubble gum. Each piece contained a Bazooka Joe comic inside the wrapper. Its distinctive name, taste, red, white, and blue logo, and unique packaging made it a unique part of Americana.

Empower the Present...

With all that history behind us, let's take a peek at how bubble gum is made today!  

Enrich the Future...

Will bubble gum ever not be available? Could it become extinct leaving only the memories of attempts, possibly achieving, the biggest baddest bubble? NAH! I don't think so! Stop now. Take a break. Grab a piece of bubble gum or two or three or however many you think your jaws can handle. Here is a little tune to keep you company as you go for it. . .the biggest baddest bubble that is!

Does anyone else wonder how many pieces of chewing gum this guy chewed 

before even blowing such a big bubble?